CAMILLE THOMAS, cello
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Optimism, vitality, and joyful exuberance are elements of Camille Thomas’s rich and compelling personality. The young Franco-Belgian cellist, who signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon in 2017, understands art’s power to bring people together, and to unite individuals from diverse cultures, countries, and backgrounds. Her charismatic artistry is driven by a passion for life and a desire to inspire others to open their hearts to the wonder and emotion of classical music. “Music gives hope for the beauty and greatness of the human soul,” she says.
Voice of Hope, her second DG album, was released internationally in June 2020 to great acclaim. At its heart is the world premiere recording of Fazil Say’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra ‘Never Give Up’, the composer’s response to terrorist attacks on Paris and Istanbul, written expressly for Thomas, who gave its world premiere performance in Paris in April 2018. It is the first classical album recorded in partnership with UNICEF, reflecting the cellist’s desire to help others through her music. Her remarkable series of videos, sharing music from empty museums in Paris during lockdown, have been transformative experiences for many thousands of viewers.
Ms. Thomas is conquering the world stage at a staggering pace. She has already worked with such conductors as Paavo Järvi, Mikko Franck, Darrell Ang, Kent Nagano, and Stéphane Denève and with orchestras such as the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Academia Santa Cecilia, Staatsorchester Hamburg in the Elbphilharmonie, the Orchestre National de Bordeaux, Brussels Philharmonic, RTE National Symphony Ireland, and the Korean Symphony Orchestra in Seoul.
Camille made her highly anticipated U.S. debut at the Brevard Music Festival in 2019 performing the Elgar Concerto under the baton of Keith Lockhart. Her whirlwind season then brought her to a number of other leading series and orchestras, in person and online, including Purdue Convocations, The Cliburn, Houston’s Society of the Performing Arts, Interlochen Presents, Wisconsin Union Theatre, Emory University, Peoples’ Symphony Concerts (her New York City debut at Town Hall), and the Delaware and Illinois Symphony Orchestras. Among other highlights, Camille Thomas recently returned to the US with the Elgar concerto for her debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and her Canadian debut in Montreal at the Salle Bourgie.
Recent and upcoming international appearances include concertos with Paavo Jarvi in Bremen, with Mikko Franck at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and the Orchestre Philharmonique de France, with the Lucerne Festival Strings in Munich, and with Alondra de la Parra at the renowned Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. In recital and chamber music, she performs at prestigious venues and festivals all around Europe, collaborating with top artists from both sides of the ocean.
Camille studied in Frans Helmerson’s and Wolfgang-Emmanuel Schmidt's classes at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin, after working with Marcel Bardon and Philippe Muller in Paris and Stephan Forck in Berlin.
Camille plays the Stradivarius “Feuermann” (1730) thanks to the generosity of the Nippon Music Foundation and a bow by Eugène Sartory kindly on extended loan from the Fondation Roi Baudoin - Fonds Bollandsee.
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Camille Thomas records exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon. Please visit Ms. Thomas online at camillethomas.com, and on Facebook (@CamilleThomasCellist), Twitter (@camillethomasOF), and Instagram (@camillethomascello) for additional information about touring, recordings, and special projects.