Anass Ismat, Director of the Dijon Opera Choir, was born in Rabat, Morocco, where he was awarded first prizes in violin and music theory at the National Conservatory of Music and Dance. He also attended vocal masterclasses with Caroline Dumas, Glenn Chambers, Henrick Siffert and others. He subsequently pursued postgraduate studies in France at the National Conservatory of Music and Dance in Lyon (CNSMD), initially specialising in operatic singing before going on to study choral conducting.
Alongside his studies at the CNSMD, he spent a period in Germany as part of the European Erasmus exchange programme at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts. He graduated with a master’s degree in choral conducting in June 2011 and, in October of the same year, was appointed professor of choral singing at the Toulon Provence Méditerranée Regional Conservatory (CRR).
Anass Ismat has pursued a career combining music education and performance. As a teacher, he has led numerous workshops and training courses for choir conductors at various institutions. As a guest conductor, he has worked with renowned cultural institutions and ensembles, including the Opéra national de Lorraine, the Opéra de Lille, the Opéra Angers-Nantes and the Orchestre national de Lille. His engagements have also included the Berlioz Festival, the Saint-Céré Festival and the Primavera Festival organised by the Italian choral association Feniarco, as well as projects with the International Willems Federation (FIW) and its choir, the Willems International Choir (WIC).
His experience as a singer includes performances with a number of vocal ensembles, such as Ensemble Epsilon Renaissance, Les Solistes de Lyon, the Britten Choir, Ensemble Gilles Binchois and Ensemble Arsys Bourgogne.
In July 2015, Anass Ismat was appointed Director of the Dijon Opera Choir. In this role, he has collaborated with renowned conductors including Roberto Rizzi Brignoli, Antonello Allemandi, Christophe Rousset, Jean-François Verdier, Adrien Perruchon, Leonardo García Alarcón and Stefan Veselka.
His work with the choir spans a wide range of musical styles and repertoires, from Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle and Stabat Mater, and Dvořák’s Stabat Mater, to numerous cantatas and motets by Bach, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Duruflé’s Requiem. The repertoire also encompasses a cappella choral works, jazz standards, spirituals, gospel music and Christmas carols.
Alongside his work at the Dijon Opera, Anass Ismat continues to teach and lead workshops and training courses for choir conductors. In September 2022, he was appointed to teach choral conducting at the École Supérieure de Musique Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.
photo © Mirco Magliocca