Laurence Equilbey

In 1991, Equilbey founded the chamber choir Accentus, with whom she recorded for labels such as Naïve, but also the Jeune Choeur de Paris, which was later incorporated into the  department of the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Paris. Under the baton of Laurence, Accentus performed a vast vocal music repertoire, ranging from a cappella works to stage productions, from Baroque to Contemporary compositions. In fact, Equilbey is recognized for her demanding yet open-minded approach to her art, which allows her to succeed in many different musical projects: among other things, Equilbey invented the “e-tuner”, an electronic means of tuning. Of equal note is  her collaboration with the Private Domain project, which has included work with Émilie Simon, Murcof, Para One, and Marc Collin of Nouvelle Vague.

Her exploration of the symphonic repertoire has seen her conducting the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, as well as the Hessischer Rundfunk, and the orchestras of Lyon, Liège, Leipzig, Brussels Philharmonic, Copenhague, Gulbenkian, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Concerto Köln, Camerata Salzburg, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, London Philharmonia, H&H society in Boston, among others. With support from the Département des Hauts-de-Seine, she founded Insula orchestra in 2012, an ensemble of period instruments. The orchestra is in residence at La Seine Musicale, near Paris. Here, Laurence Equilbey has conducted concerts with artists from different musical universes in line with her erratic and prodigious approach: Haydn’s Die Schöpfung staged by La Fura dels Baus, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 “Pastoral” with a participative staging by La Fura dels Baus, Mozart’s Requiem staged by Yoann Bourgeois, a project based on Le Jeune homme et la Mort with Marie-Agnès Gillot, Mozart’s Mass in C staged by Pascale Ferran and Mozart’s Thamos, King of Egypt staged by Yannis Kokkos, while recently Laurence Equilbey has explored the ultimate ballads of Schumann (La Nuit des Rois) with Antonin Baudry.

Equally worthy of mention is Equilbey’s commitment to perform neglected works by historic women composers, such as Louise Farrenc. In July 2021, she recorded the composer’s Symphony No. 1 and No. 3 with Warner Classics - Erato. 

Thanks to her commitment to music, Laurence Equilbey is associated with the Grand Théâtre d’Aix-en-Provence and pursues a privileged relation with the Philharmonie de Paris, and in honor of her work, she was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour.