Christophe Mangou

As classically trained conductor, Christophe Mangou is nonetheless a very open and curious mind. Thus, without neglecting the established repertoire, he has long been interested in other projects, those that allow him to reach a wide audience, from the very young to the elderly, and to engage those less familiar with classical music.

A regular guest of the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Christophe Mangou contributed for 10 seasons to the development of the orchestra’s educational program; since then, he has continued to propose and conduct a new work each season. He has thus been the driving force behind numerous original and ambitious commissions, such as the participatory musical tales “Eva pas à pas” by Sylvain Griotto, “L’Ile Indigo” by Julien Le Hérissier and Julie Martigny, “La première chanson de Tinouga” by Fabien Robert, and more recently, “La grenouille à grande bouche” by Jean-Claude Gengembre and Maelle Mietton.

He also conducted the “DÉMOS Toulouse Métropole – Haute-Garonne Department Orchestra” for six seasons and the “DÉMOS Parisii Val d’Oise Orchestra” for three seasons. He is now widely recognized for his experience and expertise in educational concerts, participatory concerts, and interdisciplinary projects.

Christophe Mangou’s musical career began very early. At just 21, he unanimously won First Prize in Percussion (top of his class) at the Paris Conservatory (Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris), and four years later, he was awarded the Conducting Prize with highest honors in the conducting class of Janos Fürst. Upon graduating in 2001, Christophe Mangou became Principal Assistant Conductor of the Nancy Opera for five years.

Winner of the prestigious Donatella Flick Competition in London in 2002, Christophe Mangou was appointed Assistant Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra for two years. He has thus had the opportunity to work with principal conductor Sir Colin Davis and guest conductors of this prestigious orchestra, including Bernard Haitink, Mariss Jansons, Michael Tilson Thomas, Antonio Pappano, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Emmanuel Krivine, and others.

In France, Christophe Mangou has conducted numerous orchestras, including the Orchestre National d’Île-de-France, the Orchestre National Avignon-Provence, the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, the Orchestre National de Lille, the Orchestre National de France, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Orchestre National de Lyon, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, the Orchestre National de Metz Grand Est, the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, the Orchestre National de Mulhouse, the Orchestre de Cannes, the Orchestre de Picardie, and the Orchestre de Bretagne.

Abroad, he has conducted in the USA, most European countries, Russia, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, and Kazahkstan

He has worked with numerous orchestras in the UK, including the Britten Sinfonia, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (including a tour of the north of the country in March 2011), and has performed extensively with the London Symphony Orchestra.

While continuing his career as a classical conductor, Christophe Mangou, an eclectic musician, is dedicated to developing projects based on original collaborations between classical musicians, jazz musicians, and other artists from diverse backgrounds. At prestigious jazz festivals (Jazz à Vienne, Jazz à la Villette in Paris, etc.) and at the Salle Pleyel in Paris, he has worked with the Wayne Shorter Quartet, the Belmondo brothers, singer-songwriter Milton Nascimento, and saxophonist François Jeanneau. He has also collaborated with singers Nosfell, Keren Ann Zeidel, and John Cale.

Since September 2012, he has collaborated with Jeff Mills, a world-renowned DJ, on his various projects (“Light from the Outside World,” “Planets,” created in Porto, and “Lost in Space,” created in Toulouse). They have already performed in France (Salle Pleyel in Paris, Nouveau Siècle in Lille, Halle aux Grains in Toulouse, Auditorium de Lyon, MC2 in Grenoble, B.A.M. in Metz), the Netherlands (Concertgebouw in Amsterdam), England (Barbican in London and Bridgewater Hall in Manchester), Australia (Melbourne Festival), Portugal (Casa da Musica, Porto), Sweden (Malmö Live Konserthus), Hungary (Millenaris Teatrum in Budapest), Poland (Katowice), and Belgium (Ghent Festival).

Christophe Mangou has recorded with the Orchestre National d’Île-de-France *La Princesse Kofoni*, a musical tale for children by Ivan Grinberg and Marc-Olivier Dupin, the music for the film *Sous les drapeaux* by Henry Colomer, and the album *Belmondo et Milton Nascimento*. He also recorded Sonia Wieder-Atherton’s CD-DVD “A l’Est” with the Sinfonia Varsovia and Beethoven’s Third Symphony with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Finally, the recording, with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, of the recently released participatory musical tale “La grenouille à grande bouche” (The Big-Mouthed Frog) is available as a podcast on the “Contes de la Maison Ronde” (Tales from the Round House) platform.

To further enriching his artistic expression, Christophe Mangou has been training in Soundpainting since 2004, a real-time composition technique based on guided improvisation, allowing him to push the boundaries between the various artistic worlds he encounters. He also founded the Amalgammes ensemble in Paris.

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