Having achieved his solo piano studies in
France with two first prizes in Lyon and Rueil-Malmaison, while completing
a master in mathematics, Francois Salignat decided in 2004 to join the
postgraduate course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. There
he obtained a Master degree in 2005 and will be a fellow in 2006-2007.
At the Guildhall School of Music and Drama he studied privately or in
masterclasses with Simon Crawford-Phillips, Robin Bowman, Gordon Bak,
Graham Johnson, Iain Burnside, Malcolm Martineau, Rudolf Jansen and Martin
Katz. He has won over the academic year 2005-2006 both the Birmingham
Accompanist of the Year and the Gerald Moore awards.
As a collaborative
pianist, he has performed in St-Luke’s, St-Martin-in-the-fields
and the Wigmore Hall (Guildhall Gold 2006). As a chamber musician he
has performed over Europe in various ensembles, from the duo to the
chamber orchestra, including the European Union Youth Orchestra and
Vladimir Askhenazi, with whom he has recently toured in Le Bourgeois
Gentilhomme by Strauss.
As an accompanist he has been a member of staff at the international
summer courses of Ardingly, Nice and Canford.
As a repetiteur
he has been part of several productions of short operas (The Bear by
Walton, Susanna’s secret by Wolf-Ferrari, Monsieur Choufleuri
by Offenbach) touring over Britain and France. Francois is also very
keen on discovering contemporary repertoire, and has worked in various
ensembles with composers such as John McCabe, Menachem Wiesenberg, Peter
Maxwell-Davies and James McMillan.
Most recently
he has combined all these experiences with that of a soloist in the
new-born festival Off and Back in Venelles, France.
Francois's
studies at the National Opera Studio were kindly supported by Friends
of Covent Garden and the Leonard Hancock Memorial Trust.
