Robert Houssart
Robert Houssart studied at Cambridge University and at the Royal Northern College of Music. This is second season with Manchester University Chorus. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians of his generation, with a broad repertoire that includes extensive experience in contemporary music and in period performance. This season’s highlights include working on Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre at Theâtre de la Monnaie, Brussels and English National Opera, Jonathan Dove’s Swanhunter at Opera North, Verdi’s Ernani in Bilbao, and Hans-Werner Henze’s Elegy for Young Lovers (ENO), as well as Wagner’s Götterdämmerung at the Hallé for Sir Mark Elder. He also gave a recital to mark the birthday of the composer Jonathan Harvey.
As conductor of the Yorke Trust he conducted productions of Rameau’s Castor et Pollux and Handel’s Theodora, and concerts of Bach, Handel and John Adams with students of the RNCM and DIT (Dublin). Robert has appeared regularly at the Three Choirs Festival, most recently performing Haydn, Elgar and Strauss’ Metamorphosen, and worked as chorus master with the Three Choirs Festival Chorus, with English Touring Opera and with choruses across the UK.
Born in Holland, Robert held organ and academic scholarships at St John’s College, Cambridge, graduating with a double first-class degree. Between 2000 and 2008 he worked full time at Westminster and Gloucester Cathedrals, and was Acting Director of Music at Gloucester and at Bath Abbey before embarking on a career in opera, combined with further study at the Royal Northern College of Music.
Robert has worked with Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Mark Elder, Martyn Brabbins and the late Richard Hickox, and with the CBSO and Hallé choruses. He has appeared frequently on Radio 3 and 4 and on Classic FM, and recorded for Naxos, Hyperion, Regent and Avie. As a keyboard player he won critical acclaim (“…his virtuosity seems to know no bounds” Birmingham Post), and has appeared in recital all over the world. His work in the field of improvisation won him several international prizes. He has also appeared as a soloist with the Philharmonia, with the BBC Philharmonic and the Orchestra of the Paris Conservatoire.
