CONDUCTOR

Florentino Dias is Music Director and Regular Conductor of the Rio de Janeiro Philharmonic Orchestra since 1978.

Born in Alagoas State, Northeast of Brazil, Maestro Dias is founder of three symphony orchestras in Rio de Janeiro, as follow: The Youth Orchestra of Music School of the Federal University; The Synphony Orchestra and Chorus of Rio de Janeiro Federal University; and the Rio de Janeiro Philharmonic Orchestra. He studied with great masters, as for example Eleazar de Carvalho, Francisco Mignone, Robert Wykes and Harold Blumenfeld. Maestro Dias is Professor at Federal University, where was honoured several times by the Academic Council, and made his Master Degree at the Washington University for two years.

His academic byography goes from the first step till the top.

Maestro Dias has been invited-conductor of many international orchestras, as Summer Festivals in Florida and New York, Versailles Chamber Orchestra (France), Rockbridge Symphony Orchestra (USA), Jelenia Góra Symphony (Poland), Croacia Symphony Orchestra (in Zagreb), Cairo Symphony (Egypt), Sanremo Symphony (Italy), Algarve Orchestra (Portugal), La Crosse Symphony, in Wisconsin (USA), and in Brazil the National Symphony Orchestra, Brazilian Symphony Orchestra and São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra.

He holds many brazilians awards, as: eulogies from the University Consil of the Rio de Janeiro Federal University, Rio de Janeiro Citizen and Golden Baton (from the Rio de Janeiro Government) and the Medals: Navy Merit Order, Pedro Ernesto Merit, Palmares Merit and April 22 (from the Sarah Kubitschek Cultural Association).

Out of Brazil, several awards have been conceded to him by the International Biographical Centre, in England, as the title DDG IOM (Deputy Director General in the International Order of the Merit) and the trophy Da Vinci Diamond, and by the American Biographical Institute, in the United States: The Presidential Seal of Honor "For Examplary Achievement in the Field of Music" consigned by the Consul of those Countries with an "Applause Vote" by the Brazilian Senate.

Finaly in July of 2007 he was honored at the World Forum in Washington D.C. with the Medal "International Professional of the Year 2007" in his speciallity, by IBC, and with the creation of "Florentino Dias Award Foundation" by ABI. There he presented a compact DVD of the Rio de Janeiro Philharmonic with a chorus of children from a poor community, for representatives of more than 40 countries. Several of them are asking for us to buy the complete DVD.

His principal characteristics are to protect brazilian professional musicians, to present concerts in poor communities as Rocinha, Mangueira and others, and to conduct pieces from brazilian composers out of our borders.