Competition 2024

Internationally renowned flautist Michel Bellavance is in high demand around the world as a performer and teacher.

With engagements on almost every continent, he enjoys a very busy travel schedule due to numerous invitations to perform as a soloist with orchestra and at festivals, as well as to give recitals and master classes in conservatories, renowned universities and summer academies.

As a Miyazawa artist, Michel interprets a wide range of repertoires and his discography shows his keen interest both for new works and for those that are less known.

Michel teaches flute and chamber music at the university level at the famous Conservatory of Geneva (Haute Ecole de Musique) in Switzerland, he is a guest professor at the Chinese National Conservatory in Beijing (China), and was an alternate professor at the Conservatoire National Supérieur Musique et Danse de Lyon (France) during the 2019-2020 academic year.

He studied in Montreal, Paris, Geneva, Zürich and San Francisco, perfecting his skills with artists such as Aurèle Nicolet, Patrick Gallois, Maxence Larrieu and Paul Renzi. Michel lives in London and holds Swiss and Canadian nationalities.

A versatile and committed flautist, Caroline Debonne shares her musical life between her activities as a chamber musician, orchestral musician and pedagogue.

She performs in many countries in Europe, Africa, South America and is called to play in various formations such as the Orchestre National de France, the Orchestre National de Cannes, the Kammerakademie Potsdam…

Professor at the Conservatoire de Musique et Théâtre de Cannes since 2006, she is invited to give master-classes all over the world: Reykjavik Academy of Arts, Gnessine Academy of Moscow, Istanbul State University, Higher Conservatory of Innsbruck, Pekin Central Conservatory, Costa Rica Institute of Arts, …
She is also invited as a jury at the CNSM of Lyon.

She has recorded for Sony Classical, Warner Music France and Klarthe.

Winner of numerous international competitions, Denizcan Eren performs as a soloist and orchestral musician in Germany and internationally.

Born in Izmir (Turkey), Denizcan Eren began his studies at the Bilkent School of Music (Ankara) in the flute class of Stiliana Stavreva. He then graduated from the Nice Conservatory with Sibel Pensel. In 2015 he joined Felix Renggli’s flute class at the Basel Academy of Music, and in 2018 he was awarded a scholarship from the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, where he studied with Emmanuel Pahud. He then completed his studies at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin with Benoît Fromanger.

During his studies, Denizcan Eren played as a solo flautist in several orchestras such as the Karajan Academy Orchestra, the National Orchestra of France, the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester and collaborated with conductors such as Kirill Petrenko, Mariss Jansons, Daniele Gatti, Paavo Jarvi, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Tugan Sokhiev and James Gaffigan.

Since 2021, Denizcan Eren has been a flautist with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra in Hamburg and a solo flautist with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra under the direction of Daniel Barenboim, as well as with the Boulez Ensemble in Berlin.

Awards and Rewards :

1st prize at the «Grande Motte, France» flute competition (2013) ;
1st prize at the Monaco International Flute and Piano Competition (2014) ;
1st prize at the 3rd International Flute Competition – Maxence Larrieu, Nice, France (2015) ;
1st prize at the International Flute Competition Val-de-Travers, Switzerland (2017).

Anne-Cathérine Heinzmann enjoys an exceptional reputation as a versatile soloist, highly sought-after chamber musician and committed flute teacher.

In recent years she has been invited to participate in numerous international concerts and festivals and is now one of the most renowned German flautists of her generation.

In 2018 she joined the faculty of the famous Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen as a full-time full professor, where she teaches an exceptionally successful flute class. Previously, she held the same position for 9 years at the Hochschule für Musik in Nürnberg.

In addition to her solo activity, she devotes herself mainly to chamber music and the importance of contemporary music.

Several recordings on CD (Sony Classical, Audite) attracted attention and were nominated for the International Classical Music Award (ICMA) and for the «German Record Critics» award.

Flute professor of the ShangHai Conservatory of Music, Yong Ma was hailed by the New York Concert Review as a performer of “amazing brilliance” and is considered one of the brightest flutists of his generation.

Yong Ma has accumulated an impressive list of awards and honors, including first prizes at the Young Artist Competition of the National Flute Association in 2003, the New York Flute Club Competition in 2002, the Young Artist Competition of the Flute Society of Washington in 2000, as well as awards at the Artist International Award in 2002, the Li Foundation Scholarship from 2000 to 2002 and the Olga Koussevitzky Music Competition in 1999.

Born in HuaiNan, AnHui province, Yong Ma studied under Professor Yongxin Wang at the Central Conservatory of Music. In 1998 he was admitted to the Juilliard School, where he studied with Carol Wincenc and Robert Langevin.

Currently a flute teacher at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, he is also very active as a soloist, orchestral musician and chamber musician. He has been a principal flutist with the National Opera of China and the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, and has performed as a soloist and taught master classes in China, the United States, Europe, Singapore and South Africa.

He has been invited to be a member of the jury of numerous national and international competitions, such as the 3rd International Nicolet Flute Competition, the Guangzhou International Flute Competition in 2018, the Tchaikovsky International Music Competition in 2023, and many others.

International soloist and renowned educator, Sibel Pensel gives master classes and concerts in many countries such as China, Japan, Korea, Brazil, Ecuador, Cuba, Russia and Europe, and teaches at several universities in the United States.

She is invited to the juries of the Superior Conservatories and the great International Flute Competitions as «International Nicolet Flute Competition» China, «International Biwako Flute Competition» Japan, «Berliner International Music Competition» Germany, “Terras de la Salette” Portugal, “Varna Flute Competition” Bulgaria, …

Several composers have written works for Sibel Pensel, which are among the most important pieces in the flute repertoire. For the educational development of the repertoire of the flute, she works with «Editions Da Camera». She records many CDs under the Label Chant de Linos.

President of the association «À Travers la Flûte», that organizes festivals, masterclasses, competitions, and the Maxence Larrieu International Flute Competition.

Sibel Pensel obtains the 1st Prize unanimously with the congratulations of the jury and the Certificate of Aptitude of the National Conservatory of Music of Lyon.

She is a professor at the Conservatoire and the Bachelor’s Degree Course of the Côte d’Azur University, and was decorated by the «Société d’Encouragement au Progrès» (which rewards Nobel Prizes, researchers and artists) in 2016 at the Ecole Militaire de Paris.

Sibel Pensel is the artist of Miyazawa Flutes and she plays on a golden Miyazawa flute.

www.sibelpensel.com

Didier Laclau-Barrère began piano studies at the age of 5 with Ada Cecchi-Labèque, mother of Marielle and Katia and herself a student of Marguerite Long. He will continue his studies until the age of 16.

After his literary baccalaureate, he entered Sciences-Po Toulouse (Diploma of the Institute of Political Studies) and jointly studies of Modern Literature (bachelor’s degree) and Law (master’s degree in Public Law and master’s degree in Community Law and International Law), he completed his studies with a doctorate in History of Law which allowed him to be a professor-researcher at the University of Social Sciences in Toulouse and a lecturer at the Institute of Political Studies for the course of «Literature and Politics».

Alongside his studies, he began to learn singing in 1997 with Mary Downing, an American soprano, and in 1999 after a stint with Mady Mesplé, he was the pupil of Jane Berbié, who thus became his master in his own right.

He participated in several productions performing Guglielmo in Cosi fan Tutte, Masetto, Leporello and the title role in Don Juan, Figaro in the Marriage of Figaro and also some Zarzuelas as well as several concerts and recitals of melodies.

However, it is above all the technical aspect of singing that focuses his interest, in particular the acquisition and mastery of the breath of which he makes the cornerstone of his teaching.

Since 2011, he has devoted himself to singing. He teaches in France, Madrid, Barcelona, London, Vienna and Salzburg.

Many artists work with him and have a great career or promising beginnings : Sophie Koch, Nicolas Courjal, Philippe-Nicolas Martin, Jean-Fernand Setti, Philippe Estèphe, Céline Laborie, Sonia Menen, Joan Martin-Royo, Julien Véronèse, Pierre-Emmanuel Roubet, Rupert Grössinger, Lucile Verbizier, François Pardailhé, François Almuzara, Clémence Garcia, Matthieu Toulouse and many others…

Since January 2014, Didier Laclau-Barrère has been working with Grand Master Michel Plasson as part of his Académie Internationale de musique française as general delegate and professor of vocal technique, and since 2019, he is professor of singing at the National Institute of Arts in Toulouse (Higher Pole).

Born in 1983 in Bayeux, Normandy, it is through classical dance that Ludivine is first attracted, by practicing it from the age of four. She then began her musical apprenticeship with a private teacher, Jean-Francois Millet : at six years old on recorders in collective practice, then at nine years old on flute.

Jean-Francois introduced Ludivine to improvisation, jazz, and introduced her to Roland Kirk, Eric Dolpy and Yussef Lateef. At 14 she already has a first studio experience recording 3 discs with the amateur Big Band «Klaxton» (including exceptionally a flute section).

She then studied at the CRR in Caen and at Cergy – Pontoise where she followed a double curriculum (classical and jazz). Her double training offers her the opportunity to acquire an excellent instrumental technique and a very broad culture.

In 2003, Ludivine joined the French Flute Orchestra conducted by Pierre-Yves Artaud, with which she recorded, in 2005, the record «Jindrich Feld» ; which includes a recording of Jean-Pierre Rampal.

In 2007, she won the first National Jazz Flute Competition organized in Meaux, and chaired by Magic Malik.

That same year, the hip-hop producer Wax Tailor (Jean-Christophe Le Saoult) spotted her and hired her in his group. This will be followed by a five-year world tour of the most prestigious theatres and festivals (Glastonbury, Les Vieilles Charrues, l’Olympia, etc.), as well as a gold disc in 2009 “In the Mood for Life” and a live album at l’Olympia (CD/DVD) in 2010. That same year, she recorded the album «H20» with the electro-jazz group UHT, as well as the album «Crawnyard» with the English hip-hop group A State of Mind (ASM) and went on tour with them throughout Europe.

In 2011, Ludivine Issambourg decided to resume her studies in order to perfect her pedagogical knowledge, since she has been teaching since she was 18 years old. She returned to the CEFEDEM of Ile-de-France and became the first flutist in the jazz discipline to obtain her State Diploma.

She began to practice the adaptation of the «beat box» on the flute, a technique invented by Greg Patillo, an American flutist of international renown with which she took an unforgettable course, in Nice during the Maxence Larrieu Competition. She reappropriates this technique, perfects herself, adds it to the research work of sound with thr help of different machines and effects pedals. This percussive flute then plays a beat-box pattern and then reintroduces the melody or melodies once the «flutebox» sampled live, while obviously adding other sound techniques, composition and improvisation.

After all these experiences, it was in 2012 that Ludivine created and directed the group Antiloops. A first concert at New Morning on December 12 and the EP «Yep» is released in 2013. In September, the group won the Sunset Awards (Group Award and Soloist Award). Concerts and festivals are taking place (Jazz sous les pommiers, Jazz a Orleans, etc.).

In 2015, it is the release of “Electroshock”, 1st album
of Antiloops. Two years of touring followed, to follow on a second album «Lucid Dream». In parallel, Ludivine develops a side project : «Antiloops Dj & Vj Set», a more electro version, smaller with only the DJ and a VJ to image this whole universe.

Ludivine joined Thierry Maillard’s Big Band, and participated in the album «Pursuit of Happiness», released in 2018. She also creates with Nicolas Dérand, pianist of Antiloops, a cine-concert written around the beatbox, on animated films. She also teaches at the conservatory of the 9th arrondissement of Paris.

