accentus
BIOGRAPHY -SEASON 2017/ 2018
accentusis today a reference in the world of vocal music. The chamber choir, founded byLaurenceEquilbeyover twenty five years ago, is deeply committed to theacappella repertory, originalcontemporary music,oratorioand opera.
accentusperforms in leading French and international concert venuesandfestivals, includingthe Salzburg Mozart Week,the London Barbican, the Essen Philharmonia, the Grand Théâtre de Provence in Aix-en-Provence, the Royal Opera and Royal Chapel in Versailles, and Vienna’sTheater an der Wien.
accentus enjoys a close partnership with thePhilharmoniede Paris and is returning as resident choirto the OpéradeRouenNormandie,where it will be performing a concertand operatic programme. Christophe Grapperon has been associate conductor with the ensemble since 2013.
The choir appears at the leading French and international festivals and regularlycollaborateswithprestigiousconductors (Pierre Boulez, Anders Nilsson, EricEricson, Christoph Eschenbach) and orchestras (Orchestre de Paris, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Les Siècles, Concerto Köln, Akademiefür Alte Musik Berlin, Insula orchestra, etc.). It has participated in a variety of operatic productions rangingfrom world premieres (Pascal Dusapin’sPerelà, Uomo di fumo and Matthias Pintscher’sL’Espace dernier at the Paris Opera) to standard repertoiresuch as Rossini’sIl Barbiere di Siviglia at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, Saint-Saëns' Le Timbre d’argent, ReynaldoHahn’sCiboulette at Opéra Comique...
All accentus’recordings have receivedwidecriticalacclaim. The CD “Transcriptions” (with sales of over 130,000) was a 2004 GrammyAwardnominee in addition to receiving a Disque d'or in 2008. accentus has releasedfour discs with Insula orchestra: Mozart’s Requiem(naïve, 2014), Gluck'sOrfeo and Euridice(Deutsche Grammophon, 2015), Mozart’sCoronation Mass (Warner Classics – Erato, 2017) and Lieder of Schubert (Warner Classics – Erato, 2017). The choir alsoreleasedwith Orchestre de chambre de Paris Félicien David’s Le Désert and Rossini’sPetite Messe Solennellein 2015, and “Mantovani voices”. accentuswon the Ensembleof the Year award in the classical section of France’s prestigious Victoiresdelamusiquein 2002,2005and2008.
At the beginning of 2017, accentus inaugurated a Paris-based resources centre with physical media and digital content, designed to promote choral artand share the working documents and expertise gathered since the choir’s foundation.
accentus.fr | facebook.com/accentus | twitter.com/accentus
accentusreceivesaidfrom the Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles d’Île-de-France of the French Ministry of Culture and Communication, issubsidised by the City of Paris and the Île-de-France Region, and alsoreceives support from SACEM. accentusis in residence at the Opéra de Rouen Normandie. Concerts and cultural activities in the Departmentreceive the support of Conseil Départemental des Hauts-de-Seine. The Fondation Bettencourt Schueller supportsaccentus. accio, the circle of friends of accentus and Insula orchestra, supports the arts initiatives set in motion by Laurence Equilbey.
Contacts
Communication
Claire Gannet, generalsecretariat
| (+33)1 42 46 46 98
Solène Lavielle, communication officer
| (+33)1 42 46 56 65
Diffusion
Josquin Macarez, artisticdelegate and diffusion organiser
| (+33)1 42 46 22 87