Jean-Michel Goury is one of the world’s foremost performers of contemporary music for saxophone. His performances and recordings have received high praise from critics worldwide. He was born in the southwest of France (between Bordeaux and Toulouse) and was nurtured by the wind music of his father’s band. He began studying piano and singing in church at a very young age. He then studied at the CRR of Bordeaux where he received a Gold Medal (awarded unamimously by the jury) in saxophone as a student of Jean-Marie Londeix. He also pursued distinguished studies in analysis with François Rossé, wind conducting with J. Pernoo, and chamber music with F. Valonne.
J.M. Goury was awarded first prize in a number of national music competitions, including Aix-les-Bains and Radio France, where he received congratulatory remarks from the president of the jury, legendary saxophonist Marcel Mule. In Paris, he studied conducting with P. Cao and contemporary music with R. Piencikowsky (analysis) and Daniel Kientzy (saxophone) at the IRCAM, founded by Pierre Boulez.
Since receiving the Certificat d’Aptitude (France’s highest teaching certification), J.M. Goury is a prominent teacher in the French conservatory system in one of France’s most prestigious music schools, the "Pôle Supérieur de Paris-Boulogne-Billancourt" (PSPBB). Recognized internationnaly as a teacher, he has presented a number of pedagogical workshops, retreats, mini-courses, and masterclasses on contemporary music performance throughout Europe and North America.
With Xasax Quartet, Apollinaire and Duo Zéphyr, he has been invited to perform and give lectures at several prestigious festivals (Geneva, Odessa, Salzburg, Witten, Vandoeuvre, Lucerne, Koln, Vilnius, Boston, Milan) and universities (Northwestern University, Eastman School of Music, University of Michigan, Bowling Green State University, Basel, Seville, Brasilia, Darmstatd, Tel Aviv, Berlin).
J.M. Goury has appeared at guest soloist with the Orchestre Symphonique des Jeunesses Musicales de Bavière, the Ensemble Orchestral d’Italie, the Orchestre National de Chambre de Toulouse and d’Auvergne, the Radio France philharmonic orchestra, the Opéra de Paris, and with wind ensembles in Edmonton, Saskatoon and Montreal. Very engaged on the way of contemporary music, he has recorded plenty of new works (4° CDs) by worldwide composers and often performed on tours in France, Germany, the USA and Canada.
