Born in 1963, maestro Iosif Todea was a student at the Music School in Resița, then continued his musical training at the Music High School in Arad (1977-1981). Together with Gavrilă Câmpan, a well-known Arad choir conductor, Iosif Todea discovered choral art. Being a student in the 11th grade, he formed a choir made up of high school classmates, after a year of activity already being awarded the 1st Prize at the Romanian National Singing Festival.
After finishing high school, Iosif Todea was employed at the Music School in his hometown, where he also taught cello.
In 1991, he continued his musical training with music pedagogy studies at the Faculty of Music of the Western University in Timişoara, taking ensemble and choral conducting courses with Prof. Damian Vulpe. Maestro Iosif Todea founded a chamber choir, Collegium Musicum, together with his Faculty colleagues, with whom he performed a series of a cappella concerts in the country. Another personality who made an important contribution to his formation as a conductor was maestro Diodor Nicoară, and his employment as a lyrical artist within the Ion Românu Choir of the Banatul Philharmonic in Timișoara, in 1992, gave him the opportunity to approach professional choral art. Iosif Todea became the conductor of the Ion Românu Choir in 1997, following the competition organized by the Banatul Philharmonic.
Together with this choir, Iosif Todea carries out a rich artistic activity marked by numerous a cappella and vocal-symphonic concerts. The choir’s repertoire includes reference works from the universal and Romanian choral repertoire, some of which were presented publically for the first time: Stabat Mater by G. Rossini, Romeo and Juliet Symphony by H. Berlioz, Das Paradies und die Peri by R. Schumann, Noapte ţărănească by M. Marbé. Between 2003-2006, he prepared the choir of the Faculty of Music in Timişoara, creating a volume of choral pieces, together with maestro Diodor Nicoară, a volume edited by the Western University.
Together with the Ion Românu choir he went on tour in Norway, Belgium, Holland, Germany. Also, together with the Arad Philharmonic’s choir, he undertook a tour in 1999 in Spain, Germany and France, presenting works such as Carmina burana by C. Orff and Messias Oratorio by G. Fr. Handel. As a result of his broad activity, Iosif Todea was awarded the Pro Culture Award by the Timiş County Council in 2007.
