Artistic and musical director
Conductor, soloist, composer, teacher, Jean-François Verdier is presented as one of the most interesting personalities in the French musical world.
Super-soloist of the Paris Opera, considered as one of the best European clarinetists, he is a laureate of international competitions in several disciplines in Tokyo, Vienna, Antwerp, Colmar, and Lugano. He has performed under the direction of Bernstein, Ozawa, Muti, Gergiev, Salonen, Boulez, Jordan, Dohnanyi, Barenboim, Dudamel, Nelsons... He is notably invited by the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam.
He was awarded the Bruno Walter Prize at the Lugano International Conducting Competition in 2001 and began his career as a conductor under the guidance of Armin Jordan and Kent Nagano, which was quickly acclaimed by the critics.
Resident conductor of the Orchestre national de Lyon (2008-10), he is artistic director of the Orchestre Victor Hugo since 2010, with which he recorded several discs awarded by the international critics (two Chocs Classica, Choc Jazz, Diamant d'Opéra Magazine...) with Karine Deshayes, Sandrine Piau, Isabelle Druet, Paul Meyer, François Leleux, Baptiste Trotignon, David Guerrier...
He is solicited by the great international stages: Opéra national de Paris (for which he has directed more than 70 shows), Munich BR, Vienna, Madrid, Montreal, Lausanne, Luxembourg, Bern, Biel, Brussels, Mexico City, Salerno, Tokyo, Nagoya, Bolshoi of Moscow...
He is also the guest of the main French national orchestras and operas: Capitole de Toulouse, Lyon, Montpellier, Metz, Bordeaux, Ile-de-France, Nantes, Ensemble orchestral de Paris... He collaborates with Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Ludovic Tézier, Sandrine Piau, Piotr Beczala, Isabelle Faust, Sergei Nakariakov, Anne Queffélec, Nemanja Radulovic, François Leleux... and is a member of the jury of international competitions alongside Leonard Slatkin, Jorma Panula, Marin Alsop, or Dennis Russel-Davies. He teaches conducting at the ESM of Bourgogne Franche-Comté since 2019.
He composes musical tales for children: a sequel to Peter and the Wolf: The Duck is still alive! (Bernard Friot, Milan), Anna, Léo et le gros ours de l'armoire (Bernard Friot, Actes sud) both performed at the Philharmonie de Paris and Coups de Cœur de l'Académie Charles Cros ; Nuage Rouge (Vincent Cuvellier) played at the Folle Journée de Nantes, Le Carnaval (gastronomic) des animaux (Bernard Friot, Milan), the children's opera Orphée (Dorian Astor) created by the Capitole de Toulouse in 2019, Svalbard en 2021 (Isabelle Gély). His works have been performed by the Bavarian Radio of Munich, the Opera of Dessau, the Capitole of Toulouse, the Opera of Rouen, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Strasbourg, the National Orchestra of Metz, the Chamber Orchestra of Lausanne...
Jean-François Verdier is a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres.