José Ferreira Lobo
Artistic Director and Chief Conductor
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José Ferreira Lobo initiated his professional activity in 1979 as Chief Conductor of “Camerata do Porto”, a chamber orchestra he founded alongside Madalena Sá e Costa.
Collaborating with soloists of international prestige, he performed innumerable concerts, both in Portugal and abroad. In 1992, he founds “Associação Norte Cultural”, project which won the first contest for the creation of Regional Orchestras, hosted by the Portuguese Government. In this context, he creates Orquestra do Norte, in which he holds the seats of Artistic Director and Chief Conductor.
He has collaborated with internationally consecrated artists, such as Krisztof Penderecki, José Carreras, Júlia Hamari, Regis Pasquier, Katia Ricciarelli, Patrícia Kopatchinskaya, Michel Lethiec, Eteri Lamoris, António Rosado, Dame Moura Linpany, Svetla Vassileva, José de Oliveira Lopes, Vincenso Bello and Fiorenza Cossotto.
Within his international career, one highlights opera and concert direction in Brazil, China, Colombia, Cypress, Czech Republic, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the United States of America, Venezuela and South Africa, cooperating with orchestras of renown, such as Manchester Camerata, Lithuania’s National Symphony Orchestra, Cannes Orchestra, Galiza’s Symphony Orchestra, Izmir’s Smphony Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic, Istambul’s Symphony Orchestra, Istambul’s CRR Symphony Orchestra, Beijing’s Radio and Television Orchestra, Cláudio Santoro’s National Theatre’s Symphony Orchestra, The Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mexico State’s Symphony Orchestra, University of Nuevo Leon’s Symphony Orchestra, Arthur Rubinstein’s Philharmonic – Lodz, St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Orchestra, the Zurich Symphony Orchestra – Tonalle, the Slovak Sinfonietta, the Warsaw Symphony, Montevideo’s Philharmonic, the Athens National Orchestra and Seoul Classical Players.
José Ferreira Lobo has performed in some the World’s most prominent concert halls, namely the Munich Philharmonic Hall, Zurich’s Tonhale, the Cairo National Opera House, Hong Kong’s Cultural Centre, Beijing’s Cultural Centre, Montevideo’s Solis Theatre, Brasília’s Cláudio Santoro’s National Theatre, Caracas’s Teresa Carreño Theatre, Vilnius’s Philharmonic Hall, Prague’s Smétana Hall and St. Petersburg’s Hermitage. He has also interpreted church music in Madelaine’s churches, Paris, Catania Cathedral (the Bellini Festival) and Orsanmichele, Florence.
He is regularly invited to integrate jury panels of reputed international contests. He has directed world premieres of French, Portuguese, Swiss and Turkish composers.
José Ferreira Lobo possesses an ample repertoire, reaching from Classic to Romantic, including Contemporary works and thirty Operas.
He has recorded for the Portuguese Radio Television and Radio Diffusion and Radio Suisse – Romande. With Orquestra do Norte, he has recorded nine CDs.
