Béatrice Berne

Béatrice Berne, clarinettist, after having received many prizes during her musical studies, she was rewarded among the elite of clarinet players in various international competitions (Guérande, Vierzon, Bayreuth, Seville, Dos Hermanas, Caltanissetta). She was sponsored by Michel Portal, during the “Young virtuoso” national competition.

As soloist and performer of chamber music, she has performed with numerous orchestras (Opéra de Lyon, Stuttgart chamber orchestra, Orchestre d’Auvergne, etc.), ensembles (Quatuor Danel, Quatuor d’Auvergne, etc.) and musicians (Jean-Michel Bertelli, Serge Collot, Julie Guigue, Wilhelm Latchoumia, Laurent Martin, Angélique Pourreyron, etc.).

Passionate about contemporary music, she has created varied works (Ivan Jevtic, Peter Eötvos, Joseph Reveyron, Daniel Meier, Gilles Raynal, Jean- Marc Jouve, Pascal de Montaigne, etc.) and produced concerts (Lumières d’Orient by Martine Chifflot- Comazzi with the Compagnie Arcthéâtre, Dance in Progress with Danse Actuelle, etc.) and performances in several festivals : Loire-Forez, Musiques Démesurées, Rencontres Contemporaines, Festivalde Bourgogne du Sud, etc.).

She is often invited abroad and has performed several tours in Egypt, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Romania, Turkey, etc.

After acquiring her bachelor of musicology, she ran a music school for eight years. Since 1996, she had been a tenured professor (C.A.) for the clarinet class at the National Conservatory of the Region of Clermont-Ferrand. She is often invited by the music academies and the minister for Culture, to participate as a member of the decisions committee.

As an extension of her in-depth theoretical studies, she has created arrangements, compositions and concert programmes such as : Vents d’Est, A Tous Vents, Musiques d’Arménie, Vents du Sud, Vents de Finlande, Vents d’Irlande et d’ailleurs, etc.

Her discography is composed of around 20 CDs to date, recorded under various labels (Polymnie, Ligia, Arcane 17, etc.) and applauded by critics (Contes de Fées ****with Serge Collot, in the Monde de la Musique, etc.)

Béatrice Berne is director of the Kairos ensemble, involving artists such as Wilhelm Latchoumia, Luc Dedreuil, Vincent Lhermet, Virginie Pochon, Richard Damas, Brian Archinal, Jean-Marc Fessard, etc. Martine Chifflot-Comazzi is in charge of the art direction for the occasional theatrical forays and creations in which the ensemble is involved.

Kaïros is behind commissions for ensembles for clarinets (Andy Emler, Xavier Alfieri, Jean-Marc Jouve), for trio violoncello, clarinet and piano with the Intersections (Karl Naegelen) programme; for clarinet, accordion and percussions, Fusion (Arthur Dairaine Adriavano, Jean-Marc Jouve, François Narboni, Jean-Claude Gengembre). Matti Murto composed Ilmatar (Visions of Kalevala) for the Vents de Finlande, clarinet and accordion (published by Modus Musiikki).

In 2016, she recorded French Clarinet Exports, composed of French duets written from 2008 to 2016, including three commissions for Christine Mennesson, Lucien Guérinel, and Jean-Marc Jouve.

The audacious musical theatre show for soprano, Animalesques, written and directed by Martine Chifflot-Comazzi, addresses animal welfare and includes works by Hugues Dufourt and Béatrice Berne (published by Lemoine).

Photo credit: studio Béguin