THE CARD GAME

Founded during the 2006–2007 season, the Lemanic Modern Ensemble was born out of a desire to champion modern and contemporary repertoires. From its inception, the Ensemble has enlisted renowned figures from the international scene to serve as its musical directors. Conductor and composer William Blank joined the LME shortly after its founding, followed by Pierre Bleuse from the 2016–2017 season until 2022–2023. Since September 2023, the position has been held by Dylan Corlay. Based in Geneva, the Lemanic Modern Ensemble performs both locally—at Victoria Hall, the Comédie de Genève, the Geneva Conservatory, the Auditorium Ansermet, and Salle Frank Martin—and further afield, in venues such as the Médiathèque du Valais in Sion, the Grand Théâtre d’Aix-en-Provence, IRCAM, and Royaumont Abbey, among others. Renowned for its interpretations and mastery of contemporary repertoire, the Ensemble is invited to numerous festivals, including the Archipel Festival in Geneva, the Grame Biennale Musique en scène in Lyon, Shanghai New Music Week, the Venice Biennale, the Festival d’Avignon, and the Présences Festival of Radio France. As a passionate advocate of new music, the Ensemble regularly collaborates with composers such as Michael Jarrell, Yann Robin, Sofia Avramidou, Hanspeter Kyburz, Stefano Gervasoni, Ivan Fedele, Luis Naón, Aka Nakamura, and Daniel Arango-Prada—winner of the First Prize in Composition at the Geneva Competition—to name just a few. With its growing international presence, the Ensemble works with conductors including Jean Deroyer, Julien Leroy, Bruno Mantovani, Martin Matalon, and Jurjen Hempel, as well as soloists such as violinists Diana Tishchenko, Svetlin Roussev, and Tedi Papavrami; violist Christophe Desjardins; cellist Éric-Maria Couturier; pianists Lorenzo Soulès and Cédric Pescia; flutist Emmanuel Pahud; and singers Véronique Gens, Clémence Tilquin, Marina Viotti, and Cristina Branco. It has also collaborated with actor Carlo Brandt, actress Fanny Ardant, and actor-singer Lambert Wilson. While its activities are now developing internationally, the LME initially operated across the entire Lake Geneva region, where it has since become an essential presence. Its repertoire encompasses both the landmark works of modernism and the most recent creations of contemporary music.

Celebrated for his outstanding interpretations as a soloist, his extensive exploration of chamber music with some of today’s finest musicians, and a dedication to widening the cello literature, Marc Coppey is considered one of the world’s leading cellists, and his reputation as a fine conductor is growing on the international podium.

A protégé of Lord Yehudi Menuhin and Mstislav Rostropovich, Coppey achieved his first international success at the age of 18, winning First Prize and ‘Prize for the Best Bach Performance’ at the prestigious Leipzig Bach Competition (1988).  Soon thereafter, he made major debuts in Paris and Moscow in collaboration with Yehudi Menuhin and Victoria Postnikova (captured on film by the celebrated director Bruno Monsaingeon) and performed at the Evian Festival by personal invitation of Mstislav Rostropovich.  Since then, Coppey has carved out an impressive solo career to date, working regularly with many of the world’s finest orchestras and conductors – including, amongst others, Alain Altinoglu, Lionel Bringuier, Lawrence Foster, Alan Gilbert, Kirill Karabits, Emmanuel Krivine, John Nelson, Pascal Rophé, Yan Pascal Tortelier, and Yutaka Sado.  He was made Officier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Cultural Ministry in 2014.

The breadth of Coppey’s repertoire testifies to his profound musical curiosity: alongside mainstream cello literature, he is a champion of lesser known and contemporary works. He has given the world premieres of cello concerti by renowned composers such as Jacques Lenot, Marc Monnet, Eric Tanguy, and the French premieres of works by Elliott Carter, Mantovani, and Erkki-Sven Tüür. Amongst those composers who have dedicated works to Coppey are such leading voices as Lera Auerbach, Christophe Bertrand, Hugues Dufourt, Frédéric Durieux, Ivan Fedele, Philippe Fénelon, Philippe Hurel, Michael Jarrell, Betsy Jolas, Frank Krawczyk, Philippe Leroux, François Meïmoun, Brice Pauset, Enno Poppe, Thierry Pécou, Michèle Reverdy, Johannes Maria Staud, and Frédéric Verrières.

Recent and forthcoming highlights include performances as a soloist with Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse/Lio Kuokman, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France/Kazushi Ono, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg/John Nelson, and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra/Lawrence Foster.  As a conductor, Coppey collaborates with the Deutsche Kammerakademie and the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, amongst other leading ensembles, and has served as Music Director of the Zagreb Soloists since 2011. 2021 marked Coppey’s first year as Artist-in-Residence with the Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música, performing Dutilleux (with John Storgårds), Dvořák (with Vassily Sinaisky), and Elgar (with Michael Sanderling), alongside Rhim (with Peter Rundel) and Shostakovich No.1 (with Stefan Blunier).

