Trained as an orchestral conductor ...
Born in Luxembourg, Pierre Cao studied composition and conducting at the Brussels Royal Conservatory where, amongst other qualifications, he obtained a higher diploma in orchestral conducting.

... but already conducting choirs at the age of 18.
He had always loved the human voice and, at 18, took his first steps in choral conducting, with the Dudelange Workers' Choir.

An international career with the RTL orchestra
In 1968, after winning the Nikolai Malko international conducting competition in Copenhagen, he was invited by Louis de Froment to direct the 'Radio Télé Luxembourg'.  The next ten years saw Pierre Cao earning international acclaim for his numerous recordings, and directing a large number of orchestras across most of Europe as Guest Conductor.  It was from this period onwards that Pierre Cao made a dual career, in both orchestral and choral conducting.

Always eager to share and pass on his experience
Whilst conducting a large symphonic and operatic repertoire, he was already hard at work setting up amateur choirs, directing singing workshops and training vocal conductors.  Pierre Cao's talent as a teacher is universally acknowledged, and he is involved in teaching at a pan-European level.  It was he, for example, who was behind the setting up of the European Choral Singing Institute (Institut Européen du Chant Choral, or INECC).

Today, a whole generation of conductors working in Belgium, France and Spain has benefited from his training.  He has directed a number of excellent vocal ensembles, with whom he has worked on most of the choral masterpieces from the Renaissance to the 21st century:  in Luxembourg, for example, the Ensemble Vocal du Luxembourg;  in Germany,  the Musikinstitut choir in Coblenz;  in France, the Psallette de Lorraine;  and in Belgium, the Namur Chamber Choir.

Guest Conductor
Pierre Cao has directed choirs and orchestras throughout Europe for more than forty years.  Well-known for his international experience as a choral and orchestral conductor, Pierre Cao is regularly invited to direct prestigious ensembles:  Concerto Köln;  the Rias Chamber Choir in Berlin;  the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra and the Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra;  the Andorra National Orchestra;  the Barcelona City Orchestra;  Capriccio Basel,   and many others.  A great lover of Baroque music, he works frequently with specialised groups such as La Grande Ecurie et la Chambre du Roy, Stradivaria, the Ricercar Consort, the Budapest Concerto Armonica;  Namur's Les Agrémens and  La Fenice.

Arsys Bourgogne
In 1999 Pierre Cao founded the professional choir Arsys Bourgogne, which he directs.  He is also Artistic Director of the Rencontres Musicales de Vézelay Festival and teaches orchestral conducting at the Dijon National Regional Conservatoire.