Stefan Parkman has made an excellent name for himself especially as a choral conductor. He held the positions of Chief Conductor of the Danish National Radio Choir and Swedish Radio Choir, led the Royal Philharmonic Choir Stockholm and the Uppsala Cathedral Boy's Choir and has been Artistic Director of the Uppsala Academy Chamber Choir since 1983. From 2014 to 2020 he has been Chief Conductor of the WDR Radio Choir.
The collaboration with choirs such as RIAS Chamber Choir, MDR and NDR Radio Choirs, SWR Vocal Ensemble, Bavarian Radio Choir, Netherlands Radio Choir, Choeur de Radio France as well as various North American choirs consolidated his reputation as a specialist in vocal music. In addition, he has conducted almost all the major Swedish ensembles and symphony orchestras, led the Stavanger Symphony, Odense Symphony, Aarhus Symphony, Danish National Symphony, Queensland Symphony, and various productions at the Royal Swedish Opera.
Highlights of his career mark numerous first performances of Scandinavian A cappella pieces at major venues and festivals. Stefan Parkman had a special artistic relationship with the composer Sven-David Sandström who has impressed the contemporary Swedish music scene and whose works Parkman is championing on international stages.
The latest album Nordic Choral Music with compositions by Nystedt, Nordgard, Sven-David Sandström, Rautavaara among others with the WDR Radio Choir and the Youth Concert Choir of the Dortmund Choral Academy was released by hänssler Classic in 2021. With the Academy Chamber Choir Uppsala and soloists of the WDR Radio Choir, Stefan Parkman has recorded Sacred Treasures with music by Schütz, Tunder, Buxtehude, Vesi and Quagliati from the famous Düben collection for the Swedish label Footsprints in 2020.
His extensive discography includes furthermore recordings for Chandos, Dacapo Records and Coviello Classics with the Rundfunkchor Berlin featuring Rodion Shchedrin’s The Sealed Angel and the Echo Klassik award-winning recording of Ernst Pepping’s Matthew Passion to name but a few.
The Swedish conductor held the Eric Ericson professorship in choral conducting at the Uppsala University from 2010 to 2021 and is Director Cantorum since 2010. He is also vice president of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and frequently teaches at masterclasses, seminars and workshops in Sweden and abroad. In 2012 he was a guest professor at the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale University and Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin.
In 1997 Stefan Parkman was made Knight of the Dannebrog Order by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. For his excellent engagement as choral conductor he received the The Litteris et Artibus Medal from the hands of H. M. The King Carl XVI Gustaf in 2012.
Season 2021/22
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On 20 October Stefan Parkman conducts the Polish Chamber Choir in Danzig with the programme Polar Lights with music by Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, Knut Nysted, P.E. Lange-Müller, Sven-David Sandström, Nils Lindberg, Jan Sandström and Einojuhani Rautavaara.
Stefan Parkman conducts Monteverdi's Vespro della beata vergine with the Academic Chamber Choir Uppsala, Drottningholm Barockensemble and soloists in the New Year's concert of University Uppsala on 1 and 2 January.
Stefan Parkman conducts the Queensland Symphony, The Australian Voices and soloist in Brisbane on 7 April with Fauré's Requiem, Eric Whitacre's Cloudburst and orchestral works by Stravinsky and Britten.
Stefan Parkman conducts the Hungarian Radio Choir in Budapest on 20 April featuring music by Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, Knut Nystedt, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Sven-David Sandström, Jan Sandström, Nils Lindberg, among others.
Stefan Parkman conducts the 70th anniversary concert of the WDR Rundfunkchor in Köln on 2 February with
milestones of choral music. The concert will be broadcasted
Read moreStefan Parkman conducts two New Year's concerts with the Drottningholm Barock Orchestra, Academic Chamber Choir Uppsala and soloists on 1 and 2 January at
Auditorium of Uppsala University. The programme includes excerpts of J.S. Bach's B Minor Mass and Händel's Messiah.