Coppey is a much-acclaimed recording artist, working exclusively with the audite classics label. 2021 saw the release of Shostakovich: Cello Concertos (with Polish Radio Symphony/Lawrence Foster), and 2022 saw the release of Kodály: Music for Solo Cello, and The French Cello (Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg/John Nelson). All three albums received exceptional reviews, universally placing Coppey on a par with the greatest cellists in history.

Coppey’s recordings have received exultant critical acclaim, including a Diapason d’Or and “Choc” in the Monde de la Musique for his recording of the Dutilleux Cello Concerto (with Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège/Pascal Rophé), and the highly sought after “ffff” from Télérama, amongst other awards. Coppey has also recorded extensively for the Accord/Universal, Aeon/Outhere, Decca, Harmonia Mundi, K617, Mirare, and Naïve record labels. In the streaming sphere, Coppey’s performances can be found on both Arte.tv and Medici.tv.

Passionate about inspiring future generations of musicians, Coppey is a Professor at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, and is regularly invited to give masterclasses across Europe, Asia, and both North & South America. Since October 2020, he has been Artistic Director of the Saline Royale Academy d’Arc-et-Senans: a state-of-the-art new music education facility in France.

Marc Coppey is also a passionate chamber musician, and former member of the Ysaÿe Quartet (1995-2000). He now serves as Artistic Director of the annual festival Les Musicales de Colmar. Coppey collaborates regularly with pianists such as Nelson Goerner, Stephen Kovacevich, Kun-Woo Paik, and Maria-João Pires, leading string players including Ilya Gringolts, Vadim Gluzman, Viktoria Mullova, Alina Pogostkina, and Lawrence Power, and the internationally acclaimed flautist Emmanuel Pahud. Coppey’s regular sonata partner is esteemed Russian pianist Peter Laul.

Marc Coppey performs on a cello by Matteo Gofriller (Venice, 1711), known as the ‘Van Wilgenburg’, and resides in Paris.

Trumpet, piano, guitar, bass, harmonica, ondes Martenot, tap-dance, bassoon : Dylan Corlay has been musically diverse since he was a child ! Throughout his studies and experiences on stage, he patiently paved the way to becoming an orchestra conductor.

Before winning the“6th international Jorma Panula Conducting Competition” in 2015, he won his spurs as a trumpet player in a reggae band, a bassoon player in prestigious orchestras, a teacher, an improviser, a composer and a comedian.

In recent seasons, he has been invited to conduct the Orchestre National de France, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Ensemble lntercontemporain, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre National d’Île-de-France, Orchestre de chambre de Paris, Joensuu City Orchestra in Finland, Berner Sinfonieorchester, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne…

His performances as conductor on opera productions have been acclaimed by musicians and critics alike, particularly at the Frankfurt Opera for Berlioz’s Les Troyens. He regularly collaborates with Les Frivolités Parisiennes (Le Testament de la Tante Caroline and Le Diable à Paris). He is invited to conduct projects uniting symphony orchestras and jazz or contemporary music artists such as Bireli Lagrène, André Ceccarelli, Mélody Gardot, Matthieu Chedid, Sanseverino…  Since 2018, he has been conducting the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France for the « Hip-Hop Symphonique » project at the Maison de la Radio. Dylan Corlay is driven by the desire to create genuine moments of artistic communion. Whether in the presence of spectators, in front of orchestra musicians or with students, his aspirations remain unchanged – to exchange, transmit and federate.

In 2019, Dylan Corlay premiered his Concerto pour Pirate with the Orchestre Victor Hugo Franche-Comté. In this show, which he imagined and composed, he is actor, musician, conductor, sound-painter and pirate. This project is a co-production with the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, the Orchestre National de Metz and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.

In 2021, created « Tour d’orchestre à bicyclette » with the Orchestre de l’Opéra de Tours: a concert-show featuring an astonishingly diverse repertoire combining musical arrangements, juggling, tap-dancing…  For each performance, Dylan Corlay travels by bike to the concert venue, sharing the journey with motivated cyclists from each city hosting the show.

As part of the cultural events linked to the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the « Tour d’Orchestre(s) à Bicyclette » project aims to mobilize and unite musicians and sportsmen and women throughout the metropolitan area, around a sporting practice – cycling – and a type of music – symphonic music – as part of a popular and inclusive event.

A lover of sound, eager to work, passionate about sharing… Insatiable!