About
Jean-François Verdier

Conductor Jean-François Verdier comes from a Franco-Italian family (his opera-loving grandfather worked at La Scala in Milan), and began his musical career quite late, in a small school in the south of France, where he was given a clarinet by chance.

He quickly realized that music would be his world, and devoured all the apprenticeships he could get his hands on, without restricting himself to just one. After training at the Cnsm in Paris, he went on to win international competitions in Tokyo, Vienna, Antwerp, Colmar and Lugano in several disciplines: clarinet, chamber music, solo contemporary music and conducting.

Jean-François Verdier, a multi-talented artist

A conductor with an international career (symphonic as well as operatic, as he is a connoisseur of voices), he is also an artistic director renowned for the quality and originality of his programming, a composer and creator of shows for young people performed in several countries, a soloist with major orchestras (notably Capitole de Toulouse and Opéra Bastille), a concert performer and a teacher of several disciplines (in particular at the Cnsm in Paris).

His encounter with Leonard Bernstein (at a summer academy while still at the Cnsm) had a profound impact on him, as did the talent of the great conductors with whom he later played and learned: Seiji Ozawa, Pierre Boulez, Valeriy Gergiev, Esa Pekka Salonen, Gustavo Dudamel, Yuri Temirkanov, Armin and Philippe Jordan, Paavo Jaarvi... 

Artistic Director, Victor Hugo Orchestra

Artistic director and conductor of the Orchestre Victor Hugo (Orchestre Symphonique Bourgogne Franche- Comté) since 2011, Jean-François Verdier has recorded over 20 albums and CD-books, receiving numerous awards: two Chocs Classica, Diapason d'or, two Diamants d'Opéra Mag, Choc Jazzmag, Choix Arte, BBC's choice (UK), "Exceptional" by Scherzo (SP), "Exceptional" by Pizzicati (LU), SWR Choice (CH), "Joker absolu" by Crescendo, Coups de cœur Académie Charles Cros, ICMusic Awards nomination...

He has made several films (including an Imax film with Renée Fleming, and two ballet films for the Opéra national de Paris). He is also a member of the juries of the Besançon and La Maestra International Conductors' Competitions in Paris.

An artist in harmony with the finest classical soloists

He shares the stage with the finest classical soloists, including Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Ludovic Tézier, Piotr Beczala, Sandrine Piau, Karine Deshayes, Isabelle Faust, François Leleux, Sophie Dervaux, Alexandre Kantorow, Marc Coppey, Pacho Flores... as well as with jazz, blues and contemporary music musicians, dancers, writers, actors, video artists... (AT de Keersmaeker, Olivier Py, Baptiste Trottignon, Awek blues, MC Solaar, Erik Truffaz, Franck Tortiller, Vincent Cuvellier Bernard Friot, Isabelle Gely, Stefan Wilkening, Eric Genovese, Michel Fau, Jacques Gamblin...)

He is in demand as a conductor by : Opera national de Paris (over 70 performances at Bastille and Garnier), Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, ONDIF, orchestras nationaux de Lyon, Capitole de Toulouse, Avignon, Cannes, Metz, ONPL, Picardie, Cnsm de Paris, operas de Rouen, Toulon, Rennes, Bordeaux, Limoges, Nantes, Orchestre Pasdeloup, OR Normandie... and the Bayerische Rundfunk Orchester, Bolchoi Moscow, Meiji Tokyo Orchestra, OCTokyo, Nagoya Philharmonic, Orchestra metropolitano Bari, Opera Salerno, OSBern, Tobs Biel, OCLausanne, Wiener Symphoniker as assistant to Philippe Jordan, Teatro Real Madrid, OFUNAM Mexico...

Compositions for young people

His compositions for children have been performed by the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, the Dessau Oper, the BR Munich, the Festival de Crans Montana, Les Folles Journées, the Orchestres nationaux de Lorraine and d'Avignon, the Opéra de Reims, the Opéra de Rouen, the OCLausanne, the Théâtre national du Capitole de Toulouse, the OCParis... 

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