Arnaud Dumond has always combined the activities of composer and guitarist, as though composing was a consolation for the short-lived nature of performing, and playing provided a reminder that music is intended for a living audience. This Paris-born musician was only ten when he began to compose and play the guitar and the piano, and was soon to be considered as one of the outstanding guitarists of his generation. He has given recitals in over forty different countries and has been invited to major festivals in cities as far a field as New York, Moscow, Amsterdam, Jerusalem, Prague, and Madrid. He has made over fifteen recordings as a soloist and a chamber music player, with a repertoire covering periods from the Renaissance to the present day and on instruments which include the lute and the MIDI-compatible guitar. Although by choice mainly self-taught, Arnaud Dumond did enjoy the enriching tuition of such diverse figures as Nadia Boulanger, Maurice Ohana and Jean-Pierre Guézec (with whom he studied musical theory). There followed a succession of international prizes: he was the first Frenchman to be awarded first prize at the Radio France International Guitar Competition (where he also won a composition prize), the first guitarist to win the Gaudeamus Foundation's Competition for Performers of Contemporary Music, and was also prize winner at the Jeunesses Musicales Internationales Competition. The Tokyo Yamaha Prize for composer/performers crowned his twofold calling. Several of his works have received international awards in France, Japan, the United States, South America and Switzerland. Through his compositions for guitar, Arnaud Dumond has gained the esteem of guitarists throughout the world. Lately he has devoted himself to writing chamber and choral music (his mass In Terra Pax won two prizes) and works for orchestra. Structurally these pieces demonstrate an affinity for the dramatic interaction between text and music. He has recently been commissioned to write a requiem mass for chorus and instrumental ensemble, and a concerto for guitar. He has composed over thirty works, many of which are available on CD.
Arnaud Dumond Website
