Emmanuelle SOMER
oboe, English horn, Bb, Eb and bass clarinets, soprano and tenor saxophones; sound ingenieur, composition, film music
Emmanuelle Somer is born January 5, 1972 in Brussels, with French and Dutch citizenships.
She graduated from the European School, speaking French, English, Dutch and German fluently.
As a teenager, she played piano, recorder, oboe, saxophone and drums.
She studied with Paul Dombrecht at Brussels Koninklijk Conservatorium, where she got degrees in oboe, English horn, solfege and chamber music. She also studied free improvisation with Fabrizio Cassol (Aka Moon), Michel Massot (Tous Dehors) and Garret List. She later toured and played in Europe with Michel Massot, Stephane Galland, Kris Defoort, Pierre van Dormael, Claudio Puntin...
Emmanuelle decided to cross the Atlantic ocean for discovering jazz in its craddle. She received a full scholarship that enabled her to enroll at Boston's Berklee College of Music, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude in both composition and improvisation, and learned film scoring techniques. She enriched her musical experiences there by 300 concerts and 600 studio hours in all styles, and founded the Helios Quartet in 1995, which regularly tours Europe since its creation.
In 1997, Emmanuelle moved to New York, where she performed with Dave Douglas, Dave Gilmore, Chris Potter, Jim Black, Peter Epstein, Tom Varner, Lindsey Horner among many others, regularly booked at the Knitting Factory and other local clubs. She also got into clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone playing, singing and modern dancing, and continued composing and preparing new tours. She recorded the CD The Apple Tree (LY98016-C) at New York's Knitting Factory with the Helios Quartet and the Tone Poets, signing all compositions.
In 2000 and 2001, Emmanuelle found herself mainly in Paris, recording Odyssey in Brussels with the Somer-Mangen Quartet, and Search for Peace in New York with 7 other musicians, composing and arranging for the 17 instruments represented. Beside a steady musical and technical evolution on all 6 instruments and composition, Emmanuelle specialized herself in audio engineering, mixing the album Search for Peace herself, as well as in graphism and judo, and studied some Japanese. She also followed private courses in Indian talas and rhythm with Trichy Sankaran, therefore traveling to Toronto.
In 2002, Emmanuelle decided to explore Japan and the Tokyo jazz and creative scene. She performed on all 6 instruments in Tokyo main studios (NHK, Sound City) and venues (Sweet Basil, Pit Inn) with Japanese musicians Takashi Harada, Masahiko Osaka, Yoichi Murata, Eiichi Hayashi, Sachi Nagata, Yoshihide Otomo, Kyoko Kuroda, Toru Odajima, Toshiyuki Omori to name just a few. She also continued practicing judo and katas at the Kodokan, where she passed the exam for the black belt. Nevertheless Emmanuelle wasn't satisfied artistically nor creatively in Japan. After 7 months on the island, she decided to go back to France. But she, her music to come and her global apreciation of European cultural assets and of Western world, will remain deeply moved by her Nippon experience.
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In 2003, Emmanuelle finally sets in the Loire region, in Saint Dy�¯�¿�½ near Blois and the Castle of Chambord, finding quietness and being far from big cities' noise and lack of humanity. Nevertheless she continues to travel and ray, and to build a studio for future recordings. She also follows a special training for firemen and graduates at Tours' University Fran�¯�¿�½ois Rabelais in musicology, her final work being dedicated to the film music of Dimitri Chostakovitch. Since January 2004, Emmanuelle takes care of a radio broadcast in Luynes, the subject being "Jazz and today's musics", for the promotion and the broadcasting of creative musics of artists which are seldom promoted by the medias and which adhere to no "style" in particular.
In 2004 Emmanuelle tours and records in Poland with the Oles brothers, Michael Rabinowitz and Erik Friedlander, and takes part to a recording of Jewish compositions for Tzadik; she also does a couple concerts and recordings in the United States. In 2005 Emmanuelle creates a yearly festival in the Loir-et-Cher regio; the first one called "The oboe in all states" featured Paul Dombrecht, Piet van Bockstal and Emmanuelle Somer with Jean-Luc Fillon; the second is dedicated to Shostakovich's centenary in 2006. She and cellist Ariane Wilson give European concerts of traditional folkloric music from Europe and Middel Eastern countries rearranged as original compositions, under the name of Troubadours du XXI�¯�¿�½ si�¯�¿�½cle. With Fran�¯�¿�½ois Verly playing bass marimba, gongs, tablas and harpsichord, she records the CD Ambivalences in October 2006.
