Artistes
Jérôme Voisin, super-soloist clarinet of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
Super-soloist with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France since 2006, Jérôme Voisin held the position of bass clarinet in the same orchestra for the previous ten years. He has been regularly invited to play with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestre de Chambre d'Europe, and currently teaches at the Pôle Supérieur Paris-Boulogne-Billancourt. New follower to the Muse clarinet, he shared with us his relationship with the sound, with his instrument and with teaching…
It was while listening to a clarinet quartet in a church, at the age of nine, that Jérôme Voisin chose the instrument. The round and homogeneous sound that fascinated him marked the beginning of an infinite sound research.
“I have always had an attraction for certain sounds, while at the same time having the conviction that within me there is a sound that is a kind of absolute ideal. And this is a never ending search. I think people who know me, both as a musician and as a teacher, know that this is a big part of my research. There are musicians for whom this is not the most important thing. I've had to learn to care a little less about it.”
Trained by great masters of the clarinet, the musician begins with Pascal Caraty, who notices his talent and quickly makes him play in public. At the Tours Conservatory, he developed with Didier Delettre his relationship with the instrument, artistic research and the understanding of music. After his bachelor's degree, he enters the CNSM of Lyon. With Jacques Di Donato, he opened up to other repertoires but also to improvisation.
“When I was a student with him, I often disagreed with his aesthetic choices, especially with classical music. Sometimes I didn't want to play like that, but since what I was proposing wasn't very coherent, I realized that I had to keep working so that someone would say to me: well, I wouldn't play it like you do, but it works. And that takes time. It's difficult to get the students to understand what they need to develop without necessarily imitating. Getting them to understand that we are not necessarily working on what is wrong, but on what they are capable of doing, and on what is not yet completely convincing or coherent in them."
He then worked in advanced training with Pascal Moraguès, who allowed him to further refine his sound aesthetics…
Having participated in the development of several instruments during his career, the musician chose the new Muse clarinet for the wide range of sound possibilities it offers.
“With the Muse, I feel like I have this possibility of opening. There is a SELMER sound identity, but at the same time, the ability to open up to all repertoires. It is an efficient instrument in terms of projection, resonance, which offers an immediate ease of play, but it's not just that. We are also able to colour and vary the colours.”
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