Sebastiano De Filippi, praised for his interpretation of the classics of Western music, is also respected for his work in disseminating lesser-known scores, and for his commitment to the development of the ensembles he leads. His activity as a guest conductor of opera, ballet and concert spans 18 countries on four continents.
Trained in the school of Antonino Votto, he holds Bachelor (EDO), Master (RAM), and Doctorate (UCA) degrees in Music. He attended advanced courses at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena and at the Instituto Superior de Arte at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. His training encompasses studies in choral conducting, composition, chamber music, piano, violin and voice, developed between Europe and America. He completed his preparation attending rehearsals by Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti and Nello Santi.
He was a finalist in conducting competitions in Spain and Argentina, after which he began a career that led him to conduct most orchestras of the latter country, including the National Symphony, the Teatro Colón Resident, the Buenos Aires Philharmonic, the National Argentine Music, the Mendoza Philharmonic, the Mar del Plata Symphony, the Río Negro Philharmonic, the Avellaneda Symphony, the Rosario City Chamber and the Academic Camerata of the Teatro Argentino in La Plata. He also worked with the National Polyphonic, National Polyphonic for the Blind, National Argentine Music and National Children choirs. He performed at the main theatres (Colón, Argentino, Gran Rex) and halls (Centro Cultural Kirchner, Usina del Arte, Auditorio de Belgrano) in Buenos Aires, and made records.
His international career led him to conduct concerts, ballets and operas in Paraguay (Asuncion), Chile (La Serena), Bolivia (La Paz), Brazil (Brasilia), Costa Rica (San José), Ecuador (Cuenca), Mexico (Monterrey), United States (San Jose, Valparaiso, Irvine, Chattanooga, Riverside), South Korea (Seoul), Egypt (Cairo), Germany (Ratingen), Hungary (Budapest), Czech Republic (Pardubice), Croatia (Zagreb), Netherlands (Zwolle), Spain (Valladolid), and Italy (Grosseto, Fermo, Rome).
His performances at the helm of the Symphony Orchestra of the National Congress of Paraguay, the National Symphony Orchestra of Bolivia, the Symphony Orchestra of the National Theatre in Brasilia, the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, the Con Spirito Chamber Orchestra of Budapest and the Croatian Chamber Orchestra of Zagreb were of particular relevance.
In recent seasons, he has conducted “The Nutcracker” with the Anaheim Ballet at the City National Grove of that location, and “La Traviata” at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul, in the staging by Henning Brockhaus for the Macerata Opera Festival; this production was previously conducted by Lorin Maazel, Bruno Bartoletti, Zubin Mehta, and Gianluigi Gelmetti. He worked with instrumentalists Hana Kotková, Rodolfo Mederos, Alberto Nosè, Daniel Binelli, Gianfranco Bortolato, and Néstor Marconi, and singers Nadine Secunde, Chris Merritt, Marcelo Álvarez, José Cura, Luciano Ganci, Juan Pons, Carlo Guelfi, and Kurt Rydl.
He was programming director (Studienleiter) of the Teatro Municipal Roma in Avellaneda, music director of the Ópera de La Pampa, artistic director of the Pergolesi Festival in Buenos Aires, honorary director of the Antonio Salieri Cultural Association, associate director of the Orchestra Sinfonica Giovanile di Legnago, and principal conductor of the American National Opera Company. Since 2013 he is Music Director of the National Congress Chamber Orchestra, a position won through international tender.
His experience ranges from early Baroque to contemporary music. He stands out especially for his operatic performances. Among the twenty opera productions he was in charge of, the South American premiere of Verdi’s “Un giorno di regno” and the Argentine premiere of Holst’s “Savitri” received praise from the international press; new productions of Donizetti’s “La favorite” and Bellini’s “Norma” earned him the Stimulus Award from the Association of Music Critics of Argentina.
He is very active as a musicologist and teacher. He was invited to lecture, speak and work with youth ensembles by institutions in Germany, Italy, Spain, Czech Republic, United States, Ecuador, Chile, and Argentina, including universities in Düsseldorf (Robert Schumann Hochschule), San Jose, Valparaiso, Chattanooga, Riverside, Lookout Mountain, La Serena, La Paz, Buenos Aires, Resistencia, and Rio Cuarto. He currently heads the Latin-American Academy of Orchestral Conducting.
As a writer, he has contributed notes to program books, articles to scientific journals, and chapters to scholarly volumes. He is the author or co-author of ten books published in three languages, including “Ensayos de ópera: De la música a la musicología”, “Notas sinfónicas: Una panorama del repertorio orquestal”, and “The Other Toscanini: The life and works of Héctor Panizza”.
He was named a Knight and an Official in the Merit Order of the Italian Republic by the President of that country, and a Knight in the Arts and Letters Order by the Ministry of Culture of the French Republic. He is Peace Ambassador of the international movement Mil Milenios de Paz (UNESCO) and Honorary Member of the Argentine Association of Composers.
Formerly a member of the Conductors Guild and the League of American Orchestras, he is currently a member of the Argentine Musicology Association and the Argentine Musicians Union. He has thirty years of international experience behind him as an opera, oratorio and chamber singer (bass-baritone). He has completed extensive university studies in the humanities and social sciences. He speaks five languages.
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