Camille - UN WEEK-END À L’EST

Camille Thomas

Optimism, vitality, and exuberant joy are elements of the rich and captivating personality of Camille Thomas. The young Franco-Belgian cellist, who signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon in April 2017, understands the power of art to bring people together, uniting individuals from diverse cultures, countries, and backgrounds. Her charismatic artistry
is fueled by a passion for life and a desire to inspire others to open their hearts to the wonder and emotion of classical music. “I firmly believe that music has the power to expand the heart, to make you feel everything with greater intensity,” she says. “Music gives hope for the beauty and greatness of the human soul.”

Voice of Hope, her second album with DG, was set to be released internationally on June 6, 2020. At the heart of this album is the world premiere recording of Fazil Say’s Never Give Up Cello Concerto, a response by the composer to the terrorist attacks in Paris and Istanbul, written specifically for Camille Thomas, who gave the world premiere in Paris in April 2018. It is the first classical music album recorded in partnership with UNICEF, reflecting the cellist’s desire to help others through her music.

Camille Thomas was born in 1988 in Paris. She began playing the cello at the age of four and progressed so quickly that she soon took lessons with Marcel Bardon. She moved to Berlin in 2006 to study with Stephan Forck and Frans Helmerson at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule für Musik and continued her training with postgraduate courses with Wolfgang-Emanuel Schmidt at the Franz Liszt Hochschule für Musik in Weimar.

Camille is conquering the global stage at an impressive pace. She has already worked with conductors such as Paavo Järvi, Mikko Franck, Marc Soustrot, Darrell Ang, Kent Nagano, Stéphane Denève, and with orchestras including the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Academia Santa Cecilia, Sinfonia Varsovia, the Staatsorchester Hamburg at the Elbphilharmonie, the Lucerne Festival Strings at Herkulessaal in Munich, the Orchestre National de Bordeaux, and the Brussels Philharmonic.

Camille Thomas plays on the famous Stradivarius “Feuermann” from 1730, loaned by the Nippon Music Foundation.

festival special guest

André Manoukian

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festival special guest

Rima Pipoyan

Rima Pipoyan is s one of the pioneers of modern ballet and contemporary dance in Armenia. She is a choreographer, director, and dancer. Her choreographic works have been presented in various cities of Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Portugal, Serbia, Croatia, Russia, Belarus, (…)