Vasco Dantas
Vasco Dantas, Portuguese pianist born in Porto in 1992, obtained his Bachelor in Music with ‘1st Class Distinction’ at the London Royal College of Music, studying piano with Dmitri Alexeev and Niel Immelman, and conducting with Peter Stark and Natalia Luis-Bassa. He concluded a Master in Performance with highest mark under the guidance of Heribert Koch, at the University of Münster, where he is accepted to the Doctoral study “Konzertexamen”.

Vasco has won over 50 prizes in international competitions in Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Spain and United Kingdom (Please see “Awards” section for full list of prizes). Recent prizes include: GianClaudio International Prize (Rome), “Grand Prix” at Valletta International Piano Competition (Malta), “Prix Spécial” at Concours International de Piano SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem (Morroco), 1st prize at Porto International Competition Santa Cecília, 1st Prize at Estoril Lisbon Music Competition, 3rd Prize at Münster Steinway & Sons Competition, “Golden Merit Medal” from Matosinhos city (Portugal) and the Prize “Fundação Eng. António de Almeida”

Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchestra Pforzheim
A fresh and gripping musical approach and stylistic diversity from early to contemporary music are the distinctive mark of the Southwest German Chamber Orchestra based in Pforzheim. With a fixed base of fourteen musicians from seven countries the ensemble is one of the very few full-time chamber orchestras and recognized for its exceptional homogeneity and flexibility of the sound.

The Southwest German Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1950 by Friedrich Tilegant, a pupil of Paul Hindemith. The ensemble quickly gained international recognition and was heard at the festivals in Salzburg, Lucerne and Leipzig as well as on world-wide tours and on numerous recordings (Deutsche Grammophon, Vox, Erato, Telefunken, Intercord). Yehudi Menuhin, Maurice André, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Frans Brüggen and Henryk Szeryng were just some of the great musicians who have worked with the orchestra.

Following the Tilegant era the orchestra was directed by Paul Angerer, Vladislav Czarnecki, Sebastian Tewinkel and Timo Handschuh. With the start of the 2019-20 season the British conductor Douglas Bostock has assumed the position of Artistic Director.

The Southwest German Chamber Orchestra has made numerous radio broadcasts and more than 300 recordings, of which a number have been awarded international prizes. Currently the orchestra plays together with renowned soloists such as Nigel Kennedy, Mischa Maisky, Christian Tetzlaff, Lars Vogt, Yuri Bashmet, Lilya Zilberstein, Sergej Krylov, Hansjörg Schellenberger and Bernd Glemser.

It has been invited to perform in almost all European countries (Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Prague Autumn, Flanders Festival, EuroMediterraneo International Festival Rome, Vienna OsterKlang Festival, Auditorio Nacional Madrid, Tonhalle Zurich, Berlin, Munich and Cologne Philharmony, Sala Verdi Milan, Royal Concert Society Antwerp, Great Synagogue Budapest) as well as in the USA and Japan.

Douglas Bostock
The British conductor Douglas Bostock is Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Southwest German Chamber Orchestra.

He previously held positions with the Argovia Philharmonic (Principal Conductor 2001-2019, now Honorary Conductor), the Hallwyl Opera Festival (Music Director), the Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra (Principal Conductor), the Munich Symphony Orchestra (Principal Guest Conductor), the Czech Chamber Philharmonic (Principal Guest Conductor), the Southwest German Philharmonic (Regular Guest Conductor), and Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra (Principal Conductor & Principal Guest Conductor).

Douglas Bostock has conducted many of the leading European, North American and Asian orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, the BBC orchestras, Royal Philharmonic, Prague Radio Symphony, Prague Symphony, Aarhus Symphony, New Japan Philharmonic, Kyoto Symphony, Sapporo Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, National Chamber Orchestra, State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra, and the Calgary Philharmonic. He has appeared at such prestigious international venues and festivals as BBC Proms, Vienna Konzerthaus, Suntory Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, Tonhalle Zurich, Prague Spring Festival, Herkulessaal Munich, Leipzig Gewandhaus and Ravinia Festival.

A prolific recording artist, Douglas Bostock has over 100 CDs to his name, reflecting his diverse and extensive repertoire, and including many less well-known and previously unrecorded works. His major recording cycles of the complete orchestral music of Carl Nielsen and the symphonies of Robert Schumann, as well as the extensive British Symphonic Collection, have won particular international acclaim.

Douglas Bostock is renowned internationally as a teacher of conducting. He has been Guest Professor in the conducting and opera departments at Tokyo University of the Arts, where he has a long-standing relationship. His conducting master classes in many countries are widely acclaimed and enjoy great popularity. Furthermore, keenly embracing the challenge of working with young musicians, he is frequently invited to conduct at conservatoires in Europe and Asia, and is Visiting Professor at Senzoku Gakuen College of Music in Japan.