It was while Philippe Herreweghe was still studying at the conservatory in Ghent, the town of his birth, that he founded the now world-famous Collegium Vocale. Over the following two decades he created a unique group of ensembles with a variable make-up, including Chapelle Royale and the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées. From 1982 until 2001, Philippe Herreweghe was the artistic director of the summer festival Les Academies Musicales de Saintes. In recent years he has increasingly conducted traditional orchestras such as Concertgebouworkest Amsterdam, the Vienna Philharmonic, and Philharmoniker Berlin. Philippe Herreweghe’s collaboration with RIAS Kammerchor dates back to 1997.
