Jose Maria Florencio began his musical education in his hometown of Fortaleza, continued it at the University of Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte, and subsequently completed numerous masterclasses both in his home country and abroad, such as at New York’s The Juilliard School of Music and the Wiener Musikseminar. At the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, he graduated with honors from the Faculty of Composition, Conducting, and Music Theory in the conducting class of Henryka Czyż. In 2018, he defended his PhD in conducting, followed by his Habilitation in 2021, and in 2024, he was awarded the title of Professor by the President of the Republic of Poland.
He has held the positions of: Conductor of the Grand Theatre in Łódź and the Grand Theatre in Warsaw – National Opera, Musical Director of the Wrocław Opera, the Grand Theatre in Poznań, and twice of the Baltic Opera in Gdańsk, Managing and Artistic Director of the PRiTV Orchestra and Choir in Kraków and the Poznań Philharmonic, Maestro Titular of the Orquestra Sinfônica do Theatro Municipal de São Paulo, and Chief Conductor of Capella Bydgostiensis at the Pomeranian Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz. He held these honors while simultaneously appearing as a guest conductor on the stages of nearly all musical institutions in Poland and in 28 countries worldwide.
The artist’s career is marked by exceptional versatility. It spans conducting concerts, opera, ballet, operetta, and musical theater performances, as well as studio, archival, and television recordings. Jose Maria Florencio has participated in festivals and is active as an educator.
His concert and recording programs feature a repertoire stretching from the Baroque to contemporary music, involving the biggest names among soloists both nationally and internationally.
The artist’s recording activities include 19 albums, over 400 archival titles recorded for Polish Radio, and numerous recordings for television in Poland and abroad. His CD featuring the music of French composer Jacques Bondon for the DUX record label was awarded 5 Diapasons by record critics in France. The Maestro’s latest album, recorded with the famous Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century from the Netherlands and Alena Baeva as soloist for the Fryderyk Chopin National Institute in Warsaw—featuring works by H. Wieniawski, I. F. Dobrzyński, and K. Kurpiński—was named Album of the Month for September 2023 by BBC Music Magazine in London.
Prof. Dr. Hab. Jose Maria Florencio is a lecturer at the Academy of Music in Poznań. He has led masterclasses at several Polish music universities. On the international stage, he boasts, among other achievements, being the first conductor from Poland in the 160-year history of the Moscow Conservatory invited to lead masterclasses in conducting and a gala concert featuring a Polish and Brazilian repertoire. In this way, José M. Florêncio joined an exclusive group of outstanding musical personalities such as Sir Georg Solti and Mstislav Rostropovich.
José Maria Florêncio is the recipient of many awards and distinctions. Most recently, he was honored with the Order of Merit for Polish Culture, having previously received the Gloria Artis medal—both awarded by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage. The Maestro also served for a long time as the Honorary Consul of the Federative Republic of Brazil in Poland.