Nice Philharmonic Orchestra

The ‘City of Nice Municipal Symphony Orchestra’ was founded by the city in 1945.

In 1982 Pierre Médecin, Director at the Opéra de Nice, was the driving force behind the orchestra’s restructuring and since then it has been a leading musical ensemble. Georges Prêtre, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Marek Janowski, Berislav Klobucar, Emil Tchakarov, Zoltan Pesko, Jerzy Semkow, Michaël Schønwandt, Leopold Hager, Aldo Ceccato, Oleg Caetani, Pedro Calderon, Juan Pons and Günter Neuhold have been among the recent guest conductors.

The orchestra is made up of 99 musicians and is central to the traditionally rich musical life in Nice and on the French Riviera. Its extensive symphonic activities attract international soloists such as Abdel Rahman El Bacha, Bruno Leonardo Gelber, Salvatore Accardo, Vladimir Spivakov, Mikhaïl Rudy, Janos Starker, Ivo Pogorelich, Philippe Bianconi, Misha Maisky, Paul Meyer, Jean-Marc Luisada, Augustin Dumay and Gary Hoffman. It performs throughout the Opéra de Nice season and participates in a variety of other events, including Festival de Musique Sacrée de Nice and Festival MANCA.

Since 1983, an agreement with the Conseil Général has enabled the Nice Philharmonic Orchestra to perform throughout the Alpes Maritimes region. 

The Nice Philharmonic has already participated in numerous prestigious summer operatic festivals: Chorégies d’Orange, Macerata, Festival de Montpellier-Radio France and Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. In 1988, international critics noted the orchestra’s exceptional quality performing Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle, conducted by Berislav Klobucar, in Nice and at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.

The orchestra also takes part in musical awareness campaigns for students with the ‘Campus en musique’ series of concerts, sponsored by the Deposit and Consignment Office. For the last five years, their series of concerts for children has met with increasing success and their series of concerts with commentary is attended by around 10,000 school children each season.