Lionel Meunier
Internationally renowned as the founder and artistic director of the Belgian vocal ensemble Vox Luminis, the French conductor and bass Lionel Meunier is widely regarded as one of the most dynamic and highly acclaimed artistic leaders active today in the field of historical performance and is increasingly in demand as a guest conductor and artistic director with choirs, ensembles and orchestras worldwide.
Lionel Meunier’s international breakthrough came in 2012 with Vox Luminis’s Gramophone Recording of the Year award for their recording of Heinrich Schütz’s Musikalische Exequien. Under his leadership, the ensemble has since embarked on extensive concert tours throughout Europe, North America and Asia, established multi-season artistic residencies at the Wigmore Hall, Aldeburgh Festival, Utrecht Early Music Festival and Concertgebouw Bruges, and recorded more than a dozen albums. Their recording of Buxtehude won them their second Gramophone Award.
As a guest conductor, Lionel Meunier has worked with the Netherlands Bach Society, Danish National Vocal Ensemble, Netherlands Chamber Choir and the Boston Early Music Festival, and has led projects with Vox Luminis in collaboration with B’Rock Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and L’Achéron, among many others. He maintains a close relationship with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and Consort, returning regularly to lead collaborative projects with Vox Luminis that cover a wide repertory.
Engagements in the 2023/24 season include tours of Europe and the USA with Vox Luminis, a residency at the Paris Conservatoire, where he conducts Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and St John Passion, and concerts based around Purcell’s Ode on St Cecilia’s Day at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.
Born in France, Lionel Meunier trained as a singer and recorder player and began his career as a bass in renowned ensembles such as Collegium Vocale Gent, Amsterdam Baroque Choir and Capella Pratensis. In 2013, he was awarded the title of Namurois de l’Année (Namur Citizen of the Year) for culture in the Belgian town of Namur.