Conrad van Alphen

The conductor CONRAD VAN ALPHEN has gained tremendous popularity with orchestras and audiences alike for his visionary masterful and charismatic interpretations. Born in Pretoria (1963) and raised in South Africa, after completing his musical education, he moved to the Netherlands at the age of 26 to live and work. He joined the Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Belgian chamber orchestra Academia Beethoven in Antwerp as a double bass player, while continuing his conducting studies with Eri Klas and Roberto Benzi. He was principal conductor of the Safonov Academic Symphony Orchestra for four years. As an artist of the Moscow Philharmonic Society, he regularly conducts the major Moscow orchestras in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory and the legendary Tchaikovsky Hall. He has actively collaborated with Mikhail Pletnev and the Russian National Orchestra, with whom he has toured Russia, Estonia, Switzerland, Italy, Colombia, and China. At the turn of the millennium, Conrad van Alphen founded Sinfonia Rotterdam, of which he remains chief conductor and artistic director. The ensemble's repertoire includes works from different eras, and the orchestra presents successful concert series at de Doelen in Rotterdam, Amare in The Hague, and at the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Under Conrad’s energetic leadership, Sinfonia Rotterdam is regularly invited to perform at venues and festivals around Europe and tours internationally to Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Turkey, China, and Russia. Conrad van Alphen boasts an impressive array of appearances with orchestras such as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, the Stuttgart Philharmonic, Bochumer Symphoniker, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, Russian National Orchestra, Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Residentie Orchestra The Hague, Bogota Philharmonic, George Enescu Philharmonic Bucharest, Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, and many more. He has collaborated with soloists of the highest calibre, including Mikhail Pletnev, Maxim Vengerov, Nikolai Lugansky, Ronald Brautigam, Alexei Volodin, Simone Lamsma, Alena Baeva, Benjamin Schmid, Nikita Boriso-Glebsky, Alban Gerhardt, and Mischa Maisky. His recordings have been released by prestigious labels such as Channel Classics, Telarc, Talent Records, Cybele, ARS Produktion, and Brilliant Classics, while Sinfonia Live presents his performances on YouTube. In addition to being chief conductor and artistic director of Sinfonia Rotterdam, Conrad van Alphen is involved in the program of the renowned Festival van Zeeuwsch-Vlaanderen in the province of Zeeland, the Netherlands.