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, Salzburg Bach 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.
Highlights of the 2024/25 season included his debut with the Orchestra of St Luke’s at New York’s Carnegie Hall, where he conducted works by Bach and Vivaldi, his return to the Juilliard School with a Handel programme, and extensive tours with Vox Luminis and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra throughout Europe and North America.
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, the 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.
