Formed in Nantes in 2004, Ellipsos Quartet is a French saxophone quartet. One of the most brilliant young French chamber music groups, Ellipsos is constantly exploring their instruments' technical and expressive possibilities and seeking for new musical challenges. The Quartet performs original classical works and transcriptions from composers such as Ravel, Grieg, Schumann, Debussy, Prokofiev or Bartok, as well as works from surprisingly different musical styles.

Ellipsos Quartet has performed at various French music festivals (Folles Journées de Nantes, Festival Tissé Métisse, Festival de l’Emperi, Festival de Radio-France Montpellier, Festival Musical de Corps, Salon de la Musique et du Son de Paris, Festival de France Musique) and has given concerts in venues such as the Théâtre du Chatelet, Salle Pleyel, Musée du Louvre, Petit Palais de Paris, in the Theater and the Galerie Sonore of Angers as well as abroad (Genève, Leipzig, Roma, Helsinki, Ljubljana, New York, Washington, Sao Paulo, Essaouira, St Andrews…). The quartet is regularly heard at French National Radio programmes. In 2009, the French Prime Minister invites Ellipsos to give a concert inside “Gardens of Matignon” and “Cour d’Honneur de l’Hôtel de Matignon” for the 28th edition of “Fête de la Musique”.

Besides its concert activity, Ellipsos Quartet is regularly invited to give chamber music masterclasses all around France, notably at the Strasbourg Conservatoire, and organizes its own summer academy, Académie Internationale de Saxophone Ellipsos-Festival du Souffle at the Celles-sur-Belle Royal Abbey in Western France for seven years.

The concert festival organized together with the Academy has received such top-class guest artists as the saxophonist Manu DIBANGO, the violinist Didier LOCKWOOD and the pianist-improviser Jean- François ZYGEL.

The Quartet was awarded 1st Prize of Chamber Music at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris (with Paul MEYER and Eric LE SAGE.) and has itself received tuition from Thierry ESCAICH, Pierre BOULEZ, Maurice BOURGUE, Claude DELANGLE, Claire DESERT and Michel STRAUSS.、

Ellipsos Quartet was awarded first prize at the European Chamber Music Competition of Paris (FNAPEC, 2007), received the First Contemporary Music Prize and the SACEM Scholarship at the Forum Musical de Normandie, and the First Prize of Saxophone Quartet Competition of Madrid (Spain).

Ellipsos recorded three albums with various colors ("Medina", "Peer Gynt" and "Bolero"), which is exported to over 40 countries. Since 2013, Ellipsos is recording for the label Genuinclassics (Germany).

Paul-Fathi Lacombe, soprano saxophone

Ethiopian origin, born in 1985, Paul-Fathi Lacombe came across the saxophone at the music school of Parthenay, when he was 11, and there he met his first teacher Mr Guy Banchereau, a wonderful, fascinating and enthusiastic teacher.

After only 2 years' studies he entered the third cycle of musicStudies, and one year later he entered the class of Gilles Tressos at the Music Academy of Poitiers (CRR). When he was 17 he finished his degree courses winning the first prize (Music Studies Diploma).

He then entered the Music Academy of Montpellier (the advanced course) then the Versailles Academy (the class of Vincent David) end aged 20 at that time, he was awarded the first prize with unanimous congratulations of the jury. In 2006, he was admitted to the Conservatoire Supérieur de Musique de Paris in the chamber music class directed by Eric Le Sage and Paul Meyer. In 2009, he obtained his "Diplôme Supérieur d'Etudes Musicales" chamber music with honors.

His dazzling technical progress at the saxophone led him to give a concert as a soloist when he was 15, with the Band of French Guard Republican, same band of the famous Marcel Mule played. He was the founder of the French School of Saxophone.

His love for classical saxophone became meaningful. Paul-Fathi took part in several music contests and won 7 first prizes (Concours Européen des Jeunes Solistes de Gap, le 1er Prix d’Honneur au Concours de l’UFAM (2005), le Prix d’Honneur à l’unanimité du 3ème Concours International de Nantes (2006)...).

Together with his studies at the academy, Paul-Fathi has also been the student of Marie Noëlle Visse, Arno Bornkamp, Michel Portal, Claude Delangle, François Corneloup, Claude Tchamitchan, Louis Sclavis end even the legendary jazz soprano sax Steve Lacy.

He also works with many orchestras and various jazz bands and current music bands (Tetrahead, L'Orchestre du Conservatoire de Paris, Urban Sax, Orchestre des Jeunes des Charentes...).

