Catherine Simonpietri

Catherine Simonpietri

Catherine Simonpietri trained with Pierre Cao at the Conservatoire Royal du Grand-Duché du Luxembourg and at the Institut Royal Supérieur de Musique et de Pédagogie in Namur, before perfecting her skills with specialist conductors such as Frieder Bernius, John Poole, Erik Ericson, Hans Michael Beuerle and Michel Corboz.

In 1998, she founded the professional vocal ensemble Sequenza 9.3 to promote vocal polyphony of the 20th and 21st centuries. Passionate about musical creation and the diversity of contemporary writing, she has developed a fertile partnership with the composers of her time. Her curiosity drives her to constantly develop new artistic forms, in dialogue with other musical aesthetics and disciplines.
Renowned for the precision and singularity of its interpretations, Ensemble Sequenza 9.3 regularly performs in France and abroad, notably at the Cité de la Musique and the Philharmonie de Paris, the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Festival de Saint-Denis, the Festival de la Chaise-Dieu, the Festival de Besançon, the Venice Biennale, the Musikfest Stuttgart and the Sommets musicaux de Gstaat.

Invited to conduct prestigious ensembles such as the Flemish Radio Chamber Choir, Ireland's National Chamber Choir, the Quebec Chamber Choir, Stuttgart's Gächinger Kantorei, the Friborg International Festival of Sacred Music and the Radio-France Choir, Catherine Simonpietri is also in demand as a juror for international competitions.

Keen to pass on her high standards to new generations, she has been teaching at the CNSM in Paris since 2001, as well as at the CRR d'Aubervilliers-La Courneuve and the Pôle d'Enseignement Supérieur du 93.