Blazing, control and generosity are three terms that often come up about this group, today recognized one of the most prestigious saxophone quartets in the world. After more than twenty years of existence, his career has led him to give more than 1,000 concerts on the most prestigious French stages – from the Eiffel Tower to the Château de Versailles, from the Salle Pleyel to the Arsenal in Metz, via La Folle Journée de Nantes, the Radio France Montpellier festival and many international stages in more than fifteen countries. Renowned for its versatility, the quartet turns both to the classical repertoire – with a marked predilection for the baroque repertoire – and to the music of our time with works by Escaich, Doss, Lynch, Geiss and Decruck. Very active on records, the ensemble has to date recorded seven award-winning albums, the latest of which, “Fusion”, an association with the organist and composer Thierry Escaich, was released in 2023 by NoMadMusic.
Formed in 2004 in Nantes, the quartet was taught by Paul Meyer and Eric Le Sage at the Paris Conservatory; he also worked with Maurice Bourgue in Avignon, Claire Désert in Paris, Christian Lauba in Bordeaux, and Thierry Escaich with whom a real and lasting bond was forged. Winning unanimously in 2007 the First Prize of the European Competition “Musiques d’Ensemble”, organized by the FNAPEC – an “Ellipsos Prize” has since been created, rewarding the best wind ensemble in the competition -, he was since the most broadcasted saxophone quartet on France Musique, and it is also the first saxophone quartet to be awarded a Grammy (Victoire de la Musique Classique) as “Best Ensemble 2020”. Collaborating with the National Orchestra of Pays de la Loire, the National Orchestra of Lyon, the Gewandhaus of Leipzig, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio France, and with many artists such as Marie-Josephe Jude, Gordan Nikolic, Eric Le Sage, Thomas Ospital but also Manu Dibango, Didier Lockwood or the singers Zaza Fournier and Yaël Naïm, since 2018 he has been Ambassador for the Fondation du Souffle (which is committed to the fight against respiratory diseases) and devotes important artistic events to this cause.
He also directs an eponymous collection at Billaudot scores publisher, devoted to works for saxophone in general. On social networks, he created the #SaxophoneFamily, bringing together more than 50,000 followers and saxophone enthusiasts. Join it and subscribe on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
In 2024, the Ellipsos Quartet becomes the ambassador for the japanese company YANAGISAWA. Then the quartet plays on exceptionnal and absolutely unique instruments (WO37GP and WO30BSB series). The quartet keeps beeing supported by the american company D’Addario, the Fondation de France, the SPEDIDAM, the french Ministère de la Culture and the french Institut. It is also officially helped by by Frederique Bizeul, the repairs shop in Nantes. Since 2017, the Centre national de la Musique supports the Ellipsos Quartet.
