Vladimir Vlad Conta is a Romanian born Swiss-Canadian conductor, whose evolution is marked by a twofold artistic upbringing: piano and conducting, pursued in Switzerland and accomplished in Austria and Italy; by a career which started in Monte Carlo, Geneva and Torino and was continued overseas – in Canada and the US and, last but not least, in Romania; by a varied repertoire – symphonic works, opera and ballet- built up with prestigious orchestras all over the world.
Engagements have taken him to the Staatsoper Hamburg, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, USA, the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the National Russian Orchestra in Moscow, the RAI Torino Orchestra, the Vancouver, Edmonton, Quebec Symphony orchestras, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, the St. Gallen Orchestra and others.
Vladimir Vlad Conta has been conducting the National Opera of Bucharest (in over 500 performances) since 2001, as well as guest conducting at different opera houses and symphony orchestras both in Romania and abroad. His career started as a coach at the Monte Carlo Opera and at Grand Théâtre de Genève in Switzerland; the position of Kapellmeister at the Stadt Theater in Biel – Bienne (Switzerland) followed, as well as that of principal guest conductor at Teatro Regio di Torino. Between 1989 and 1999 he took the position of Music Director and Conductor of the Regina Symphony (Canada).
Vladimir Conta attended the George Enescu Music Academy of Bucharest, his debut taking place at age 13, as a piano soloist with the National Radio Orchestra, conducted by Iosif Conta, his father and a famous Romanian conductor himself. The prizes he received at several piano competitions in Europe smoothed his way to his studies at the prestigious Geneva Conservatoire de Musique of Switzerland. Training at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, under pianist and conductor Carlo Zecchi’s guidance and at the Chigiana Music Academy in Sienna, Italy, with Italian conductor Franco Ferrara completed Vladimir Vlad Conta’s studies.
Highlights of Vladimir Conta’s international career include his American debut, in 1997, with pianist Radu Lupu and the National Symphony Orchestra, in a series of very successful concerts in Washington, DC. Two years later he was acclaimed in Moscow, where he conducted the National Russian Orchestra in a Beethoven/Berlioz program.
In 2000, Vladimir Conta made his London debut at the Royal Festival Hall, conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra in several concerts, with a program which included all Tchaikovsky’s piano works performed by Russian pianist Mikhail Pletnev. 2006 he conducted for the first time in Rome, presenting a Bartok/Enescu/Beethoven program with the Orchestra di Roma e del Lazio.
He is an Honorary Citizen of Fort Worth (Texas, US); he received the 125th Anniversary Medal of Canada for cultural merit and was awarded the Ludovic Spiess Prize by the Romanian Musical Forum in 2011.
Vladimir Conta became an honorary member of the “Moldova” Philharmonic of Jassi in 2012.