António Breitenfeld Sá-Dantas

https://antoniosadantas.com/

António Breitenfeld Sá-Dantas is a composer, conductor and performer. In all the different sides of his creative output he finds one source — looking for novelty, wonder and expression through sound. He has composed works for orchestra, ensemble, choir, voice as well as performative works and installations.

During his artistic residency at the Millay Colony for the Arts (USA) in the summer of 2016, he composed the radio music play Eine Schwalbe falten on a text by Margret Kreidl, commissioned and broadcasted by the Austrian national radio Ö1. He has also had a long standing relationship with the Portuguese national radio Antena 2 leading up to this years broadcast of the Portuguese version of this music theatre for radio. Dobrar uma Andorinha was broadcast, with the renowned actress Rita Blanco playing the main role in Oct. and Nov. 2018. Antena 2 has also commissioned a new work in form a music theatre for radio for 2019. António was Casa da Música’s Young Composer in Residence 2016. For that position he was commissioned three works: perante sonora flor esta, Ferocidade and Désir t’a appris l’inanité du désir, all premiered in Casa da Música by leading ensembles. His earlier work Cantos for choir a cappella was awarded the 2nd prize in the Styria Cantat Choir Competition in 2015 and was subsequently recorded and published.

António is the co-creator and principal conductor of the Cat’s Cradle Collective (CCC), an ensemble dedicated to performing music across ages and genres; and the Voyage Ensemble, an ensemble that explores experimental film music. In December 2018 he will conduct the CCC with the UK premiere of his work Désir t’a appris in the Royal College of Music Concert Hall, including works by Bach, Lutoslawski, Pärt and the renaissance composer Brunet.

His work as a composer and performer merged into each other with the creation of the music+dance performance Suspensão. Co-created and performed by António, choreographer Clara Andermatt and improviser Jonas Runa, Suspensão has been touring ever since its premiere in 2016 through the most prominent concert halls in Portugal. He recently worked with visual artist Judith Deschamps on a work exploring artificial intelligence in recreating Farinelli’s voice.

He has a Masters in Composition from the Royal College of Music London, where he studied with Jonathan Cole; and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Composition and in Orchestra Conducting from the Kunstuniversität Graz, where he studied with Beat Furrer and Martin Siegahrt, respectively.



Sendungen im ORF-Kunstradio:

19. 07. 2020: Eine Schwalbe falten



BIOGRAPHIES