His playing is characterised by a great virtuoso and sentivity. He masters over-high pitch (altissimo on the soprano saxophone) and he makes every single note perfectly clear when playing staccato. Moreover his musical phrasing conveys a deep involvement.

Today he is recognized as one of the best soprano saxophone players in the world. He plays in the duet Harar with the pianist Thomas Amilien.

At the same time holding the State Diploma and being a member of jury in Regional Academies, he teaches the saxophone and music education in several academies in the Paris area.

In April 2012, he was asked to be part of the jury for the European contest Music Ensembles of Paris, which was organized by the FNAPEC at the M. Landowsky Auditorium at the Paris Academy.

In the world of music he is nicknamed the "Sidney Bechet" of classical music. He has played in more twenty countries and is the co-founder and soprano saxophonist of the Ellipsos Quartet.

Julien Bréchet, alto saxophone

Julien Bréchet was born in 1979 in Lyon. He started the saxophone at 10 years of age, taking private tuition. Then he went on to the Lyon Conservatoire de Region in J.D MICHAT’s class obtaining his Muisc Studies Diploma (DEM) (very good) in 1999. At the Cergy Conservatoire de Region studying with J.Y FOURMEAU he has awarded the 1st Advanced Prize in 2002. He completed his training at the Geneva High School of Music in P. COLLET’s class and obtained the Soloist Diploma, Teacher’s Diploma (both with distinction) and the Raymond Weil Prize (awarded to the most deserving player in the wind instrument classes) in 2006.

From 1999 to 2005, he was the winner of several European and international wind instrument competitions notably, including 1st Prize (unanimously) of Advanced Grade in Montdidier (France) and 1st Prize of Soloist Grade in Saint-Nom-La-Breteche (Paris) then 1st Prize (excellent) at Leoplod Bellan, Paris, 1st Prize at the Competition for Musical Performance in Riddes (Switzerland), 1st Prize at the Sax-Prix-Rome Competition (Italy), and 6th Prize at the International Competition in Bayreuth (Germany).

For the past five years, he has been giving regular recitals with the pianist Laure Grundmann in sonata form in France but also abroad, particularly in Italy. He has also performed as an orchestra musician notably with the OSLV (conductor Laurent Pillot), but also as a soloist with the Tibor Varga of Sion Academy Orchestra conducted by Gabor Takács in 2005 in Riddes (Switzerland), and with the Suisse Romande Orchestra (conductor Friedmann Layer) in Geneva in 2006.

Today, he teaches in music schools around Lyon. In 2004, he received the Diploma as Artistic Tuition Assistant (CNFPT).

Sylvain Jarry, tenor saxophone

Sylvain Jarry first studied the saxophone at the Eaubonne Music School with Guy Demarle. His first teacher was to be a very important one, as he took lessons with Mr. Demarle for almost ten years. In 1998, he entered Jean-Yves Fourmeau's class at the Cergy-Pontoise Conservatory. After graduating in 2003, he went to study with Vincent David and Jean-Denis Michat.

As a versatile musician, Sylvain Jarry has studied jazz with trumpeter Fabrice Tissier, clarinettist Francois Creamer and oboist Jean-Luc Fillon. In 1996 he started learning cello and in 2007 conducting at the Evry Conservatory. Today, Sylvain Jarry's professional activity is shared between teaching and concerts. He teaches saxophone at the Saint-Prix and Montlignon music schools and is member of Madsax Quintet, Breiz Workshop and a professional wind band.

Nicolas Herrouët, baritone saxophone

Born in 1984, Nicolas Herrouët received his first musical education at Saint Sebastien sur Loire, then at the Nantes Conservatory from which he graduated in 2003. After a post-graduate diploma at the Angers Conservatory, he undertook studies at the Versailles Conservatory with Vincent David. He's a first prize winner in several international competitions, including the European Young Soloist Competition in Gap, France (2001) and the UFAM competition in Paris.

Besides the saxophone, Nicolas Herrouët has studied piano, musical analysis and theory at the Nantes Conservatory. As a professional arranger, he has already produced more than a hundred arrangements, principally for the Ellipsos Quartet and the Ellipsos Junior Music Academy, and in a stylistic cope ranging from classical music to jazz and world music.

Nicolas Herrouet holds a French National pedagogic degree (Diplôme d'Etat and Certificat d'Aptitude) and is currently Saxophone Principal Professor (PEA) at the Nantes Conservatory (more 3,000 students from France and all over the world).

Review

"One of the most original saxophone quartets of France"

- La Lettre du Musicien

"They don't miss a thing, with always feeling that we rediscover pages known for the big directory with the surprising tones of the saxophone."

- Emmanuel Pahud, solo flute of Berlin Philharmonic