Laurence Equilbey
Musical director and founder of Insula orchestra
Conductor, musical director and founder of Insula orchestra and accentus, Laurence Equilbey embodies the alliance of artistic excellence and innovative, inclusive projects.
Her career in the symphonic repertoire has led her to conduct orchestras such as the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Montréal symphonic orchestra, Philharmonia in London, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, H&H Boston, Hessischer Rundfunk, the orchestras of Lyon, Liège or Leipzig, the Brussels Philharmonic, Copenhagen, Gulbenkian, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Concerto Köln, Camerata Salzburg, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, Barcelona, Bilbao, etc.
With support from the Hauts-de-Seine department, she founded Insula orchestra in 2012. The period instrument orchestra inaugurated an artistic residency at the Seine Musicale, on the Seguin Island, in April 2017. It is also in charge of part of the Auditorium’s season.
On the lyric scene, Laurence Equilbey conducted Weber’s Der Freischütz staged by the new magic company 14:20 (Théâtre de Caen, Grand Théâtre de Provence, Bozar in Brussels, Theater an der Wien, Barbican centre, Ludwigsburg Festival, Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées) and Beethoven’s Fidelio staged by David Bobée in London and at La Seine Musicale, but also Mozart’s Lucio Silla with Rita Cosentino, Gounod’s Nonne Sanglante staged by David Bobée, Mozart’s most beautiful opera arias with Philippe Decouflé, etc.
Every season at the Seine Musicale, Laurence Equilbey creates staged performances with artists from diverse backgrounds. For example, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung (performed in Aix-en-Provence, Hamburg, Vienna and New York) or Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony were created alongside with the theatre company La Fura dels Baus, Mozart’s Requiem with Yoann Bourgeois, the ballet Le Jeune homme et la Mort (the Young man and Death) with choreographer Marie-Agnès Gillot, Mozart’s Mass in C minor with Pascal Ferran. In 2022/2023, Laurence Equilbey will perform the last ballads of Robert Schumann with Antonin Baudry, and work with Mat Collishaw on Fauré’s Requiem. Laurence Equilbey is associated artist at the Grand Théâtre d’Aix-en-Provence and enjoys a privileged relationship with the Paris Philharmonie.
With accentus, which celebrates its 30th birthday in 2022/2023, she continually explores the great repertoire of vocal music. In March 2023, she will conduct a program dedicated to Mendelssohn. Truly invested in education and the transmission of knowledge, she is artistic and teaching director of the Senior department for young singers / CRR de Paris.
Two recordings with Insula orchestra have recently been released under the label Warner Classics – Erato: Louise Farrenc’s 1st and 3rd Symphonies (July 2021) and Mozart’s Lucio Silla (april 2022).
Laurence Equilbey studied music in Paris, Vienna and London, with conductors such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Eric Ericson, Denise Ham, Colin Metters and Jorma Panula.