Conductor
Until May 2023, the choir was directed by Marco Berrini. Since June, the CGI has been led by Filippo Maria Bressan
Conductor
Until May 2023, the choir was directed by Marco Berrini. Since June, the CGI has been led by Filippo Maria Bressan
Filippo Maria Bressan is one of those reserved conductors who defies the stereotypes of the globetrotting artist, yet he is also one of the few Italian conductors to have been invited to lead orchestras and ensembles of the highest prestige, such as the Orchestra and Chorus of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the RAI National Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. A regular guest of major concert societies and leading festivals of symphonic, early, and contemporary music, his extensive experience has included working alongside musicians such as C. Abbado, L. Berio, M.W. Chung, C.M. Giulini, L. Maazel, M. Nyman, G. Prêtre, M. Rostropovich, G. Sinopoli, A. Pärt, R. Buchbinder, M. Campanella, B. Canino, A. Carbonare, G. Carmignola, P. De Maria, E. Dindo, M. Fröst, B. Lupo, A. Lucchesini, S. Mingardo, G. Sollima, and many others. Described by Giulini as a conductor of “noble and elegant simplicity”—eclectic, anti-social media, and athletic—he has chosen to follow his own passions rather than a predetermined career path, carefully selecting both his repertoire and his concert and musical activities in general. He has conducted in various theaters and concert halls across Europe and South America, ranging from J.S. Bach’s overtures to L. Berio’s *Rendering*, from Handel’s oratorios to various operas by Mozart, Rossini, and a few by Verdi. Always passionate about choral music, he served as music director of the Choir of the Accademia Nazionale Santa Cecilia in Rome (2000–2002) and was the founder and director—until their dissolution—of the Athestis Chorus and Academia de li Musici, a professional ensemble performing on period instruments. He has conducted many choral ensembles, including the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, the World Youth Choir (2005 and 2016), the Italian Youth Choir (2003–2004 and 2006), the Norwegian and French Youth Choirs, the Estonian National Male Choir, the Poznań Theater Choir, the La Fenice Theater Choir in Venice, the Teatro Lirico Choir in Cagliari, the Teatro Carlo Felice Choir in Genoa, and others, in symphonic-choral and operatic productions. It has collaborated with Feniarco, the European Choral Association, IFCM, and other institutions, and has recorded for RAI and foreign radio and television stations, releasing recordings on Amadeus, Chandos Records, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, and Virgin.
One of the most active choral, orchestral and teaching conductors today, both in Italy and abroad, Marco Berrini began his professional activity as substitute maestro conductor of the RAI Chamber Choir in Rome and later collaborated with the theaters of Malaga, Seville, Genoa and with the orchestra and choir of the Community of Madrid. He has conducted in the Middle East and South America, where he was also guest conductor of the Argentine National Youth Choir and the Choir of the Municipal Theater of Cordoba. He is guest conductor of FORM, Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana and founder of the professional vocal ensemble Ars Cantica Choir & Consort and conductor of the Vocalia Consort in Rome, with whom he has won numerous first prizes in national and international competitions.
Since 2017 he has conducted the choir of the Almo Collegio Borromeo in Pavia and since 2020 the Choir of the State University of Milan. He is the founder, artistic director and teacher of the Milano Choral Academy, an international training and improvement school for choral conductors and singers, active since 2010. He has edited music editions for BMM, Carrara, Carisch, Discantica, Rugginenti and Suvini Zerboni. He teaches choir conducting and choral composition at the Conservatorio A. Steffani in Castelfranco Veneto.
