In 2017 the LDO celebrated the 20th anniversary of its founding. It all began as a vocal group of passionate friends of singing and today it has become a solid project that is being revealed as a reference in Spain and abroad, as it has been stated by the public, critics and the invitations to the best festivals all over the world.
“El León de Oro” (LDO) is a vocal group with a solid track record. It started as a small group of friends passionate about singing, but nowaday it has become a respected project that is already a reference worldwide. This is confirmed by numerous awards, invitations to the best festivals and the clamour of public and critics.
The ensemble is characterized by its versatility in terms of programs and has a variable number of singers, which allows it to have a wide repertoire ranging from the masters of the Renaissance and Baroque to the most avant-garde works.
The LDO is one of the few Spanish choirs with its own season, where it presents specialized a cappella programs. It also maintains a fruitful collaboration with important symphony orchestras in Spain (Symphony Orchestra of the Principality of Asturias, Oviedo Philarmonía, Symphony Orchestra of Castile and Leon, Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa…), as well as with European groups specialized in baroque repertoire (Le Concert des Nations, Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg…).
The choir has been invited to numerous festivals of ancient music in Spain: Logroño, Aranjuez, Seville, Úbeda and Baeza or Jaca, the Donostiarra Musical Fortnight, the International Festival “Arte Sacro” in Madrid, the National Centre for Musical Diffusion or the Cuenca Religious Music Week, among others. They have performed by themselves in numerous Spanish auditoriums, and under the baton of Jordi Savall at the Philharmonic of Paris, La Saline Royal or the Berlioz Festival.
One of his most important awards was obtained in 2014 at the “London International a Cappella Choir Competition”, where they won the first prize. Also noteworthy in its palmarés is the National Choir Singing Grand Prize (2003 and 2006), Grand Prix “City of Arezzo”, “International Choir Contest of Flanders”, “International Competition of Tolosa”, “International May Choir Competition” of Varna (Bulgaria) or “Florilège Vocal de Tours” (France). In 2020 it was selected winner by the Spanish Association of Classical Music Festivals for the “FestClásica 2020” circuits in the mode of Ancient Music. In 2021 it received the Amuravela de Oro award.
Its last three CDs, “Amarae Morti” (2019), “Guerrero: Magnificat, Lamentations & Canciones” (2021) and “George de la Hèle: Missa Praeter rerum seriem” (2024), released by Hyperion Records label have been praised by specialist critics and have come to lead the sales charts on major digital platforms. The second, dedicated to the music of Francisco Guerrero, has been nominated for the ICMA awards in the category of Ancient Music. The latest work, focused on the repertoire of the Flamenco Chapel of Felipe II, has been awarded as a disc of the month of September 2024 by the specialized magazine Scherzo. All of them have been recorded with the famous British conductor Peter Phillips, who is, since 2017, honorary conductor of the LDO.
In its educational aspect, since 2017 it has organized a conducting masterclasses, attended by prestigious conductors and students from different parts of the world. This training activity is directly linked to the intention of providing a service to the choral environment, which is complemented by its own Coral School.
Its main sponsor is the SATEC group, key to carry out its musical activity. It is also sponsored by institutions such as INAEM and the Principality of Asturias.
