Patrick Fournillier

Patrick Fournillier - the French conductor of the world renome, was born December 26, 1954, in Neuilly-sur-Seine.

He studied in Paris with Louis Fourestier and Pierre Dervaux, then in Strasbourg Conservatoire and Salzburg Mozarteum. Between 1983 and 1986 he was assistant conductor in l'Orchestre National de Lille, then become Artistic Director there. Since 1988 he is Music Director of the Nouvel Orchestre de Saint-Étienne and, since 1990, co-founder and Music Director of Massenet Festival at Saint Étienne, bringing many and the most neglected operatic and vocal works of Jules Massenet back to light again.

He was a recipient of many international rewards and prizes of conducting, including such as: the Hans Haring First International Prize (Salzburg 1982); Second Prize in the Bosancon International Conductors Competition in 1984; Vaclav Talich Competition Prague, Prize Winner in 1985; and Second Prize in Grzegorz Fitelberg Competition in Katowice in 1987.

Those many rewards brought him international acclaim and keeps him extremely busy, since many symphony orchestras and opera theatres around the world invited him either to be their guest conductor or even become their visiting music director.

References

* [http://books.google.com/books?id=BeTBnjmnypEC&pg=PA207&lpg=PA207&dq=%22Massenet+Festival%22&source=web&ots=j4ZalfCT-d&sig=k1JLJslnzXvnyuwtNTBlEhiNgo8&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct=result#PPA207,M1 Short biographical note on P. Fournillier in "Who's Who in Music"]
* [http://www.vlaamseopera.be/en/persondetailview.orb?prs=509 Biography of Patrick Fournillier at Flanders Opera Web-site]
* [http://www.musicpartnership.co.uk/Pages/Con_Fournil.html Biography of Patrick Fournillier at MusicPartnership]