Gulbenkian Orchestra and Choir's 2025 summer tour passes through the Algarve

The tour begins on June 20th, in Lagoa, at the Carlos do Carmo Auditorium. Under the musical direction of maestro Clemens Schuldt and the participation of flautist Sónia Pais, the Orchestra presents a program that covers a wide range of styles and periods, with works by Kodály, Ibert, Carwithen, Barber, Strauss, Grieg, Puccini and Hindemith.

The same repertoire will be presented the following day, June 21st in Tavira, at the Cineteatro António Pinheiro.

Founded in 1962, the Gulbenkian Orchestra began as a chamber ensemble with twelve musicians. From 1971 onwards, it adopted its current name and grew to become a symphony orchestra with around sixty musicians, expanding as the programme required. This versatile format allows it to cover a vast repertoire, from Baroque to contemporary music.

Over more than six decades of activity, the Orchestra has established itself as one of the most prestigious Portuguese symphonic groups, regularly collaborating with internationally renowned soloists and conductors. With a regular programme at the Grand Auditorium of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, the Orchestra also carries out intense national decentralisation and international projection, with tours in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.

The remarkable discography, represented by labels such as Deutsche Grammophon , Philips, Hyperion, Teldec and Pentatone, has been distinguished with prestigious international awards. Finnish conductor Hannu Lintu is the current Principal Conductor of the Gulbenkian Orchestra.

About the Gulbenkian Choir

Founded in 1964, the Gulbenkian Choir currently has a group of around one hundred singers. It regularly performs a cappella and in collaboration with the Gulbenkian Orchestra or other groups to perform major works. In the field of contemporary music, it has often performed, for the first time, numerous works by Portuguese and foreign composers.

He has collaborated regularly with prestigious orchestras, including the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, the Freiburg Barockorchester, the Orchestra du Século XVIII, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Baden-Baden Symphony, the Vienna Symphony, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, the Orchestre National de Lyon and the Orchestre de Paris.

The Gulbenkian Choir has participated in important international festivals, such as: Festival d'Aix-en-Provence Festival, Eurotop (Amsterdam), Festival Veneto (Padua and Verona), City of London Festival, Hong Kong Arts Festival and Macau International Music Festival.

The Gulbenkian Choir's discography is represented by the labels Philips, Archiv/Deutsche Grammophon, Erato, Cascavelle, Musifrance, FNAC-Music and Aria-Music, having recorded a diverse repertoire over the years, with a particular focus on Portuguese music from the 16th to the 20th centuries.

Some of these recordings have received prestigious international awards. Between 1969 and 2020, Michel Corboz was the Principal Conductor of the Gulbenkian Choir. Martina Batič is the current Principal Conductor, Inês Tavares Lopes is Assistant Conductor and Jorge Matta is artistic consultant.