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Dinis Sousa
The London-based Portuguese conductor and pianist has worked closely with the Monteverdi ensembles and other orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker, and Tonhalle Orchester Zurich. At the 2016 BBC Proms, Sousa co-conducted the Monteverdi Choir’s critically acclaimed performance of Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette which was televised on BBC4. In January 2019, Sousa conducted the English Baroque Soloists in four concerts at the Cartagena International Music Festival.
Sousa studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he was Conducting Fellow, during which period he prepared the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra for concerts with Bernard Haitink. Other conducting projects included Bach’s St John Passion at Milton Court and a staged production of Harrison Birtwistle’s opera Down by the Greenwood Side at the Silk Street Theatre. Sousa studied conducting with Sian Edwards and Timothy Redmond and piano with Philip Jenkins and Martin Roscoe. As pianist he has taken masterclasses with Yekaterina Lebedeva, Sequeira Costa, Angela Hewitt, Richard Egarr and Ralf Gothóni among others.
In April 2021 Sousa became Principal Conductor of the Royal Northern Sinfonia. During his tenure the orchestra have performed at the BBC Proms twice, with soloists Kristian Bezuidenhout and Nicholas Daniel. During the 2023/24 season, they will present a complete cycle of Robert Schumann’s symphonies at Sage Gateshead in addition to his choral masterpiece Das Paradies und die Peri. Other highlights include a world premiere by Cassandra Miller, collaborations with soloists Christian Tetzlaff, Steven Isserlis and Elizabeth Leonskaja and several performances around the UK including Birmingham and Cardiff.
During the 2023/24 season Dinis will make his debut with the Swedish Radio and Iceland Symphony Orchestras and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, as well as returning to Edmonton Symphony and the Riga Sinfonietta. Recent engagements have included the BBC Philharmonic, Gulbenkian and Ulster Orchestras and two programmes at the Bach Carmel Festival. His operatic experience includes Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia (Nevill Holt Opera) and Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande (Orquestra XXI).
Sousa is Founder and Artistic Director of Orquestra XXI, an award-winning orchestra bringing together some of the best young Portuguese musicians from around Europe to perform at the most prestigious venues in Portugal. The orchestra has established itself as one of the leading performing groups in Portugal, appearing regularly at major concert halls to critical acclaim. Recent highlights include opening the Gulbenkian Foundation season and a critically acclaimed tour of Mahler’s Symphony No 5 to celebrate the orchestra’s 10th anniversary.
In recognition of his work with Orquestra XXI, Sousa was awarded the title of Knight of the Order of Prince Henry by the President of the Portuguese Republic, Anibal Cavaco Silva.