Lisbon Choral Conducting Masterclass 2026

Nova Era presents its seventh edition of Lisbon Choral Conducting Masterclass from the 3rd to the 6th September 2026 for conductors, music teachers, students and choral enthusiasts.

Download the flyer of the event here.

Applications now open !

There is a very limited number of places available, the foundation and intermediate levels are strictly limited to 10 participants each and the advanced levels to 18 participants (divided in Group A and Group B). To secure your place, fill in the application form below.

Nova Era presents its seventh edition of Lisbon Choral Conducting Masterclass from the 3rd to the 6th September 2026 for conductors, music teachers, students and choral enthusiasts. This choral conducting masterclass gives you a unique opportunity to gain expertise with Raquel Couto, the principal conductor of the Casa da Música Children’s Choir, Angeliki Ploka, the Artistic Director and founder of the The Hague Vocal Ensemble and conductor of Kamerkoor Lux, Krista Audere, the conductor of the VU-Kamerkoor, Kamerkoor Venus, and Daniel Reuss, the artistic director of Cappella Amsterdam.

The courses are designed to meet the needs and abilities of each individual - from beginners to experienced conductors. The classes will focus on the conducting technique, rehearsal technique, vocal technique and interpretation.

The masterclass offers an exceptional opportunity of working with a group of advanced singers and professional musicians of Nova Era Vocal Ensemble and the singers of Coro Regina Coeli, Nova Era Schola and Coro iscte. We would also like to extend the invitation to those who simply wish to observe.

The masterclass will take place at Iscte - University Institute of Lisbon, situated in the centre of Lisbon. The particular classes will provide intensive instruction in choral conducting given by inspirational teachers.

Each student will have the opportunity to participate in the final concert which will be closing the weekend masterclass.

This masterclass offers

Excellent guidance
Unique opportunity to work with Nova Era Vocal Ensemble, Coro Regina Coeli, Nova Era Schola and Coro Iscte
Introduction of new repertoire
Conducting time in the final-day concert
Professional recording of the concert
Certificate of participation for active and passive participants
Observer places available

REPERTOIRE available soon

RAQUEL couto

FOUNDATION LEVEL

Raquel Couto was born in Porto. She graduated in Choral Conducting under Maestro Paulo Lourenço at the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa.
Principal Conductor of the Casa da Música Children’s Choir.
Founder and Artistic Director of Coro Lira (Children’s, Youth and Adult Choir). The Lira Children and Youth Choir, conducted by Raquel Couto, premiered ten works by Portuguese composers in the production “Coisas Que Não Há Que Há” , as well as “Aurora – Ópera para uma Epopeia dos Tempos Modernos”.
Assistant Conductor in performances of Symphony No. 4 by Charles Ives and Das klagende Lied by Mahler with the Porto Symphony Orchestra Casa da Música.
Member of the Education Service team at Casa da Música, where she creates and leads workshops and performances for children.

Angeliki Ploka

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

Greek choral conductor Angeliki Ploka is the Artistic Director and founder of the The Hague Vocal Ensemble and conductor of Kamerkoor Lux. Her international work spans Greece, Spain, Hungary, Ireland, and Belgium, where she has collaborated with a wide range of ensembles, including, among others, the Vlaams Radiokoor and Chamber Choir Ireland.
Angeliki is on the faculty of the Royal Conservatoire The Hague, where she teaches music theory, choir, and conducting. She is frequently invited to adjudicate choral festivals and competitions and to lead workshops across Europe on choral conducting, choral singing, and music pedagogy.
In 2020, she was appointed Chief Conductor of the Greek Radio Choir, where she developed innovative programming and led the ensemble in concerts, broadcasts, and television productions for two seasons, navigating the challenges of the pandemic.
As a member of the young conductors team of TENSO, she worked with professional ensembles such as Cappella Amsterdam, the Helsinki Chamber Choir, and the Norwegian Soloists’ Choir.
Angeliki studied classical singing, choral conducting, music pedagogy, and musicology at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague, the Liszt Academy of Music, and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She holds diplomas in piano and music theory and has been supported by scholarships from the International Kodály Society, the Onassis Foundation, and the State Scholarships Foundation of Greece.

