Biography

Zoltán Pad, conductor, studied at the Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest and at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich. 

As chief conductor of the Hungarian Radio Choir (2014-2025) and the Kodály Choir Debrecen (2009-2014), he conducted numerous concerts and studio recordings, with a strong focus on contemporary repertoire and premieres. He is the founder and artistic director of the Ars Oratoria Chamber Choir (2019-).

An internationally acclaimed conductor, he has in recent years worked with outstanding ensembles such as the SWR Vokalensemble in Stuttgart, the MDR Radio Choir in Leipzig, the NDR Vokalensemble in Hamburg, the Netherlands Radio Choir, the French Radio Choir, the Zürcher Sing-Akademie, Chamber Choir Ireland, ChorWerk Ruhr, the Polish Radio Choir, the Croatian Radio Choir and the World Youth Choir.

His extensive repertoire ranges from Renaissance music to contemporary works, with numerous world premieres to his credit. He is a dedicated interpreter of Hungarian contemporary music, as well as the works of Bartók, Kodály and Ligeti, Kurtág and Eötvös.

He has conducted in major concert venues including the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and MüPa Budapest, and has appeared as choir master at the Salzburger Festspiele, the Donizetti Festival in Bergamo, the Gewandhaus Leipzig, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, BOZAR Brussels, the Auditorium de la Radio France and the Auditorium Rainer III. in Monte Carlo.

In recent years, he has collaborated with distinguished conductors and ensembles such as Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic, Daniel Harding, Péter Eötvös and the Vienna Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as Alan Gilbert, Helmuth Rilling, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Zoltán Kocsis, György Vashegyi, Gergely Kesselyák, Iván Fischer, Ádám Fischer and Carlos Miguel Prieto.

He is a frequent guest conductor of orchestras, particularly in the field of oratoric repertoire. He has performed with the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kodály Philharmonic Debrecen, the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, the Oradea State Philharmonic Orchestra and Alba Regia Symphony Orchestra.

Between 2009 and 2014, as chief conductor of the Kodály Choir Debrecen, he conducted more than 130 concerts and prepared a further 131 programmes. Under his direction, works such as Alfred Schnittke's Concerto for Choir and Rodion Shchedrin's The Sealed Angel (Zapechatlennyi angel) were performed. The Hungarian premiere of Benjamin Britten's early oratorio The Company of Heaven also took place. In December 2012, under his direction, the Kodály Choir was awarded the Prima Award of Hungary.

In autumn 2012, he served as choir master for the the first opera performance in the history of Qatar (Aida by Verdi), leading a choir formed by members of the Kodály Choir Debrecen and of the Hungarian State Opera Chorus. 

He has also worked with the Hungarian National Choir, the Hungarian National Male Choir, the Purcell Choir and the Cantemus Choir.

A committed educator, he regularly gives workshops and conducting masterclasses worldwide. From 2005 to 2021, he taught at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest (assistant lecturer, later associate professor). He earned his DLA degree summa cum laude in 2011 with a dissertation on The “passion” of Dietrich Buxtehude. In 2008, he worked with the choirs of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.

He is a regular guest at international conducting mastercourses (including Limerick, Marktoberdorf and Ankara), frequently works with youth choirs, and is a recurring jury member at international choral and conducting competitions.

Between 2009 and 2014, he was a member of the Artistic Board of the Béla Bartók International Choir Competition, also serving as its artistic director in 2013-2014.

In recognition of his artistic achievements, he was awarded the Liszt Ferenc Prize in 2018 and the Lajtha Prize in 2022.