About ViVA

André de Ridder
Principal Conductor

André de Ridder's firm grounding in the classical/romantic repertoire, coupled with his passion for a far-reaching range of the arts, have contributed to his position as one of the most fascinating conductors emerging today.

He was appointed Principal Conductor of sinfonia ViVA from the 2007/08 season, and a range of typically adventurous programmes have been devised for his first few seasons. De Ridder has made his debut with the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, BBC Scottish, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Scottish Chamber and Ulster Orchestras and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, leading to many re-invitations. In Germany, he has worked with the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Kammerakademie Potsdam, SWR Stuttgart, Ensemble Oriol and with the orchestra at the Komische Oper. He made his debut at the BBC Proms in 2006 with the Britten Sinfonia, returning with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in 2007. He regularly returns to the Hallé Orchestra where held the position of Assistant Conductor from 2005-2006. The 2008/09 season will feature him making a number of notable debuts, including Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Het Brabants Orkest, Sinfonieorchester St Gallen and the opera orchestras in Copenhagen and Hannover.

He has earned a substantial reputation as a devoted supporter of new music. In January 2008, he made his debut appearance at the London's Barbican Hall, as part of the BBC Symphony Orchestra's Judith Weir weekend. This season, De Ridder returns to the Philharmonia Orchestra's 'Music of Today' series, performing works by Hans Abrahamsen. Appearing on this series in the past, he has also profiled Saariaho, Holt, Rihm and Francesconi. Elsewhere in the 2008/2009 season, he will give premiere performances of works by such composers as Mark Anthony Turnage, Nico Muhly, Haukur Tomasson, Uri Caine and Olga Neuwirth.

André de Ridder's debut at English National Opera was in the world premiere run of Gerald Barry's opera The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, a work he revived at Theater Basel in spring 2008. His ENO debut resulted in an immediate reinvitation to conduct The Marriage of Figaro. At the Salzburg Festival, he worked on the world premiere production of Hans Werner Henze's Opera L'Upupa oder Der Triumph der Sohnesliebe, and at the Teatro Real in Madrid in December 2004, he was Musical Director for a hugely acclaimed production of Henze's El Cimarrón. In 2008/2009, he will return to Grange Park Opera to conduct The Cunning Little Vixen. He also is undertaking the premiere performances of Damon Albarn's highly successful Monkey: Journey to the West, and made his debut at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden with this work in July 2008. De Ridder has previously performed the work at the inaugural Manchester International Festival and at the Théâtre du Châtelet Paris.

Brought up and educated in Berlin, André de Ridder subsequently studied at the Music Academies of Vienna and London where he studied with Leopold Hager and Sir Colin Davis. As a post-graduate student, he was appointed as Young Conductor in Association with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

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Photo credit: Marco Borggreve