Jacques Saint Yves

Violonist

An international career shaped by rich and daring encounters.
After brilliant studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris, he immersed himself early on in the world of new music creation, working alongside Pierre Boulez and Daniel Barenboim, and later serving as concertmaster of the Ensemble 2E2M under Paul Mefano, a role that followed the world premiere of Alain Bancquart’s violin concerto at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.

This world of artistic creation opened the doors to major international venues (across Europe, the United States, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Israel), but also to more intimate, lesser-known to the general public, close to the centers of artistic creation of the early 20th century, such as cabarets in Paris, Vienna, and New York. These were meeting grounds for artists from every continent: musicians, dancers, choreographers, circus performers, writers, actors, jazz musicians, and traditional musicians.

His life, research, and career have been profoundly shaped by this ever since.
He has premiered and performed numerous works by contemporary composers (Pierre Boulez, György Ligeti, Franco Donatoni, Alain Bancquart, Paul Mefano, Brian Ferneyhough, Luciano Berio, Pascal Dusapin, Fabien Tehericsen...), several of which are dedicated to him. Upon his performance of Arnold Schoenberg’s “Pierrot Lunaire” alongside Pierre-Yves Artaud and Sophie Boulin aboard “La Péniche Opéra”, Jacques Doucelin wrote in “Le Figaro”: "JSY, an exceptional artist and musician." In this creative venue, a Parisian cabaret staged by Mireille Larroche, he developed numerous programs, concerts, and musical shows with partners such as Mark Drobinsky, Florent Héau, Alain Damiens, and Dominique Visse; for these programs, he also composed, orchestrated, and arranged a vast array of works from diverse repertoires, reinterpreting musical language. Solo violin recitals such as "Bartók, Bach, and Berio" and "Paganini-Tehericsen: 1001 Caprices", premiered at Paris, leading to highly sought-after tours in Eastern Europe (Romania, Hungary, Ukraine, Poland), during which he performed and premiered numerous solo violin works by contemporary composers from the countries and universities he visited. JSY was frequently engaged as a soloist with symphony orchestras (in Cluj, Timișoara, Bucharest, etc.) to perform concertos by Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Bartók, Mozart, and Prokofiev. His primary foundation, the Western repertoire spanning the 18th to the 20th centuries, remains essential to him.
He has collaborated as a chamber musician and musical director with artists such as Gérard Poulet, Jérôme Pernoo, Thierry Escaich, Maurice André, André Isoir, Marie-Claire Alain, Romain Garioud, and Jean-François Zygel. JSY also has a strong commitment to the vocal repertoire.

He performs numerous concerts across Europe alongside Thomas Mayer, Béatrice Uria-Monzon, Udo Reinemann, and José van Dam. His meeting with Emile Naoumoff, Nadia Boulanger’s last protégé, marked the beginning of a long-standing collaboration involving shared concerts, lectures, and masterclasses. Recognized for his wide-ranging commitment to all forms of musical transmission oral, written, and improvised traditions, JSY has undertaken missions for the UN, UNESCO, and French embassies and cultural services across every continent. These roles immersed him in traditional cultures, where he sought to help pass on their identities and shape their evolution. For him, these missions were a revelation, leading to profound human encounters with musicians and artists from diverse cultural and traditional backgrounds. These encounters took place in Southeast Asia, Asia Minor, the Mediterranean Basin, and the Maghreb (including Afghanistan, Turkey, Cambodia, Algeria, Bulgaria, Georgia, Morocco, and Hong Kong). He performs and improvises with Arab-Andalusian, traditional Chinese, Indian, and Iranian musicians. JSY is the only French violinist to have been invited to perform in North Korea.

Russian and Chinese musicians, dancers, and singers became his fellow performers.
Enriched by these travels, responsibilities, experiences, and diverse cultural encounters, JSY enjoys sharing the stage in France with international artists from the worlds of jazz, cabaret, musical theater, and popular music. Raphaël Sanchez, Prisca Desmaret, Martial Solal, Jacques Loussier, Matthieu Chedid, Maurane, Vanessa Paradis, Patrick Bruel, Paul Mauriat, Paolo Goude, and Grace Jones are among the artists he enjoys performing with again. Sharing the stage with Dhafer Youssef was a particularly moving experience for him.
Passionate about the world of theater, he spent several years immersed in the Marcel Marceau School of Mime (École de Théâtre Gestuel) under Laurent Clairet; this led to numerous theatrical performances alongside Lambert Wilson, André Dussollier, Isabelle Carré, Marie-Christine Barrault, and Jane Birkin. The Georges Enesco Prize, honoring the prestige and richness of a French violinist's international career, was awarded to him delivered by SACEM