Alexandre Bloch
At the start of the 2016/17 season, French-born Alexandre Bloch assumed the position of Music Director of Orchestre National de Lille and since September 2015 has been Principal Guest Conductor of Düsseldorfer Symphoniker. Admired for his enthusiasm and energy, his First Prize at the 2012 Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition brought him to international attention and he subsequently served as Assistant Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.

The 2017/18 season includes debuts with Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestra of the National Centre for Performing Arts Beijing, Musikalische Akademie in Mannheim and return visits to Vancouver Symphony, Musikkollegium Winterthur, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and a tour to Kuwait with London Symphony Orchestra. Plans with Dusseldorf include a visit to Concertebouw Amsterdam and a New Year’s gala concert, and with Lille performances of Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé ballet and concerts at the Salle Philharmonique de Liège and Philharmonie de Paris.

Recent seasons have included debuts with Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre National d’Ile-de-France, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre Métropolitain (Montréal), Brussels Philharmonic, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Nash Ensemble 40th birthday celebrations at the Wigmore Hall, Opera North, Royal Danish Opera, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Musikkollegium Winterthur, Danish National Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Filharmonia Poznanska and Orchestre National de Lyon. Return visits have included to Orchestre National de France, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie and Australian Youth Orchestra. Recent highlights with Düsseldorfer Symphoniker have included Donizetti’s l’Elisir d’Amore at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, and with Orchestre National de Lille a concert version of Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles in Lille and at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris.

In the weeks following his Donatella Flick Competition success he made his debut with Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, replacing Mariss Jansons at short notice to conduct three performances of a challenging programme including Richard Strauss’ Tod und Verklärung and a Jörg Widmann commission for large orchestra. He was named one of "2012's Talents" by the ADAMI (French Performing Right Society) and was a conducting fellow at the 2012 and 2013 Tanglewood Music Center Festival. He also drew the attention of great figures of orchestral conducting such as Mariss Jansons, Charles Dutoit, Pierre Boulez, Bernard Haitink, Sir Mark Elder and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Born in 1985, Alexandre first graduated with diplomas in cello performance, harmony and conducting from Tours, Orléans and Lille. He then entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, to further his studies in composition and conducting. In 2012, he completed his Master’s Degree in Conducting in the studio of Zsolt Nagy, prior to gaining a Diploma and the Sir John Zochonis Junior Fellowship (2012/13 season) at the Royal Northern College of Music.

Recording work includes a disc featuring music of his teacher Thierry Escaich with the orchestra of the Opéra National de Lyon. Alexandre’s inaugural concert with Orchestre National de Lille was transmitted live by Mezzo and Radio Classique (film and audio respectively). Last update: August 2017

Orchestre National de Lille
Since its creation by Jean-Claude Casadesus in 1976 and thanks to an ambitious programme, the Orchestre National de Lille has established itself as a leading French orchestra open to all audiences. Each year the orchestra performs in its concert hall, Le Nouveau Siècle in Lille, in its own region, across France and abroad. True to its mission the orchestra plays the major symphonic repertoire, with an annual opera production, as well as the music of our own time, particularly by appointing composers in residence. In parallel, it presents innovative programmes dedicated to new audiences. The orchestra invites experienced international conductors and soloists as well as the younger generation.

The orchestra places its young audiences at the heart of its projects by developing a wide range of participatory events. Thanks to its fully digital studio, the orchestra has developed an ambitious audiovisual policy. Over the years critics and public have hailed more than 30 recordings with numerous awards. Alexandre Bloch has been the orchestra’s new music director since September 2016. ONL is subsidised by Région Hauts-de-France, Ministère de la Culture, Métropole Européenne de Lille and Ville de Lille.