In 2020 Ludivine wishes to pay tribute to one of the greatest American jazz flutists : Hubert Laws, and released an album under his name for a new jazz-funk project «Outlaws», which had a great success : with Eric Legnini, Laurent Coulondre, Julien Herné and Stéphane Huchard.

The famous flute and drum brand «Pearl» decides to endorse Ludivine.

During the lockdown, the flutist decided to create a new, more intimate project: «AO» in duet with the bassist François Poitou. In 2022, Ludivine released its third album with Antiloops : «Supernova»

Then, in the fall, the flutist goes on tour with the singer Dominique A, records with the famous guitarist Christian Escoudé. Last February, she played her project «Outlaws» at the mythical «Ronnie Scott» in London, project of which she prepares the next album which will be released in 2024 on Heavenly Sweetness : «Above the laws».

Born in Nice in 1977, Alexis Kossenko leads a double career as a flautist and conductor.

Graduated from the CNSM of Paris in the class of Alain Marion, winner of the Rampal Competition 2020, he is interested in parallel to the old flutes and performs in concert on all the historical forms of his instrument. He was the solo flute of the Philharmonie der Nationen (J.Frantz, M.Rostropovitch), the Philharmonic Chamber (E.Krivine), and the Orchestre des Champs-Elysées (Ph.Herreweghe).

He performs as a soloist in the largest theatres in Europe and North America, and is guest conductor of prestigious opera houses and ensembles.

His discography, rich with about thirty records as soloist or conductor and a hundred others in orchestra, punctuated by many golden tuning forks, Choc de Classica, Gramophone Awards, etc. shows a repertoire of unusual richness : opera or symphony, from Lully to Bernstein, Bach, Rameau, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Chabrier, Ravel…

The flute includes the complete concertos of CPE Bach, Mozart, Telemann, Telemann’s Parisian quartets, Vivaldi’s concertos, «Undine» (Reinecke & Andersen), «Soir Païen» (impressionist melodies for flute and voice), or a box of 4 discs devoted to Eugène Walckiers, welcomed by a Diapason Découverte, a full page in Télérama, and a Choc de Classica.

He created the Youtube channel «Les Concerts de Pan», where he explores the repertoire for solo flute through an incredible collection of historical instruments.

Salvatore Lombardi is described by national and international critics as «the man who gives voice to the flute in Italy».

He began his music studies at the Conservatory «San Pietro a Majella» in Naples with Ferdinando Staiano, then followed specialization studies with Severino Gazzelloni, Maxence Larrieu and Glauco Cambursano.

He quickly established himself on the world’s most important stages, such as the Carnegie Hall in New York, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Caikovskij Conservatory in Moscow, DePaul University in Chicago, the NFA Convention in Las Vegas, the Heiligenkreuzer Herbst Festival in Vienna, the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin, the University of Salamanca, the Slovenian Flute Festival, the Accademia di Imola in Imola and Tokyo, performing contemporary classical music programs and obtaining critical and audience approval.

His creativity led him to perform alongside famous musicians such as Sir James Galway, Maxence Larrieu, Jean-Claude Gérard, William Bennet, Peter-Lukas Graf and Mario Gangi.

More than 100 new works have been written for him by leading Italian and international composers, including D. Anzaghi, E. Avitavile, H. Baumann, A. Gilardino, M. Gangi, D. Remigio and D. Zanettovich. He gives concerts and teaches flute, currently at the Conservatory Statale di Musica «Domenico Cimarosa» in Avellino, and is regularly invited to give master classes and seminars for important institutions around the world.

He is president of the Associazione Flautisti Italiani, founder and director of the Italian flute magazine «Falaut», artistic director of the «Falaut Festival», the «Falaut Campus» and the «First International Flute Competition – Severino Gazzelloni». He is also responsible for a collection of flutes for the publisher Curci.

