Bio

Born in 1987, Paul Changarnier is from Normandy. He studied at the conservatories of Saint Valéry en Caux and Rouen before continuing his percussion training at the CNSMD in Lyon between 2009 and 2014. He won the Cannes International Percussion Competition in 2010 and the Yamaha Music Europe Foundation in 2013.

He is a founding member of the TaCTuS Ensemble with whom he created VISAGES, Dédale(s), Les Varations Golderg, Timber. In 2019, he composed the music and was the musical director of Encore la vie (2019), a piece for 4 jugglers and 4 musicians with the Collectif Petit Travers and the Ensemble Tactus. In 2021, he co-write the show RESET with Quentin Dubois for 3 musicians and 1 acrobat.

He plays as musician with the SR9 Trio since 2010, alongside Nicolas Cousin and Alexandre Esperet. In 2012, the SR9 Trio won the Luxembourg International Percussion Competition, and obtained the First Prize, the Audience Prize and the Interpretation Prize. The SR9 Trio then created the shows Machine(s), Corporels and Jukebox (2019), and recorded two albums on the Naïve label: Bach au marimba and Alors, on danse?

In 2010, Paul Changarnier discovered contemporary dance, a new and inspiring language. This was followed by collaborations with choreographers Sandrine Maisonneuve (2011), Yuval Pick (No play hero, 2012) and Maud Le Pladec (Democracy, 2013). He co-founded the Collectif A/R in 2012, with dancers Thomas Demay and Julia Moncla, with whom he created the shows États des Lieux (2012), L’homme de la rue (2018) and PLACEMENT LIBRE (2021).

In 2017, he worked on his first choreographic research project, h o m e, with the A/R collective and continued in 2021 with the creation of a new piece, everything is temporary.

In 2021, he joins the jugglers Neta Oren and Eric Longequel on drums for their show, unplugged.

Paul Changarnier is also a founding member of Dog Food, a laboratory of sound experimentation, in duo with vibraphonist David Fourdrinoy but also solo for his own creations where he develops electronic music from analog synthesizers.

He travels throughout France, Europe and the four corners of the world (USA, Japan, Australia…) between concerts, shows and master classes.

Nicolas Cousin began studying piano and percussion at the Conservatoire d’Angers with Fabrice Marandola, then Thierry Le Cacheux and Jean Fessard. He continued his studies with François Desforges and Emmanuel Curt before entering the CNSM de Lyon in the class of Jean Geoffroy and Henri-Charles Caget, where he obtained his master’s degree in 2013.

At the age of 10, he had the opportunity to perform a concerto for piano and orchestra. Since then, his desire to make a life in music has never left him. He chose to broaden his horizons by discovering the world of percussion in addition to his piano studies. As a percussionist, he joined the Lycée David symphony orchestra in Angers, with whom he toured China, Poland, Germany and France.

In 2011, he co-founded the percussion trio SR9, which in 2012 won 1st prize, the set piece prize and the audience prize at the Luxembourg International Percussion Competition. With this ensemble, he performs regularly around the world, notably in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Germany, England, Belgium, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Latvia, Poland and the Netherlands.

An orchestral enthusiast, he was awarded the “Aïda” scholarship to the Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, and performs regularly with the Opéra de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre National de Lyon, Opéra de Lyon, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Orchestre National de Cannes, European Camerata, Opéra de Saint Etienne, Opéra de Limoges and Cercle de l’Harmonie.

From 2011 to 2019, he performs in the Kahlua company with Matthieu Benigno and Alexandre Esperet in the multidisciplinary show “Black Box”. Alongside these artistic axes, his curiosity for creation and chamber music has led him to work with pianist Hélène Desmoulin on a piano and marimba repertoire, and to create a violin/marimba and percussion duo with violinist Elissa Cassini, with whom he premiered the work “Cycles” by Brazilian composer Armando Lobo. Other collaborations include performances at the Colmar Festival directed by Marc Coppey, with the O Vertigo dance company (Drumming by Steve Reich) and in Philippe Béziat’s film Noces in 2012.

In addition to his work as a performer, he is interested in teaching, and gives master-classes at conservatories in France and abroad, including the Boston Conservatory, the Juilliard School in New York, New York University and the academy of the Pleven International Marimbas & Percussion Festival in Bulgaria. He teaches at the Académie Internationale d’Eté de Nice.
In 2022, he founded the classical music festival “L’Eze Harmonies”, of which he is co-artistic director. It takes place every year in the medieval village of Eze.

Alexandre studied percussion successively at the conservatories of Avignon, Creteil, and in the CNSMD of Lyon under the guidance of Jean Geoffroy. He also learned piano, composition, jazz and rock music.

During his studies, he won several international competitions: 1st prize at the Marimba Competition in Cannes (2008); Audience Prize & Dr. Glatt Prize at the Geneva International Competition (2009); 1st Prize, Audience Prize and Press Prize at Tromp Percussion Competition in Eindhoven (2012).

Alexandre is an eclectic percussionist, eager to collaborate with other artistic forms. Therefore he has worked with many choreographers and stage directors. Between 2011 and 2014, he performed more than a hundred times in Europe, USA and Japan the dance and music-theatre show Traverse with the Arcosm Cie.

In 2010 he created the music-theatre company Kahlua with his friend Matthieu Benigno. Together, they wrote a show for children called Black Box, and a piece entitled Ceci n’est pas une balle published by Alfonce Productions Editions, and which is now being performed in more than 20 different countries.

Since 2016, he is member of the group Percussions de Strasbourg with whom he creates numerous new pieces for percussion from composers Thierry De Mey, Alexander Schubert, Wen Chi Tsai, Karl Naegelen, Stéphane Magnin, Gabriel Sivak… and play old repertoire classics, including the famous Pléiades & Persephassa written by Iannis Xénakis for the ensemble.

Moreover, Alexandre performs as a soloist worldwide (USA, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Russia, UK, The Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Slovakia, Lithuania, Georgia) for recitals or with the following ensembles: Ensemble Contemporain, SO Percussion, Shlagwerk Den Haag, Ensemble Contrechamps, Asko Schoënberg Ensemble, Britten Sinfonia.
He premiered pieces from composers such as Nico Muhly, Karl Naegelen, Maxim Shalygin, Alin Gherman or Benoit Montambault.

He had the chance to share his experience during master classes and clinics at the Boston Conservatory, Mc Gill University of Montréal, EMESP in Sao Paulo, Sensoku Gakuen in Kawasaki.
He was guest teacher in the Royal Conservatory of The Hague (The Netherlands) in 2015.
Since 2021 he is assistant teacher in the new percussion class of the CNSMD of Lyon.