Harp
Student Recital
Emmanuel Ceysson
Departments
Courses
Applied Lessons
Harp Class
Education
Paris Conservatoire, Diploma in Harp and Harmony
Ensembles
LA Philharmonic (2020-present)
MET Opera (2015-2021)
Paris Opera (2006-2015)
Awards and Distinctions
Gold medal of 5th USA International Harp Competition (2004)
First Prize, Young Concert Artists Auditions (2006)
First Prize, ARD Competition (2009)
Notable Studio Wins
SFCM concerto competition
Lewisville Concerto competition
Distinguished Alumni
Julia Gruenbaum
Vicki Chen
Q&A
What is your hometown?
Chaponost, a suburb of Lyon, France.
What is your favorite recording? Why?
Stravinsky's Firebird with Pierre Boulez and the Chigago Symphony Orchestra. First piece of music I studied in music initiation as a kid, beautiful rendition.
What are you passionate about outside of music?
Cooking, baking, and biking.
Who were your major teachers?
Isabelle Moretti and Germaine Lorenzini.
What is a favorite quote that you repeatedly tell students?
"What truly matters in the end, is the path towards excellence, not the awards."
What question do you wish students would ask sooner rather than later?
In general, questions about the reasons behind what I tell them, as questioning is the best way to learn.
What was the defining moment when you decided to pursue music as a career?
A TV talent show when I was 7, and then entering Paris Conservatoire at 16.
What was a turning point in your career?
Joining the Paris Opera in 2006. Opera taught me almost everything musically.
If you weren't a musician or teacher, what do you think you would be doing now?
Hand or neurosurgeon.
What is your daily practice routine?
Two to four hours max of really focused practice, spread during the day between new pieces to learn, and deepening repertoire I already know.
If you could play only three composers for the rest of your life, who would they be?
Wagner, Debussy, Henriette Renié.
From a music history perspective, what year and city are most important to you, and why?
Paris in the early 20th century: The birth of Impressionism in music, the blooming of the harp in France under Renié's career.
What is your unrealized project?
A method book on sound techniques for harp.
Please list your most important collaborations.
Ginastera concerto in Berlin Philharmonie with Detroit Symphony Orchestra. A Ring cycle with Philippe Jordan at the MET. A Reinhold Glière concerto recording with the Bavarian Radio Symphony.
What recordings can we hear you on?
Gliere Concerto with BRSO, BR Klassik. Debussy Danses, Orchestre National de Lyon and Jun Märkl, Naxos. Belle Epoque, Naïve. Ballad in RED, Aparté.
Chosen amongst 70 of his peers in a totally blind and anonymous audition process, Ceysson has, since September 2020, been the Los Angeles Philharmonic Harpist under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel. This exciting symphonic position comes after almost 15 years playing opera in the pit as Principal Harp; first with the Opéra National de Paris, a job he won aged 22, and then for five full seasons with the legendary New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.
Born and raised in France, he was admitted unanimously as a student of the prestigious Paris Conservatoire at only 16, and then managed to collect the highest international distinctions and prizes in the course of 10 years: GOLD Medallist at the 2004 USA international Harp Competition, First Prize at the New York Young Concert Artists Auditions in 2006, and First Prize at the 2009 ARD competition in Munich. An acclaimed solo career followed, with performances at major concert venues like Carnegie Zankel Hall, Wigmore Hall, Salle Gaveau, Munich Gasteig, Wiener Konzerthaus, Hyogo concert hall, and as a soloist with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, Deutsche Symphonie Orchester, RAI Orchestra Torino, Orchestre National de Lyon, PKF Prague Philharmonia.
Ceysson has also taken part in important music festivals all over the planet including the Cartagena Music Festival, the Mecklenburg Vorpommern Festival, Hong Kong Premiere Performance, Caramoor and Classical Tahoe. As a recording artist, his wide discography covers solo, chamber music and concerto harp repertoire with labels such as Naxos, BR klassik, Naïve, Aparte, and he maintains an active teaching schedule with both individual students and masterclasses.