Lionel Meunier

Internationally renowned as the founder and artistic director of the award-winning Belgian vocal ensemble Vox Luminis, French conductor and bass Lionel Meunier is widely regarded as one of the most dynamic and highly acclaimed artistic leaders in the fields of historical performance and choral music active today. Praised for his detailed yet spirited interpretative approach, he is now increasingly in demand as a guest conductor and artistic director with choirs, ensembles, and orchestras worldwide.

Lionel’s international breakthrough came in 2012 with Vox Luminis’ Gramophone Recording of Year award for their recording of Heinrich Schütz’s Musikalische Exequien. Under his leadership, Vox Luminis has since embarked on extensive concert tours throughout Europe, North America, and Asia; established multi-season artistic residencies at Wigmore Hall, Aldeburgh Festival, Utrecht Early Music Festival, and Concertgebouw Brugge; and recorded over a dozen critically acclaimed albums. Their recent recording of Buxtehude won them their second Gramophone Award, for 2019 Choral Recording of the Year.  

As a guest conductor, Lionel has worked with Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall, Netherlands Bach Society, Danish National Vocal Ensemble, Netherlands Chamber Choir, Salzburg Bach Choir and the Boston Early Music Festival Collegium, and has led projects with Vox Luminis in collaboration with Orchestra B’Rock, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and L’Achéron, among many others. Lionel maintains a close relationship with the Freiburger Barockorchester and Freiburger BarockConsort, returning regularly to lead collaborative projects with Vox Luminis that cover a wide repertoire. He is a regular guest at the Juilliard School, where he leads projects with Juilliard 415 and Vocal Arts students.  

Born in France, Lionel was trained as a singer and recorder player and began his career as a bass in renowned ensembles such as Collegium Vocale Gent, 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, where he lives with his family.