Music Director
PIERRE-ALEXIS TOUZEAU
Born in 1992, Pierre-Alexis Touzeau is one of the rising stars of the new generation of French conductors. Laureate of the Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet Foundation and the London Classical Soloists International Conducting Competition, he trained in conducting at the Schola Cantorum of Paris (France) and the Royal Conservatory of Mons (Belgium) with Adrian McDonnell and Daniel Gazon, after studies in mathematics.
Inspired by Sergiu Celibidache’s philosophical approach, music is a celebration for him. He conducts both the great repertoire (Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, …) and 20th-century composers with equal enthusiasm, although this lover of history and nature has a particular fondness for the Romantic repertoire. Creation is also essential for Pierre-Alexis Touzeau, who considers the stage to be the ideal setting for intense collaborations, which also makes him a much-appreciated conductor among concerto soloists and composers.
In 2014, he founded Ensemble Les Déconcertants, and became its Music Director. The orchestra, which was immediately acclaimed by critics for its excellence and cohesion, has since given numerous concerts in Paris (France). In 2019, Pierre-Alexis Touzeau was appointed Music Director of Orchestre Hexagone, which gathers the best young talents based in France, and which is regularly hired for world premieres (Jean-Pierre Armanet’s piano concerto The T) or productions in major concert halls (Théâtre des Champs-Élysées with the National Ballet of Kiev Opera, Zeniths, …).
Pierre-Alexis Touzeau also conducted international ensembles such as the Orchestra of the Kharkiv National Opera (Ukraine), Orchestre Colonne (France), Bombay Chamber Orchestra (India), the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia (Belgium), Orchestre régional de Cannes Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (France) or Filarmonica de Stat Târgu-Mureş (Romania), and was Music Director of the European chamber orchestra La Divine Proportion and Angers Cathedral Choir (France). Finally, as a teacher, he was in charge of the orchestras at the Regional Conservatory of Nanterre (France), and he currently teaches initiation to conducting in Paris (France).
‘ With serenity and inspiration, Pierre-Alexis Touzeau distills a clear reading, a flexible and precise beat and the enthusiasm of his orchestra from start to finish. Together they deliver a perfect vision, a pure story with a long breath and intense emotion. Incandescent. ‘
Marc Phalippou, June 27, 2019
‘ The conducting is exemplary and applied, the conductor’s gestures are precise and clear. Just by looking at him with a little attention, the music lights up. A regular beat with the right hand, nuances, textures and phrasing with the left hand. Each start is given with precision. ‘
Anthony Ndika, June 29, 2019