Description
Born in Beaune, France, in 1971, Frédéric Costantino began studying music and the guitar in his home town, at an early age. Parallel with his classical musical education at the regional state conservatory, he showed great interest for composition and for various music styles, such as Brazilian music, jazz, and film music. He switched to the electric guitar and played bass guitar in a big band, an opportunity for him to experience team work in studio and stage environments. He then joined Alexandre Lagoya's and, later on, Alberto Ponce's guitar classes, at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where he was awarded, in 1996, a First Prize in guitar, class leader. He received an honorary First Prize by consensus at the UFAM's International Chamber Music Competition of Paris for an original oboe and guitar duet. Following his First prize by consensus at the IVth Interpretation Competition of Estoril (Portugal), in 1997, he has frequently been invited to play with the Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa, under Nikasa Bareza, Jean-Marc Burfin and Cesario Costa. On top of his activities as soloist and his collaboration with various orchestras, he had the opportunity of performing the guitar solos in the Barber of Seville by Rossini (1996) and in Othello by Verdi (1997), conducted by Patrick Fournillier, at the Opera of Saint-Étienne, and, at the Opera of Dijon, again in the Barber of Séville, conducted by Michel Lehmann (1997). His activity as soloist has earned him invitations to accompany Natalie Dessay, at the Opera of Saint-Étienne and Patricia Petibon, at Catherine Ceylac's program, on France 2. In 1999, he oriented himself towards multi-media events and was hired by IBM as artist-in-residence for a cruise. During that same year, he joined the concert agency Nouveaux Virtuoses, in Paris. Frédéric Costantino divides his time between teaching, performing and composition. His works show a wide array of feelings and lights, a reflection of his career and of his frequent travel.
