From Europe to the New World
Sunday Concerts
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- / Cancelled / Sold out
Location
Grand Auditorium Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation- Conductor
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Gulbenkian Orchestra
In 1962, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation decided to establish a permanent orchestral ensemble. Originally with only twelve musicians (strings and continuo) it was named “Orquestra de Câmara Gulbenkian”. This collective was successively enlarged and today the “Orquestra Gulbenkian” (the name it has adopted since 1971) has a permanent body of sixty instrumentalists, a number that can be expanded depending on the repertoire.
This structure allows the Gulbenkian Orchestra to interpret works from the Baroque and Classical periods, a significant part of 19th century orchestral literature and much of the music of the 20th century, including works belonging to the current repertoire of the traditional symphonic orchestras. In each season, the orchestra performs on a regular series of concerts at the Gulbenkian Grand Auditorium in Lisbon, where it has had the opportunity of working together with some of leading names of the world of music (conductors and soloists). It has also performed on numerous locations all over Portugal, in an effort to decentralize music and culture.
The orchestra has been constantly expanding its activities in the international level, performing in Europe, Asia Africa, and the Americas. In the recording field, Orquestra Gulbenkian is associated to labels as Philips, Deutsche Grammophon, Hyperion, Teldec, Erato, Adès, Nimbus, Lyrinx, Naïve and Pentatone, among others, and this activity was recognized with several international prizes.
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Diogo Costa
Conductor
Born in Portugal, Diogo Costa is a rising star conductor with a vast repertoire ranging from baroque to contemporary music.
Generously supported by an Ann Gerrard Bursary, he completed his Masters in Conducting with Distinction at the Royal Northern College of Music with Clark Rundell and Mark Heron. He had the opportunity to work as assistant conductor for Juanjo Mena, John Storgårds, Sir Andrew Davis, Nicholas Collon and Ben Gernon at the BBC Philharmonic and Vasily Petrenko at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
Diogo began his studies as a conductor in 2010 at the Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra - Metropolitana with Professor Jean-Marc Burfin in Lisbon. In the last few years, he has taken part in conducting masterclasses with Sir Mark Elder, Martyn Brabbins, Douglas Bostock, Laurence Marks, José Vilaplana and Jean-Sébastien Béreau, during which he conducted the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Manchester Camerata and Argovia Philharmonic.
As a guest conductor he appeared with The Hallé Orchestra at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, the BBC Philharmonic, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales with a world premiere by Andrew Lewis. In Portugal, Diogo Costa has recently been invited to conduct the Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon, the Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música and the Orquestra Gulbenkian (as assistant conductor to Lorenzo Viotti in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette).
As a trombonist, he played with the Orquestra Clássica da Madeira, the Orquestra de Câmara de Cascais e Oeiras, the Portuguese Symphonic Wind Band, the Orquestra Académica Metropolitana and the West European Studio Orchestra. He also has a special interest in jazz, performing and recording with the Jazz Orchestra of the Hot Club de Portugal, Reunion Big Jazz Band and Claus Nymark Big Band where he played with renowned jazz musicians such as Benny Golson, Perico Sambeat and John Ellis.
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Vera Dias
Bassoon
Vera Dias was born in Guimarães. She started at the Escola Profissional Artística do Vale do Ave at the age of twelve, where she began her musical studies learning bassoon with Jesus Coelho. Later, she studied with Paulo Martins, with whom she finished the Wind Instrumentalists Course, winning the Dr Manuela Carvalho Prize. At the age of eighteen she was admitted to the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik - Karlsruhe, studying bassoon with Günter Pfitzenmaier. She graduated in 2008 from Escola Superior de Música.
She has played with the Orquestra Portuguesa das Escolas de Música, the Orquestra Aproarte, the Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa, the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik - Karlsruhe Chamber Orchestra, the Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra and the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, and has given concerts throughout Europe and the East.
In 2003 and 2004, she was selected to join the European Union Youth Orchestra summer school, which she attended only in 2004. In 2003 she declined that opportunity to be able to compete for the Young Musicians Prize, in which she received 1st Prize in the Bassoon category. In 2004, she won 2nd Prize in the Landespolizei competition, in Karlsruhe.
She had a scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation from 2003 to 2006. She has been 1st Assistant Soloist with the Gulbenkian Orchestra since September 2006.
Frederico de Freitas
Ribatejo
György Ligeti
Concert Românesc
Leonard Bernstein
Candide: Overture
George Gershwin
Cuban Overture
Arturo Márquez
Danzón n.º 2
In the first Sunday Concerts of the season, a programme designed for family enjoyment and to introduce children to the universe and repertoire of orchestral music. Under the direction of the conductor Diogo Costa, the Gulbenkian Orchestra presents a series of popular symphonic pieces with a wide range of registers: from the Overture of Candide, Leonard Bernstein’s operetta inspired by the literary classic, Voltaire’s Candide ou L’Optimisme, to the Ribatejo music by Frederico de Freitas, best known for his fado compositions.
Sponsor Gulbenkian Music
The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation reserves the right to collect and keep records of images, sounds and voice for the diffusion and preservation of the memory of its cultural and artistic activity. For further information, please contact us through the Information Request form.