Mexican-American flutist, soprano and Artistic Director, Beatriz Macías, is fast emerging as one of the most versatile figures in the scene of classical music. Celebrated for the “voice-like beauty” of her playing, Macías enjoys an international career, equally in demand as a soloist, orchestral flutist and pedagogue. 

Macías made her solo debut at the age of eighteen at the prestigious D.A.R. Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. She has been a prize winner in several international competitions, including the Haifa International Flute Competition (Israel), Pappoutsakis Flute Competition (USA), Alexander & Buono International Flute Competition (USA), and Concert Artist Guild Competition (USA), among others. As a testament to her young talent, she was named a Young Performing Artist by the Yamaha Corporation of America in 2019. 

Macías’ career has taken her around the world. As an orchestral musician, she has held the Principal Flute position with the Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra, and has appeared with numerous orchestras including the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Dutch National Ballet & Opera Orchestra, Luxembourg Philharmonic, Royal Opera House ‘La Monnaie’, Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Finnish National Opera, Birmingham Royal Ballet Orchestra, Qatar Philharmonic and Houston Symphony, to name a few. 

As a singer, Macías’ lyric coloratura soprano voice is an extension of her instrument. Her concerts have been supported by recognized foundations and organizations such as the Jean Sibelius Society in Finland, for her devotion to championing and commissioning new music for soprano by Finnish composers, and bringing to Finland the Spanish Opera genre of “Zarzuela”. 

Dedicated to empowering the next generations of talent, Macías founded the Tampere Flute Fest (TFF), the only international flute festival in Finland that is held annually, in 2020. As the Artistic Director of TFF, she aims, alongside her team, to provide a platform for greater visibility of young flutists, while offering career training and guidance. 

Macías holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Boston Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts and a Master of Music degree from the Royal Conservatory of Brussels in Belgium. Her main teachers are Geralyn Coticone (Former Piccolo, Boston Symphony), Carlos Bruneel (Former Solo Flute, La Monnaie Opera House), and Thaddeus Watson (Former Solo Piccolo, Frankfurt Radio Orchestra).

Macías plays on a Muramatsu flute with Mancke wooden headjoint.

Franck Masquelier now devotes a large part of his activity to the development of his own artistic projects, sharing his vitality, notably within the Trios Adonis, Furioso, Panama, the Ensemble Laborintus and the Quintette Aria de Paris, ensembles of which he is a founding member. He is the artistic director of the Festival Musiques en Vercors (Isère) and the Académie Musicale d’Eté de Villard-de-Lans, which he created in 1991.

Born in Paris, he graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, awarded with the Superior Diploma (First Prize for Flute and Chamber Music). Then he studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg (Germany) with the English flutist William Bennet.

He is the winner of the 2nd Prize at the International Chamber Music Competition of Illzach (France), 1st ex-æquo at the International Competition of Martigny (Switzerland) and winner of the Cziffra and Menuhin Foundations.

He has also participated in numerous orchestral concerts. He has performed with various formations, in important festivals, as well as in prestigious halls (Gaveau, Chopin-Pleyel, La Cité de la Musique), and even in more original places (galleries, castles, natural sites).

His discography is rich with more than fifteen recordings with his ensembles. The last CD Il mio tesoro with Marc Grauwels was released in 2023 under the Calliope label.

For many years, Franck Masquelier has also developed activities of arranger and composer. His catalogue already includes more than seventy works for very diverse formations, as well as more than five hundred arrangements or orchestrations. Seventy scores are now published (Editions Robert Martin, Da Camera, Sempre Piu, François Dhalmann, Pierre Lafitan).

Since January 2018, Franck Masquelier is also President of La Traversière -French Flute Association, which, among other things, publishes a magazine and organizes events including the International Flute Convention in Paris, every 4 years.

Gareth McLearnon is an internationally renowned solo flautist, orchestral and recording artist, and artist-in-residence at Wm. S. Haynes Co., an educator, prolific composer and arranger.

