DUO IMMINENT

Is a curious and creative young artist whose career combines the classical repertoire with a specialisation in contemporary music, improvisation and composition.

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Born in Paris in 1999, she spent her childhood in the Comoros Islands in Mayotte, where she discovered the cello. She went on to study with Thomas Duran at the CRR in Paris, then with Ophélie Gaillard at the HEM in Geneva. In June 2024, she completed her Master’s degree in Concert with the option of Composer-Performer in the class of Ophélie Gaillard and Joshua Hyde, and is currently pursuing her studies at the HKB in Bern in the Master’s degree in Composition Creative Practise.

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Hortense has distinguished herself in contemporary creation: she performs as a soloist and takes part in the creation of various pieces, and collaborates with ensembles such as ONCEIM, the Ulysse ensemble at the ManiFeste festival, the Nomos cello ensemble, the Fanfare du Loup, and the Fosse opera at the Centre Pompidou. She also takes part in academies such as the Stauffer Academy in Cremona and the Ulysse 2024 Academy in collaboration with members of the Ensemble Intercontemporain.

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Her encounter with Joëlle Léandre sparked her passion for improvisation: she is a member of Duo Imminent, the Free Spirit Ensemble (an improvisation ensemble directed by Ibrahim Maalouf), performs with Fanfare du loup and Vincent le Quang around the practice of soundpainting, participates in the Académie Villecroze with Vincent Ségal and Vincent Peirani, and in the Ateliers du Violoncelle (Vincent Courtois, Noémie Boutin and Éric-Maria Couturier).

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She is also a composer, studying with Luis Naón, Joshua Hyde and Arturo Corrales, and has received commissions for the en- semble Contrechamps, the MOMO quar- tet and the Ateliers du Violoncelle 2024. Her pieces L’Une e(s)t l’Autre and Corps Accords are published by 22D Music. She also improvises and composes with the circus company MPTA.

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A keen string quartet player, she studied with the Voce Quar tet, Gábor Takács-Nagy and Noémie Bialobroda, and took part in the Musical Chairs festival in Canada. Cu- rrently a CAS student in the string quartet class of the Voce Quartet and the Belcea Quartet, she and her quartet MOMO create projects exploring different musical styles and artistic practices.

Hortense also has a wealth of orchestral experience, performing under the baton of conductors such as Gábor Takács-Nagy, Pierre Bleuse, Francois-Xavier Roth, Clement Power for the contemporary OpéraLab project, and Riccardo Castro (with whom she will take part in the NEOJIBA project in Brazil in 2023).

Young saxophonist, singer and composer from Valencia (Spain). A multidisciplinary artist who is always motivated to learn new things and explore new artistic territories, in September 2023 she began the Master’s degree in singing with the Composer-Performer option with Stephan MacLeod (voice) and Gilbert Nouno (composition) at the Haute École de Musique de Genève, where in June 2023 she completed the Master’s degree in saxophone with the Contemporary Music option with Joshua Hyde. In 2021, she obtained a Bachelor’s degree in classical and contemporary saxophone performance at the ESMUC (Barcelona) with Nacho Gascón, where she also studied with clarinettist Lorenzo Coppola. Ana also obtained a Diploma in Fine Arts from the Universitat Politècnica de València in 2017.

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As for her work as a composer, in February 2022 she premiered her first piece for so- prano saxophone and tape, entitled Escena I, at the TRACES concert in Geneva. In June 2023, she premiered her cycle Casa, for sa- xophone, voice and electronics, and in May 2024, she premiered Aire and Ruido interno for voice and electronics. She received a commission to compose two pieces for the Geneva Cathedral Choir, which were premiered in October 2024 in Tunis.

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Following various musical encounters, Ana has formed several chamber music groups. She is a founding member of the Amapola Quartet, winner of the ORPHEUS Swiss Chamber Music Competition 2022; the Las Delícias Ensemble and Ensemble Turbulences, devoted to baroque vocal music; and the Duo Imminent.

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As a saxophonist, she has collaborated with Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Geneva Camerata, Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, Banda Municipal de Barcelona, and Ensemble BCN216. In 2024, she participated with Duo Imminent in the improvisation workshop led by Elisabeth Harnick at the Mixtur Festival in Barcelona and performed at the Archipel Festival in Geneva. She was also invited to the Verbier Festival to play with its three orchestras. Previous highlights include a solo performance in Kebyart meets… (2021), a concert for ACIMC (2022), and the premiere of Hor by Luis Tabuenca at Forum Wallis (2019).

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As a singer, she performed in Dernière expédition au pays des merveilles by OperaLab at La Comédie de Genève in January 2025. She took part in María de Buenos Aires at the Grand Théâtre de Genève (Oct–Nov 2023) and sang a solo role in Schütz’s Musikalische Exequien in Geneva (March 2024) and Tunis (October 2024). In April 2024, she also performed in a concert on Johannes Ciconia’s music under Pedro Memelsdorff’s direction.