Winter 2006 finds Emmanuelle for 5 months on cruseships cruising the Carribean and Pacific; she performs every day on saxophone, clarinet and flute. Back to France, she auditions for Cirque du Soleil which will be producing a new show in China and Japon. She continue performing with both Troubadours and Fran�¯�¿�½ois Verly.
Studies
Autodidact : Saxophones, clarinets, flute, mixing with Pro Tools, graphism with Photoshop, Russian, Japanese.
University Fan�¯�¿�½ois Rabelais Tours (Tours, France) : 2003-2005. European Master Degree in musicology. Final work on Dimitri Chostakovitch's film music.
Liege Royal Conservatory (Liege, Belgium) : 1996-1997. Specialisation in free improvisation with Garrett List and in Chambre music.
Berklee College of Music (Boston, USA) : 1993-1996. Full scholarship for studying jazz improvisation and composition and film scoring. Graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1996.
Brussels Royal Conservatory (Brussels, Belgium) : 1989-1993. Master degree in oboe, degrees in English horn, chamber music and solfege. Main teacher: Paul Dombrecht. Improvisation classes with renowned musicians Fabrizio Cassol and Michel Massot.
European School (Brussels, Belgium): 1977-1989. European baccalaureate. Native fluency in French, English, Dutch and German.
Masterclasses with renowned European oboe teachers Thomas Inderm�¯�¿�½hle, Emanuel Abbuhl, Diethelm Jonas, Henk Swinnen: 1984-1989.
Kodokan Judo Dojo (Tokyo, Japan): 2002. Emmanuelle receives 1st Dan in judo. Principal teachers: Ray Dunmeyer (New York), Pierre Le Ca�¯�¿�½r (Paris), Go Tsunoda (Spain).
Loir-et-Cher: 2003. Diplomas in secourism and volunteer firewoman.
Competitions and Awards
Finalist International Jazz Competition Hoeilaart (Belgium) with the Helios Quartet, 1998.
Finalist Tenuto Classical Music Contest for Belgian Radio and Television (Belgium), 1997.
Graduated Magna Cum Laude of Berklee College in composition (Boston, MA), 1995.
Winner of the Annual Berklee Concerto Competition (Boston, MA), 1995.
Auditions for World Youth Orchestra (reserve, 1992) and for European Youth Orchestra.
Participated at competitions and festivals in Belgium, Paris, Boston, New York et Charleston.
Professional Experience
Concerts and CD recording Ambivalences in duo with Fran�¯�¿�½ois Verly (October 2006).
Concerts in France, Belgium and Luxembourg in duo with Ariane Wilson Troubadours du XXIe si�¯�¿�½cle (2005-).
Carribean and Pacific tour with the Royal Carribean International Orchestra (November 2006-March 2007).
Concerts in duo with Jarrod Cagwin (2003-2006). Festival Helios The oboe in all states with Jarrod Cagwin and Jean-Luc Fillon (July 2005). Recording with Zahava Seewald for Tzadik (2005).
Clarinet, saxophone, improvisation and solfege teacher for Helios association and music schools in the Loir-et-Cher (2003-2006). Improvisation and composition summerclasses for teenagers and adults.
Concerts and recordings in Japan with Yasutaka Yoshioka, Otomo Yoshihide, Toshiyuki Omori, Eiichi Hayashi, Yoichi Murata, Mitsuya Suzuki, Toru Odajima, Masuhiro Itami�¯�¿�½ (2002).
European and American tours with Helios Quartet, Tone Poets and Somer-Mangen Quartet (1996- ) ; Japanese tour with Ensemble Caravelli (2001).
Recording, mixing, production et promotion of Odyssey (Somer-Mangen Quartet) (Brussels, 2000) and Search for Peace (Helios Quartet, Tone Poets and guests) (New-York / Nantes, 2000-2001).
