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The French composer, organist and music pedagogue, Éric Lebrun, is a former student of Gaston Litaize and Michel Chapuis. He has worked with other professors such as Anne-Marie Barat, a pupil of André Marchal, with the organists Daniel Roth, Olivier Latry and Michel Bouvard as well as with the pianists Bruno Rigutto and Pierre Duvauchelle, the orchestral conductor Gérard Devos and the musicologists Jean Maillard, Brigitte François-Sappey and Jean Saint-Arroman. With the latter he participated in the reconstitution of complete religious services of 17th century France. He completed his training in the classes of harmony, counterpoint, orchestration, musical analysis and history of music at the Conservatoire de Paris with the highest honors, including a first prize in the organ class of Michel Chapuis. In addition to the first prize for organ, he won three first prizes and the music history diploma. He has been an award winner and finalist in several international competitions (organ, composition, chamber music), including the Grand Prix de Chartres in 1990.
In 1990, Éric Lebrun was appointed titular organist of the Église Saint-Antoine-des-Quinze-Vingts in Paris. There he recorded the complete organ works of Jehan Alain, Maurice Duruflé and César Franck as well as several broadcasts for France-Musique. He founded and has directed since 1991 the "Choeurs de Saint Antoine". The repertory of this group includes major sacred choral works from the Middle Ages to the contemporary period.
In collaboration with his wife, Marie-Ange Leurent, Éric Lebrun has formed a popular organ duo for four hands. He also performs as a soloist with various orchestras and vocal groups (Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Orchestra National de Budapest, Ensemble Instrumental Jean-Walter Audoli, Choeur de Radio-France, Choeur Régional Vittoria d'Ile de France, Ensemble Vocal Michel Piquemal, Orchestre Symphonique de Aarhus, Denmark....).
Since 1990, Éric Lebrun has benn a lecturer at various instituites. After teaching at the Conservatory of Fontainebleau and at the Sorbonne and in addition to directing the École nationale de musique et de danse of Cachan, he founded the Didactic class at the National Superior Conservatory of Music in Paris. He now is professor of organ at the Conservatoire of Angers and at the Conservatory of Regional Musical Influence at Saint-Maur des Fossés. He regularly gives master-classes at music schools such as The Royal Academy of Music in London and the National Conservatories of Bologne, Piacenza (Italy) and Zwolle (Holland). He was founder of the Organ Academies of Nemours (with André Isoir) and Sarlat and spent several seasons as organ professor at the International Academy of Comminges. For 16 consecutive years he was artistic director of the Organ Academy of Issenheim Issenheim in Alsace (with Marie-Ange Leurent), which included about thirty of the great Alsatian organs. In 2015, he inaugurated the organ class of the Pôle Sup 93. He then founded the Organ Academy of Bourron-Marlotte in the Fontainebleau area. A renowned pedagogue (he founded the organ didactics course at the Conservatoire de Paris), he contributed to the training of many young generation interpreters, several of whom won international competitions. He has Certificates of Aptitude for the profession of teaching organ, musical culture and for directorship. His organ class at Saint-Maur joined the Superior Pole of Excellence 93 in June 2015. In December of that year he was named Honorary Professor at the Royal Academy of Music of Aarhus, Denmark.
Éric Lebrun recorded (on 6 CD's) with Marie-Ange Leurent, Dietrich Buxtehude's organ works (Bayard- Musique) which received the Grand Prix du Disque de l'Académie Charles Cros. He next recorded the organ works of Alexandre Boëly (Choc du Monde de la Musique) which was accompanied by a biography of the composer written in collaboration with Brigitte François-Sappey. He is also the founder and president of the Association Gaston Litaize and he and Marie-Ange Leurent recorded his complete organ works for Litaize's one hundredth anniversary in 2009. He has also recorded at the organ the complete works of Jehan Alain, Maurice Duruflé, César Franck. In 2010 his Vingt Mystères du Rosaire, opus 10 was published and his double album of Franz Liszt's works was released. Since 2015, he is recording with Marie-Ange Leurent the complete organ works of J.S. Bach on 20 CD's scheduled to be finished in 2020 (Monthabor Musique).
Éric Lebrun is the author of several books, including biographies devoted to Dietrich Buxtehude (2006, edited by Bleu-Nuit), Alexandre Boëly (with Brigitte François-Sappey, 2008), at Bleu Nuit, as well as a contribution to the new version of the Guide de la Musique d'Orgue (Fayard 2012). The year 2012 saw the publication of his monograph of César Franck (Edited by Bleu-Nuit). In 2016 he published a new biography of J.S. Bach (edited by Bleu-Nuit). In 2018, he published a new biography of Claude Debussy.
From music for solo violin to an oratorio Eric Lebrun has composed about fifty works including the cycle Mystères du Rosaire, Trois Poèmes Liturgiques (commissioned by the Sacred Music Festival of Sylvanès Abbey), Sonata Sacra for great organ (commissioned by the Comminges Festival) and Canticum Fratris Solis based on the life of Saint Francis of Assisi (inaugural performance by France-Musique). In 2011 he gave the inaugural concert of his Suite for organ, opus 18 at the Paris church of Saint Eustache. He is also the dedicatee of several contemporary works, and premiered pieces by Valéry Aubertin, Jacques Castérède, Thierry Escaich, Kamilló Lendvay and Gaston Litaize, among others.
Éric Lebrun is an expert member of the National Commission of Historic Monuments (fifth section). For two years he was president of the Syndicat National des Artistes Musiciens des Cultes. |
