Patrick Fournillier - the French

French people

The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

 conductor

Conducting

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

, was born December 26, 1954, in Neuilly-sur-Seine

Neuilly-sur-Seine

Neuilly-sur-Seine is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Although Neuilly is technically a suburb of Paris, it is immediately adjacent to the city and directly extends it. The area is composed of mostly wealthy, select residential...

.

He studied in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 with Louis Fourestier and Pierre Dervaux

Pierre Dervaux

Pierre Dervaux was a French operatic conductor, composer, and pedagogue. At the Conservatoire de Paris, he studied counterpoint and harmony with Marcel Samuel-Rousseau and Jean and Noël Gallon, as well as piano with Isidor Philipp, Armand Ferté, and Yves Nat...

, then in Strasbourg Conservatoire and Salzburg Mozarteum. Between 1983 and 1986 he was assistant conductor in l'Orchestre National de Lille

Lille

Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...

, then become Artistic Director there. Since 1988 he is Music Director of the Nouvel Orchestre de Saint-Étienne

Saint-Étienne

Saint-Étienne is a city in eastern central France. It is located in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Rhône-Alpes region, along the trunk road that connects Toulouse with Lyon...

 and, since 1990, co-founder and Music Director of Massenet Festival

Massenet Festival

Massenet Festival is a biennale festival of music by French composer, Jules Massenet held at Saint-Étienne, France, close to the area where the composer was born....

 at Saint Étienne, bringing many and the most neglected operatic and vocal works of Jules Massenet

Jules Massenet

Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, Massenet's style went out of fashion, and many of his operas...

 back to light again.

He was a recipient of many international rewards and prizes of conducting, including such as: the Hans Haring First International Prize (Salzburg 1982); Second Prize in the Bosancon International Conductors Competition in 1984; Vaclav Talich Competition Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

, Prize Winner in 1985; and Second Prize in Grzegorz Fitelberg

Grzegorz Fitelberg

Grzegorz Fitelberg was a Polish conductor, violinist and composer. He was a member of the Młoda Polska group, together with artists such as Karol Szymanowski, Ludomir Różycki and Mieczysław Karłowicz....

 Competition in Katowice

Katowice

Katowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about north of the Silesian Beskids and about southeast of the Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of 2...

 in 1987.

Those many rewards brought him international acclaim and keeps him extremely busy, since many symphony orchestras and opera theatres around the world invited him either to be their guest conductor or even become their visiting music director.