Composition commission for Ouvertures, for woodwind quintet, DJ and herself (Charleroi, Belgium, world premiere on April 20th, 2001).
Festivals (Berlin, Nevers, Artois, Gen�¯�¿�½ve AMR, Gaume, Brasil, Syria, New York,...) with Helios Quartet, Tone Poets and Somer-Mangen Quartet (1997- ).
European tours with the Oles brothers' Chamber Quintet (2004-2005).
Recordings with the Oles brothers' Chamber Quintet and with Zahava Seewald and Michael Grebil for Tzadik (2004-2005).
Concerts in partnership with Paul Dombrecht and Piet van Bockstal.
Private duo concerts with Jarrod Cagwin or Marc Mangen.
Oboe and improvisation clinics for FNAC (1998).
Passages Jazz and Dance Belgian tours(1998- ).
European appearances NROZ quartet (1996-1998).
CD Recording and Production "The Apple Tree" (LY98016-C) (december 1997).
European tours with Transition and Emmanuelle Somer Quartet (1993-1996).
Improvisation masterclasses in Travers (Brussels) (1996- ).
Experience of 800 hours of studio recordings: film scores, classical, jazz, rock, songwriting, commercial arranging, latin, new age, contemporary, improvisation... as a performer, composer, sound ingenieur and producer.
Recorded 9 CD's in Belgium and USA (Youth Philharmony: Moussorgsky-Ravel's Pictures of an Exhibition, Audrey Englebert: Chanson Fran�¯�¿�½aise, Juancho Herrera: Aznarada, Peter Vantine: Zen).
Composed and recorded the score for two short movies (1995, 1996).
Recorded for two American movies (David Spear: Penthathlon; Kevin Kliesch: Stacktrack) and two Belgian documentaries.
Concerts as soloist: Holliger Studies �¯�¿�½ber Mherklange, Martinu Oboe Concerto, Rimsky-Korsakov Variations for Oboe and military band, Chimarosa Oboe Concerto (1989-1997).
Principal Oboist at the New England Philharmonic (1993-1994), the Berklee Concert Wind Ensemble (1993-1996); the Spoleto Festival Orchestra (1995); Principal English horn at the Plymouth Philharmonic (1994). Played in the Brookline Symphonic and the Longy Chamber Orchestra.
Toured with youth orchestras throughout Europe and United States (1984-1994).
Jazz concerts and appearances with American artists Dave Douglas, Jim Black, Chris Potter, Mark Turner, Thomas Chapin, Peter Epstein, Tom Varner, Lindsey Horner, Jarrod Cagwin, and European artists Michel Pilz, Claudio Puntin, St�¯�¿�½phane Galland, Michel Massot, Pierre van Dormael, Pierre Vaianna, Renaud Barbier,...
Concerts for non-profit organizations such as Greenpeace, Unicef and Amnesty International.
Saxophone, clarinet, piano, recorder and ear training teacher at Staten Island Conservatory of New York (1997-1999).
Music teacher at Brussels European school, teaching in French, English, German and Dutch (1996-1998).
Masterclasses and teaching sessions, in improvisation, jazz, instrument, composition, initiation for kids, in conservatories, schools, colleges and jazz clubs throughout Europe and the United States (1996-).
Experience in teaching theory, ear training, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, recorder, piano, improvisation, harmony, analysis, composition, initiation, privately or in public schools, individually or groupwise, kids and adults.
Graphism, web mastering and computering at the music store Woodwind & Brasswind Paris (2001).
Worked as a volunteer for public relations and management at Knitting Factory (New York) (1997- ).
Worked for public relations and artists management at Travers Jazz Club and BM Promotion (Brussels, Belgium) (1991-1994).
Interests
Travel, human relationships, cultures and lifestyles, arts, sports, sciences, foreign languages, ecology, environment, cooking, martial arts, judo, dance.
Goals with my music
Use of all my energy, positively, to transmit it to the audience. Teach people to develop their senses and creativity for expression and cultural purposes, educate for a better world.
www.emmanuellesomer.com [email protected] 33 6 77 98 32 27
Gear
oboe, English horn, bass and piccolo clarinets, soprano and tenor saxophone; composition, improvisation, sound ingeniering, CD producing, film scoring, teaching
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