He has given hundreds of masterclasses around the world, including at Yale, the Manhattan School of Music, the mdw in Vienna, the GSMD, the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, the Norwegian Academy, the Royal College of Sweden, the Royal Academy of Music in Denmark, at the Gnessin School/Academy, and he was a tutor for the Yuri Bashmet Academies in Russia between 2013 and 2022.

As a composer and arranger, his original works and arrangements for flute and piano and flute choir are regularly performed worldwide.

Thierry Muller was born in 1964. After musical studies at the Conservatoire de Rouen, he entered in 1984 at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris in the flute class of Michel Debost.

Alongside instrumental studies, he studied harmony and writing with Alain Bernaud.
Upon leaving the CNSM, he became interested in the direction of artistic educational institutions and obtained successively the Certificate of Aptitude of Professor in charge of Direction then Director of Conservatory.

His career then led him to the Conservatoire Caux vallée de Seine, in Normandy, the Conservatoire de Grenoble and today, the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Nice, one of the most important and prestigious in France.

This professional career also allows him to develop an important activity of conductor, as well as a work of composer started in a self-taught way at the age of 16.

Rewarded by numerous national and international awards for his contribution to the revival of the repertoire of wind ensembles, French tradition from which he comes; he composes today for various formations, ranging from chamber music ensembles to orchestra, through the repertoire for soloist and works of an educational nature.

His latest creations include «Tuscany, 3 images for flute, strings, harp and timpani», commissioned by the 4th International Flute Competition «Maxence Larrieu-Nice» ; «Suite for guitar», commissioned by the 1st International Presti-Lagoya Guitar Competition ; «Oceano Nox» for harp and strings, commissioned by the International Harp Festival «CAMAC» 2021; «Cartoon» for flute, oboe, bassoon and piano and, very recently «Palimpseste» for guitar, beautifully recorded by its sponsor Laurent Blanquart and filmed in the sublime chapel designed by Henri Matisse in Vence.

Professor at the Conservatory of Music of Vence (France), Carole Reuge is a flutist and pedagogue, creator of cultural projects.

Teaching the flute since she was 18, Carole Reuge founded L’Atelier F in 2006, a school of flute based in Gland, offering courses as well as internships and ensembles within a team of five teachers. She also directs the orchestras Les Vents Blancs (CH) and Piccolo (CH and F), dedicated to adults and children beginners in flute.

She performs in concerts in Europe and North America as soloist, chamber music and recital. Born in 1973, she studied in Switzerland, obtaining a Master in Pedagogy at the Conservatory of Lausanne and a Master of Soloist at the Conservatory of La Chaux-de-Fonds with Michel Bellavance.

Denis Verroust studied flute under the direction of Pierre Paubon, Ida Ribera, Régis Calle and Francis Gabin.

Holder of the C.A. of flute, professor since 1980 at the Conservatoire de Palaiseau (91), he divides his time between teaching, concerts – he has notably performed with Jean-Pierre Rampal, Claudi Arimany and Philippe Bernold – and musicological research.

Participating in various editions (G. Billaudot) and editor of Traversières Magazine (1991-2000), he also chaired the French Association of the Flute La Traversière (1992-2004) and organized the French Flute Convention in 1992, 1996, 2000, 2008 and 2022.

Founding president of the Association Jean-Pierre Rampal (AJPR) and the Premiers Horizons label, he is the author of numerous articles on the flute, its performers and its repertoire, of numerous texts accompanying recordings by prestigious artists, as well as the biography of Jean-Pierre Rampal (La flûte universelle, éd. AJPR/ La Traversière 2022).

Completing nearly 200 discographic reissues, his lectures on Jean-Pierre Rampal («Le premier virtuose moderne»), Maxence Larrieu, Aurèle Nicolet, Peter-Lukas Graf, Alain Marion and Roger Bourdin are regularly requested by the conservatories, festivals and institutions in many countries.