Oberlin College and Conservatory

Guest Recital: Jean Geoffroy, marimba; Franck Berthoux, electronics

Sunday, February 16, 2014 at 8:00pm to 10:00pm

Warner Concert Hall
77 West College Street, Oberlin, OH 44074

A conservatory guest recital by Jean Geoffroy, marimba and Franck Berthoux, electronics.

Admission is free.

Program:

Pierre Jodlowski: The Cube (table & tape)

Martin Matalon: Traces IV (marimba & electronic)

Jodlowski: Time & Money (drums, video, & tape)

J.S. Bach: Chaconne for marimba solo

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Jean Geoffroy studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris where he won first prize in percussion in 1985. He was then solo timpanist of the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris from 1985 to 2000. Geoffroy has managed to blaze a trail for himself in the percussion world, which led him to create and play many different pieces. He has been the dedicatee and first performer of scores for percussion solo by many of today’s finest composers. As a soloist Geoffroy is regularly invited to the most prestigious European festivals. Winner of the Menuhin Foundation’s Présence de la Musique in 1992, he participated as a soloist in nearly thirty recordings, including five devoted to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Appointed in 1999, Geoffroy is professor of percussion at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon. He also taught at the Paris Conservatoire (1993-98) with J. Delécluse and the Higher Music Academy of Geneva (1998-2007) in the percussion department. He was artistic director of the Eklekto International Percussion Center in Geneva from 2006 to 2013 and president and artistic director of the Giot International Competition (for vibraphone). Geoffroy was president of the last Geneva International Competition for Percussion (2009) and is a member of the lecture committee at IRCAM. For several years now, he has been conducting various ensembles in France and South America. Geoffroy is regularly invited to perform with the French Mesostics Ensemble, which specializes in new repertoire.

 

For more than 10 years Franck Berthoux has not followed the traditional path of the professional sound engineer. Self-taught in various artistic institutions (La Maison de la Danse and Les Subsistances in Lyon), he created his own recording studio in 1998 called Mix’Up. After much experience in sound design, he became a freelance sound engineer in 2003 and joined the Grame (National research musical creation center) in Lyon. He was musician and producer for the band Jade, and recorded their first EP Fresh Air in 2004 and Analogic in 2006. In 2008, Franck moved to Paris where he developed his network. He is continuously exploring the fields of performing arts, contemporary music, and multimedia.

 

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