Pierre Fontenelle
Pierre Fontenelle, cello-soloist of the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège and Namurois of the Year 2020, took up the cello as an autodidact in his hometown of Seattle, U.S.A. After studying music traditionally at the Conservatoire de Luxembourg, he moved to Belgium, studying at the IMEP (Namur) and earning his Masters with the greatest honors there in 2020. He was subsequently appointed assistant-teacher of its cello-class from September 2020 onwards.
In October 2020, he received the 2nd Prize “Van Hecke” at the BCS International Cello Competition and won the First Prize and the Feldbusch Prize at the 2019 edition of the International Cello Competition of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre. In August 2019, he had the pleasure of joining the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège as cello-soloist, fulfilling his childhood dream of playing in a professional orchestra. He has participated in various masterclasses with reputed musicians and pedagogues such as Frans Helmerson, Gary Hoffman, Jérôme Pernoo and Pieter Wispelwey. He is currently pursuing further studies with Han Bin Yoon at the Mons Conservatory, Arts².
Pierre Fontenelle has performed in several prestigious venues and festivals in Belgium and abroad (Chapelle Reine Élisabeth, Philharmonie de Liège, Taipei National Concert Hall, Shanghaï Oriental Art Center, Festivals de Wallonie, le Royal Juillet Musical de Saint-Hubert…) and has been invited as a soloist by the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, the Musique Militaire Grand-Ducale, the Musique Royale des Guides, and the Friedrich-Spee Chor (Trier) among others. He is generously supported by the Feldbusch Foundation.
Pierre performs on a Nicolas-François Vuillaume cello from 1860, instrument made available by the King Baudouin Foundation thanks to the Léon Courtin-Marcelle Bouché’s Fund's gift and managed by Strings For Talent.
Committed to all the various aspects of being a musician, classical or otherwise, Pierre composes and explores popular and contemporary music with his cello-accordion Duo Kiasma (formerly Duo Made in Belgium) with accordionist Frin Wolter. Awarded First Prize in chamber music at the 2017 Accordé’Opale competition in France, Pierre regularly performs in this formation internationally. They recently undertook a Taiwanese tour in July 2019.
In December 2018, he had the pleasure of being invited to participate in the traditional Christmas Concert of the Belgian Royal Family at the Royal Palace of Brussels, in partnership with the Monnaie Opera House and the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel.
Pierre joined the editorial staff of French-speaking online classical music journal “Crescendo Magazine” in 2016. He’s found great pleasure in reading and writing poetry and appreciates the finer things in life like beautiful socks.