Read moreStefan Parkman conducts the programme Sacred Treasures with works of Buxtehude, Albrici, Carissimi, Dumont, Schmelzer etc. from the world famous Düben
Collection of the University Library Uppsala and Library St. Marien with the Academic Choir Uppsala and soloists of the WDR Rundfunkchor in Lübeck, Greifswald and Hamburg from 21 – 23 September 2017.
Read moreStefan Parkman conducts the WDR Rundfunkchor in the jazz programme Late Night Serenade joined by the jazz singer Simin Tander in Aachen at the Chorbiennale on 7 July as well in Cologne on 8 July.
Stefan Parkman conducts J.S. Bach's Matthew Passion (Mendelssohn version) with the WDR Symphony and Radio Choir in Köln Philharmonie on 7 April.
Stefan Parkman conducts the WDR Rundfunkchor with "Polar lights" in Cologne on 21 January featuring works by Ludvig Norman, Catharina Palmér, Jan Sandström,
Nils Lindberg, Sven-David Sandström, Wilhelm Stenhammer, Karin Rehnqvist, Alexander Jan Öberg, Staffan Strom, Jan Sandström, Ingvar Lidholm and others.
Read moreStefan Parkman conducts the programme "Longing for" with the WDR Rundfunkchor on 16 September at Funkhaus Köln featuring works by Rossini, Pizzetti, Martland, Badings, Nyström, Brahms, Stenhammar, Schubert, Rautavaara and Mendelssohn.
Stefan Parkman conducts the programme "Serenade with Jazz" in Köln on 16 June with the WDR Radio Choir, WDR Big Band and jazz singer Cecile Verny performing works by
Nils Lindberg, Sven-David Sandström, Robert Sund and excerpts of Duke Ellington's "Sacred Concert" and "Come Sunday".
Read moreStefan Parkman conducts the WDR Radio Choir in a „Best of Stefan Parkman“ programme with Songs of Love and Spring in Köln on 23 January.
The programme includes works by Lars Edlund, Sven-David Sandström, Wilhelm Stenhammar, Debussy, Rossini and Rachmaninov.
Read moreStefan Parkman and the WDR Radio Choir Cologne present at the Shakespeare Festival Neuss on 23 June the programme „As You Like It – Shakespeare Theatre a
cappella” with works by Nils Lindberg, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi and others featuring settings of texts by Shakespeare. The narrator will be Gustav Peter Wöhler.
Read moreStefan Parkman conducts the WDR Radio Choir Cologne on 30 May in Cologne with Swedish and Scandinavian Choral serenades and folk song arrangements, including
works by Hugo Alfvén, Wilhelm Stenhammar, David Wikander, Edvard Grieg, Peter Erasmus Lange-Müller, Toivo Kuula, Nils Lindberg and spirituals with soprano Barbara Hendricks.
Read moreThe WDR Radio Choir Cologne and Stefan Parkman perform two A cappella concerts in March „As You Like It – Shakespeare Theatre” together with Natalia Wörner. The
programme includes works by Nils Lindberg, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi and others featuring the settings of texts of Shakespeare: Cologne 06.03. and Wuppertal 07.03.
Read moreStefan Parkman conducts J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio BWV 248 with the WDR Radio Symphony, WDR Radio Choir Cologne and soloists at the Köln Philharmonie.
Stefan Parkman conducts the WDR Symphony Orchestra and WDR Radio Choir Cologne with an entire programme of J.S. Bach in Cologne on 22 November: the Orchestra
Suite No. 2 b minor and cantatas "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme", BWV 140 and "Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir", BWV 38.
Read moreThe WDR Rundfunkchor performs under his new chief conductor two concerts unter the title "Peace & Light" on 12/13 September. The programme includes works by
Brahms Fest- und Gedenksprüche, Harvey's Plainsong for Peace and Light, Rautavaaras´ Suite de Lorca op. 72, Poulenc´s Un soir de neige as well as a new work by Sandström commissioned by the WDR. Next concert on 24 October within the Festival "Utopie jetzt!" in Mülheim/Ruhr. The broadcast of the concert will be sent on 18 October at 8pm on WDR 3.
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