Biography
Holds a doctorate in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Cincinnati (USA). He was formerly the Director of the Department of Communication and Art at the University of Aveiro, where he currently teaches conducting and ensemble music classes.
António Vassalo Lourenço has been the conductor and artistic director of the Filarmonia das Beiras Orchestra since 1999. He previously worked with the Portuguese Youth Orchestra and the Concert Orchestra in Cincinnati.
As a conductor, he has given a variety of world premieres, plus premieres of transcriptions and modern versions of works by Portuguese composers. In opera, he has co-ordinated and performed Portuguese adaptations of children's operas. His discography includes Blows Hot and Cold by Sara Carvalho. (Remix Emsemble-Casa da Música. Numérica, CD 1121, 2001), Missa para Coro, Solistas e Orquestra by João José Baldi. First Modern Performance and live recording (Orquestra Filarmonia das Beiras, Choral Aeminium. Câmara Municipal de Guarda, 2003) and Abyssus Ascendiens ad Aeternum Spendorem by João Pedro Oliveira (Orquestra Filarmonia das Beiras. Salzburg Classic Recdords, 2011).
Between 2000 and 2004, he was the Artistic Director of the International Festival of Music in Aveiro, and from 2002 to 2003, he held the position of Artistic Co-ordinator of the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra and the São Carlos National Theatre Choir. He is currently the artistic director of the Music Festival in Leiria.
In 2006, António Vassalo Lourenço founded the Opera Studio in central Portugal, a project which has offered important opportunities, in terms of providing training and by performing operas all over the country, presenting not only some of the most important works in the repertoire, but also productions in Portuguese, Portuguese operas and children's operas.