KRISTA AUDERE

ADVANCED LEVEL

Krista Audere is a conductor of Latvian origin, now based in the Netherlands.
She is currently the conductor of the VU-Kamerkoor, Kamerkoor Venus, and is regularly engaged as a guest conductor of the Dutch Chamber Choir, the Dutch Radio Choir and Cappella Amsterdam.
As from 2024 Krista is appointed as main subject teacher Choral Conducting at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague.
Starting in 2025 she is named as first ever Principal Guest Conductor of the Swedish Radio Choir.
In 2028 Krista Audere will be following Daniel Reuss as the artistic leader and chief conductor of Cappella Amsterdam.
Krista Audere is the winner of the Eric Ericson award 2021.
In the 2026/27 season she has engagements with the Swedish Radio Choir, the Bavarian Radio Choir, the Danish National Vocal Ensemble, the Berlin Radio Choir, RIAS Kammerchor, NDR Vokalensemble and Coro Casa da Musica.
Krista Audere is a frequent jury member in conducting and choir competitions, as well as giving masterclasses on choral conducting.
She attained the Bachelor’s degree in choral conducting at Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music while enriching her musical experience at the University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart. In 2016 Krista obtained the Masters diploma and graduated cum laude at the Amsterdam University of the Arts.

DANIEL REUSS

ADVANCED LEVEL

Daniel Reuss (1961) studied choral conducting at the Rotterdam Conservatory with Barend Schuurman. At the age of 21 he founded the Early Music Choir Arnhem. In 1990, Daniel Reuss became artistic director of Cappella Amsterdam. In recent years, under his artistic direction, the ensemble has acquired a prominent position in both early music and the modern and contemporary repertoire in the Netherlands.
From 2003 to 2006 he was chief conductor of the RIAS Kammerchor in Berlin. With this choir he made a number of successful CDs, such as Le Vin Herbé (Martin), Solomon (Händel) and Les Noces (Stravinsky). The CDs were awarded various prizes, including the Preis der Deutsche Schallplattenkritik, Echo Award, Diapason d’Or and Choc du Monde de la Musique.
From 2008 to 2013, Daniel Reuss combined his work as artistic director of Cappella Amsterdam with the chief conductorship of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir.
Daniel Reuss regularly collaborates with ensembles and orchestras from all over Europe, such as the Orchestra of the 18th Century, Akademie für Alte Musik, Rundfunkchor Berlin, Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla, Orquesta de Granada, Real Filharmonia de Galicia and Vocal Consort Berlin. He is a principal subject teacher at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, and gives masterclasses in choral conducting in Europe and beyond.
With Cappella Amsterdam he released very positively received CDs, such as Lux Aeterna (awarded the Diapason d’Or 2009), the CD with psalms by Sweelinck and the CD with Janáček Choral Works, which received an Edison. The CDs Missa Solemnis (Beethoven) and Ein Deutsches Requiem (Brahms) in collaboration with the Orchestra of the 18th Century and soloists such as Carolyn Sampson were also critically acclaimed.
From 2015-2020, Daniel Reuss was chief conductor of the Ensemble Vocal Lausanne.
In November 2016 he received the Robbon of Honour (Ridder in de Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw).

MAsterclass fees

For Beginner and Intermediate levels, registration will only be confirmed after the payment.

For Advanced level, the participants must wait for the results of the candidates’ selection. The registration will then be confirmed after the payment.

After filling in the application form, we will contact you via e-mail with all the information including payment details.

notes

Fees include coffee/tea breaks
Does not include charges for accommodation / catering (except coffee/tea breaks)
Payment method accepted: bank transfer
Early bird rates to applications received and paid in full by 1st May 2026 for all levels
Only full payment secures your place
In case of cancellation until July 1st, 80% of the amount paid will be refunded; in case of cancellation after the 1st of July, there will be no refund