The Brazilian conductor Ligia Amadio was the first woman to win a ward in 30 years at the Tokyo International Music Competition for Conducting, in 1997. She won the first prize at the II Latin-American Competition for Conducting in Santiago, Chile, in March 1998. She has received the prize “Best Conductor of the Year” in Brazil, awarded by APCA (São Paulo Association of Critics of Art) in 2001, conducting the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo (OSESP). In 2012 she was distinguished again as “Best Conductor” by the Carlos Gomes Award, in Brazil, among another prizes.
Ligia Amadio was the chief conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra, Rio de Janeiro from 1996 to 2008, elected by the musicians. Previously Miss Amadio was assistant conductor at National Theater Symphony Orchestra, Brasília. Between October 2000 and December 2003 she was also the chief conductor of Cuyo National University’s Symphony Orchestra, Mendoza, Argentina. Ligia Amadio directed the Symphony Orchestra of Campinas (Brazil) in 2009 and from August of that year, at the request of the musicians, she took the baton of OSUSP (The Symphonic Orchestra of The University of São Paulo), until the end of 2012. In 2010, also at the request of the members, she was invited to take over the artistic directorship of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Mendoza, where she has been the chief conductor until 2014, when she was invited to be the Chief Conductor of the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra, where developed a Season completely devoted to music of XX Century. In 2016, Amadio was elected both by the members of Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, in Argentina, and of Montevideo Philharmonic Orchestra, in Uruguay, as the Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the orchestras. She decided She decided not to hold both positions and will take over the direction of the Montevideo Philharmonic in 2017.
Her international career began in 1992. Since then Ligia Amadio has conducted important orchestras in Argentina, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, French, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Netherlands, Panamá, Peru, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, United States of America and Venezuela (Jerusalém Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, Simfoniki RTV Slovenija, Thailand Philarmonic Orchestra, State of São Paulo Symphonic Orchestra, Baden-Badener Philharmonie, Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, Lebanese Symphony Orchestra, Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra, Chile National Symphony Orchestra, Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, Perú National Symphony Orchestra, Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra, Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra, Orkiestrę Symfoniczną Filharmonii Szczecińskiej, Orkiestra Symfoniczna Filharmonii Czestochowskiej, Ensemble Contrechamps, Savaria Symphony Orchestra, The Congress Symphony Orchestra, Silesian Opera Orchestra, Arpeggione Städtisches Kammerorchester, Israel Chamber Orchestra, State of México Symphony Orchestra, Sodre Symphony Orchestra, National Philharmonic of Moldova, in addition to the most important Brazilian and Argentinian orchestras).
She began studying piano at the age of five and received her Diploma at the Dramatic and Musical Conservatory of São Paulo. She completed a degree in Production Engineering, a degree in Bachelor of Conducting and Master Degree in Arts at the State University of Campinas. At this moment, she works in her Doctorate in Music at the State University of São Paulo.
Her main conducting teachers in Brazil were Eleazar de Carvalho, Henrique Gregori, Lutero Rodrigues and Hans-Joachim Koellreutter. She also studied with Ferdinand Leitner, in Siena, Kurt Masur, in São Paulo, Julius Kalmar in Vienna, Dominique Rouits in Hungary, Georg Tintner in Czech Republic, Alexander Polishuk and Eugeni Yergemsky in Saint Petersburg, Guillermo Scarabino, in Venezuela and Sir Edward Downes, in the 35th International Kirill Kondrashin Conductors Masterclass, Netherlands.
Her discography includes 11 CDs and 5 DVDs: In 1999 she conducted the Slovene RTV Symphony Orchestra recording Rachmaninov. From 2001 to 2003, with the Cuyo National University’s Symphony Orchestra she recorded three CDs with composers from Argentina. With the National Symphony Orchestra, Ligia Amadio recorded a CD with compositions of Heitor Villa-Lobos in 1998 and from 2005 to 2008, 5 CDs and DVDs for a collection of Brazilian Music under the auspices of Ministry of Education in Brazil.
Ligia Amadio produced and presented the broadcast “Music and Literature” between 2000 and 2003, and “Stravinsky: life and opera”, in 2008, at Ministry of Culture’s Radio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.