Dinis Sousa

Dinis Sousa is Principal Conductor of the Royal Northern Sinfonia (RNS), Associate Conductor of the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras, and Founder and Artistic Director of Orquestra XXI, an award-winning orchestra which brings together some of the finest young Portuguese musicians from around the world.

With the RNS he has appeared twice at the BBC Proms, with soloists Kristian Bezuidenhout and Nicholas Daniel, and during the 2023/24 season he embarked upon a complete cycle of Robert Schumann’s symphonies at The Glasshouse in Gateshead in addition to a performance of Das Paradies und die Peri which won a 5* review from The Times. Other highlights with RNS this season include a world premiere by Cassandra Miller, collaborations with soloists Christian Tetzlaff, Steven Isserlis and Elizabeth Leonskaja, and a UK tour.

With the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras, Sousa won critical acclaim for performances of Berlioz’s Les Troyens in 2023, including at the Salzburg Festival, Berlin Musikfest and the BBC Proms. Among many 5* reviews, the Guardian wrote that “Sousa was electrifying in moments of grandeur, high drama and emotional intensity.” Later in 2023 he made his debut at Carnegie Hall conducting the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists in two programmes of Bach and Handel as part of a North American tour.

As a guest conductor, Sousa makes his debut this season with the Swedish Radio Symphony, and next season with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican. Other recent engagements have included the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Brahms’ German Requiem with Christian Gerhaher, Lenneke Ruiten and the Monteverdi Choir), BBC Philharmonic, Gulbenkian and Ulster Orchestras. His operatic experience includes Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia (Nevill Holt Opera) and Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande (Orquestra XXI).

Recent highlights with Orquestra XXI have included opening the Gulbenkian Foundation’s season, and a critically acclaimed tour of Mahler’s Symphony No 5 to celebrate the orchestra’s 10th anniversary. In recognition of his work with Orquestra XXI, he was awarded the title of Knight of the Order of Prince Henry in Portugal.