Celso Antunes
Thursday 6 November 2008
Celso Antunes is chief conductor of the Netherlands Radio Choir. He started in this position in the 2008-2009 season and succeeded Simon Halsey, who stays on as guest conductor since then.
For the last years, the Cologne-based conductor Celso Antunes has been highly active on the European concert scene. His engagements have included appearances at the Donaueschinger Musiktage, Flanders Festival, the Cologne MusikTriennale, the Musikbiennale München, Kurt-Weill-Festival in Dessau, November Music in s'Hertogenbosch and the Living Music Festival in Dublin. Working regularly with choirs and orchestras all over Europe, Antunes has attained success with his interpretations of a wide musical repertoire, stretching from the Italian choral music of Monteverdi, Gesualdo and Orazio Vecchi, through 18th- and 19th-century orchestral classics to the music of the present day, of which he is a devoted advocate.
In September 2008 Antunes has taken up his post as professor for Choral Conducting at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève. Between 2002 and 2007, Antunes was the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of The National Chamber Choir of Ireland: The Irish Times wrote about the choir's sensational five years under Antunes that "this period will have to be seen in the future as a golden age for professional choral singing in Ireland". He also works regularly with choirs such as the NDR Chor Hamburg, the Berliner Rundfunkchor, the Prager Kammerchor, the BBC Singers in London, the Vlaamse Radio Koor in Brussels and the SWR Vokalensemble in Stuttgart.
Antunes is increasingly in demand as a guest conductor. In October and November 2008 he will have his debut with the Vlaams Radio Orkest in Brussels and the National Symphony Orchestra in Brasilia. Antunes appeared with the Cappella Istropolitana Bratislava, the WDR Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Gürzenich Orchestra Köln, the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra in Riga, the Radio Sinfonieorchester NDR Hannover and with the Ulster Orchestra (Belfast) and the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz. He also returns annually to conduct in Brazil, where he appears with the Camerata Fukuda and with the São Paulo State Symphony.
Celso Antunes began his musical training in Brazil. Born in 1959, he studied singing and conducting at the University of São Paulo. He quickly achieved recognition as assistant conductor of the São Paulo Youth Symphony Orchestra. Subsequently, Antunes obtained a DAAD scholarship to complete his studies on at the Musikhochschule Köln in Germany, where he graduated in 1990. Following his debut with the Neues Rheinisches Kammerorchester at the Philharmonie in Cologne, Celso Antunes was appointed its Chief Conductor, a post he held from 1994 until 1998.
As an exponent of contemporary music, Antunes's activities achieved a strong focus during his period as Chief Conductor of the Antwerp-based ensemble Champ d' Action (1994-97), with whom he gave numerous world premieres. But already, in 1991, Celso Antunes had founded his own new music group, the Tippett Ensemble, which continues to give critically acclaimed concerts throughout Europe, always featuring mainly contemporary music. Another highlight of Antunes´s career was the premiere of a newly re-constructed version of Kurt Weill´s ballet-pantomime "Die Zaubernacht" (1922) at the Köln MusikTriennale conducting Ensemble Contrasts.
In August 2004, Celso Antunes has been bestowed the honour of the Order of Rio Branco, in the rank of Commander, by the Brazilian government, for the extraordinary artistic services rendered to his native Brazil.
