Elise Bertrand

Élise Bertrand (b. 2000) began playing the piano at the age of 5, the violin at the age of 8, and took up composition three years later, as an autodidact.

After studying at the CRR of Toulon, she joined the CRR of Paris at the age of 14, where she studied violin with Suzanne Gessner and composition with Nicolas Bacri.
She obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the CNSMDP, studying under Roland Daugareil, and continued her training there with courses in advanced composition (harmony, counterpoint, orchestration, etc.).

In 2022, she entered the CNSMDP to study chamber music with her pianist, Gaspard Thomas, and became artist in residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, in the class of Augustin Dumay.

Since 2023, Élise has been supported by the Fondation l’Or du Rhin and plays on a Joseph Gagliano violin (Naples 1796) on loan from the corporate foundation ‘Société Générale C’est vous l’avenir’.

Élise is currently completing her 3rd cycle of advanced violin studies (Artist Diploma) at the CNSMDP, which enables her to perform as a soloist with the Conservatoire’s Orchestre des Lauréats.

She participated in the Villecroze Academy (2019); the Seiji Ozawa Academy and the International Menuhin Music Academy in summer 2021 and 2022; the Philippe Jaroussky Music Academy (2021 and 2022) in the Tchaikovsky class; and the Stauffer Academy in Cremona, with Gil Shaham, in 2023.

Élise has won numerous violin, chamber music and composition competitions.
In the autumn of 2019, she won 2nd Prize and the Special Prize for best interpretation of a contemporary piece at the Ginette Neveu International Competition. A month later, she won 1st Prize and the Special Prize at the Léopold Bellan International Competition. In 2022 she was awarded 1st Prize at the Rotary Club Paris and a few months later 1st Prize – Prix d’Honneur at the International Competition for Young Talents in Normandy.

As a violinist, she has taken part in numerous projects, both as a soloist and as a chamber musician (notably at La Roque-d’Anthéron, in recital at the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad and La Roche-Posay festival, at the Easter Festival of Aix-en-Provence, the Auvers-sur-Oise festival and at Palazetto Bru Zane in Venice) and with orchestras (Les Dissonances, OPRL, Orchestre de Douai région Hauts-de-France, Orchestre Idomeneo and Ensemble Les Apaches, among others).

As a musician she is keen to champion lesser-known violin and chamber music repertoires, as well as contemporary music, allowing her to combine interpretation and creation.

Her own works, published by Billaudot and Klarthe, are commissioned by ensembles, leading instrumentalists, competitions and institutions, and have been broadcast on France Musique, Radio Classique and ARTE Concert. In May 2022, Élise was invited to the Classical:NEXT international conference in Hanover, where three female composers were given the floor. That same year, her “Sonate-Poème, Op. 11” was awarded the medal of the Académie des Sciences, Lettres et Arts of Arras.

She has also featured in Classica, Diapason, Pianiste, Traversières Magazine and The Strad Korea.

Her first album, Lettera Amorosa (released under the Klarthe label), based on her own works, was acclaimed by critics and the press. In September 2022, it was named “Contemporary Record of the Week” by Emilie Munera and Rodolphe Bruneau Boulmier.

During the 2023–24 season, Élise will be joining the Ambassador Programme of the Classeek platform as a composer, and will be taking on commissions of the Modigliani Quartet, the Maxence Larrieu International Flute Competition, Festival les Inouies, the Musée de l’Homme in Paris, and Festival d’Auvers-sur-Oise, where she will be guest composer in residence.