Fiona Monbet is a Franco-Irish artist, conductor, violinist and composer.
After graduating in violin from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, she turned to conducting.
In 2017, she co-founded the lyrical creation company Miroirs Étendus, of which she is principal conductor. She directs the ensemble in France (Opéra de Rouen, Théâtre Impérial de Compiègne, Opéra de Lille) and abroad (Ireland and Germany).
Fiona is also regularly invited to conduct orchestras in France and abroad. She has collaborated with the Orchestre National de Montpellier Occitanie, the Opéra National de Lorraine, the Orchestre National de Bordeaux Aquitaine, the Orchestre National de Bretagne and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
Her repertoire ranges from classical to contemporary. In 2021, she conducted the premiere of Irish composer Michael Gallen's opera at the Abbey Theater (Dublin, Ireland). Her latest CD with her ensemble Miroirs Etendus (2022) features a live recording of Fausto Romitelli's An Index of Metals.
In parallel with her classical activities, Fiona is pursuing a jazz career, with several albums to her credit. The latest, Maelström (2022), recorded with jazz trio and chamber orchestra, but also arranged for symphony orchestra, has been widely acclaimed by the critics.
This dual culture of jazz and classical music enables Fiona to direct projects where contemporary music, jazz and world music meet the world of the symphony orchestra. She has directed several projects with Seckou Keita, Antonio Zambujo or Ana Moura and the Orchestre National de Bretagne, as well as a project with MC Solaar at the Saint-Denis Festival with the Orchestre National d'Île-de-France.
Since September 2020, Fiona has been welcomed as artist-in-residence by the Orchestre National de Bretagne, which she regularly conducts (Festival Interceltique de Lorient, Opéra de Rennes, Festival de Saint-Denis).
His new creation Trois Reflet, with the Orchestre National de Bretagne, has been presented several times at the Opéra de Rennes, the Théâtre National de Bretagne and recorded for Mezzo.
Jazz trio
His jazz trio is composed of :
- Auxane Cartigny, piano
- Philippe Maniez, drums
- Zacharie Abraham, double bass