Jean-Baptiste Dupont

organ

• Recipient of the first prize at the St Albans International Competition (Great Britain, 2009).
• Recipient of the second prize and the audience prize at the Mikael Tariverdiev Competition (Kaliningrad, 2009).
• Recipient of the third prize at the Xavier Darasse International Competition (Toulouse, 2008).

Jean-Baptiste Dupont was born in 1979 and began his music studies with the piano, discovering the organ at the age of twelve at the Institute of Sacral Music of Toulouse (France). He graduated with distinction in organ studies from the National Conservatoire of Toulouse. As one of the top graduates of the Conservatoire, he was awarded the Francis Vidal prize by the city of Toulouse in 2006 and subsequently continued his studies at the Centre d’études supérieures Musique et Danse in Toulouse. Jean-Baptiste Dupont’s organ, harpsichord, improvisation and piano teachers included Michel Bouvard, Jan Willem Jansen, Louis Robilliard, Philippe Lefebvre and Thérèse Dussaut.

The organist has a broad repertoire including works from the Renaissance to the present day. Much of his repertoire comprises music from the 19^th and 20^th centuries. Continuing the traditions of César Franck, Jean-Baptiste Dupont has been hailed as one of the greatest young improvisers on the organ.

Jean-Baptiste Dupont has a busy concert schedule, performing recitals in towns and cities throughout France and in other European countries; he is a frequent guest performer at several international festivals and he collaborates with various other musicians, orchestras and vocal ensembles. Jean-Baptiste Dupont has also composed chamber instrumental works and music for cinema.

Jean-Baptiste Dupont is an expert in organ construction. In recent years, he has been involved in various projects to reconstruct and restore old organs and build new ones, and he has contributed to several books on organ construction.

Since 1998 Jean-Baptiste Dupont has been the permanent organist at the Moissac Abbey Cloister (France), where he performs on the on the organ created by the great Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. Since 2004 Jean-Baptiste Dupont has been assistant to the principal organist at the Basilica of St Sernin in Toulouse.