Francois Paris's Lecture d'une vague is performed by Sospeso on the May 23 and 24 concerts this season, with soloist Cecile Daroux.

Francois Paris was born in 1961, in the French city of Valenciennes.  He studied music at the National Conservatory of the Region of Versailles, where he received a gold medal in analysis, and then at the Paris Conservatory, where he won the first prize in composition; his teachers were Ivo Malec, Betsy Jolas (for analysis) and Gerard Grisey (for composition and orchestration).  At the same time, he studied conducting; for example, he had performed his own works at Radio France and at Darmstadt.

Mr. Paris was laureat at the International Composition Competition at Besancon, and in 1993 he was selected for a commission by the IRCAM jury.  He was also honored by the French Academy in Rome (Villa Medicis from 1993 to 1995).  A prize-winner of AFAA's program "Villa Medicis and Beyond", he also received the the Claude Arrieu prize from SACEM in 2001.

His music is often heard in France and internationally.  He has received many commissions from various groups and orchestras, including IRCAM, Itineraire, Radio France, Nuova Arca, and state commissions.  Most of his work is published by Ricordi.

Mr. Paris is currently the director of CIRM, the National Center of Musical Creation in Nice; and of the MANCA festival that occurs there every year.

IRCAM.