Chloé Dufresne
Conductor
February 2024
© Michal Nowak
- Music
- Atlanta
- New York
- San Francisco
“By working with orchestras from various countries, I have discovered and fed off a variety of cultures, emotions, and ways of ‘orchestrating.’ I am excited and enthralled by this vast musical and cultural heritage, as well as by my constant exchanges with musicians and audiences.”
I am a French musician and conductor with a passion for cultural transmission, sharing, and teaching. I began my musical journey with children’s choirs at the opera. This taste for performance and collective practice has stayed with me ever since. I am a firm believer that music has the ability to influence society.
In the wake of my experience performing with various ensembles (namely, choirs and orchestras), the practice of conducting emerged as the next logical step in my career, allowing me to deepen my relationship with music, to make a difference, and to grow overall as an artist.
By working with orchestras from various countries, I have discovered and fed off a variety of cultures, emotions, and ways of “orchestrating.” I am excited and enthralled by this vast musical and cultural heritage, as well as by my constant exchanges with musicians and audiences.
Through this residency, I was able to deepen my understanding of orchestral culture in the United States by attending and observing the rehearsals of great conductors with the continent’s prestigious orchestras. I was able to strengthen ties with artists I already knew, meet new artists and feed my inspiration for various future projects.
The organization of my residency over four cities enabled me to compare the different ways in which orchestras operate and their working conditions, but also to hear the sound identity of each one.
Working with conductors who are also music directors has enabled me to reflect on and understand the role and impact of a music director in the United States, in a cultural economic system that is very different from the French one. Each conductor’s career is unique, and meeting and exchanging with these four maestros was invaluable for my own reflection and development as a musician and artist.
My residency consisted of four projects spread over four weeks:
– The first with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Tugan Sokhiev: the program included Dmitri Shostakovich’s Grand Symphony No.4.
– A week with the New York Philharmonic and Santtu conductor Matias Rouvali.
– A week in Atlanta with Nathalie Stutzmann (the orchestra’s musical director) with Verdi’s Requiem, a project including the Atlanta Choir, heir to a long choral tradition in that city.
– A week with Esa Pekka Salonen and the San Francisco Symphony in a project on Scriabin’s Poeme du Feu involving the Fondation Cartier to create an innovative synesthetic experience, with perfume diffusers in the concert hall!
Chloé Dufresne has already made her mark as a conductor with her clear technique, calm authority and wide palette, winning prestigious prizes and engagements only three years after graduating from the Sibelius Academy. In 2021 she won both audience and orchestra prizes at the Besançon Conducting Competition, as well as being finalist at the Malko Competition. She was a Conducting Fellow at the 2022 Lucerne Festival and a Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the 22–23 season, and Gustavo Dudamel subsequently invited her to the Opéra de Paris Académie for 23–24. From 23/24 she also serves as an Artistic Director of Orchestre Ostinato, a Paris-based orchestra for musicians at the start of their careers.
In partnership with
Cité de la musique – Philharmonie de Paris
Located in the heart of the Parc de la Villette in northeastern Paris, the Cité de la Musique – Philharmonie de Paris is a unique musical complex that attracts nearly 1.5 million visitors each year.
It offers an ambitious and eclectic program (450 concerts and 2 to 3 temporary exhibitions per year), while fully embracing its social and societal role. The institution aims to make its programming accessible to all audiences, regardless of age, social background, or geographical origin. It also strives to make gender equality, diversity, and eco-responsibility integral parts of its mission. In this spirit, it created the Maestra Conducting Competition with the Paris Mozart Orchestra and develops numerous initiatives across the country in partnership with local communities, such as the Démos children’s orchestra project. The Philharmonie also leads international cooperation and partnership projects with cultural institutions in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Gulf states, and various European nations.