The French conductor Geoffroy Jourdain studied musicology at the Sorbonne Université in Paris, and quickly became involved in choral conducting. While still a student he founded the ensemble Les Cris de Paris, which soon gained recognition for its ambitious programmes, interdisciplinary work and commitment to contemporary music. Together Jourdain and his ensemble have performed at renowned venues and at festivals such as the Festival d’Automne, the Festival d’Avignon and the Musikfest Berlin. In summer 2026 they perform at the Festival de La Chaise-Dieu and make their debuts at the Salzburg Festival.
As a guest conductor he has worked with ensembles such as Cappella Amsterdam, the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá and the choir of the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo. He has conducted Handel’s Israel in Egypt with Les Siècles and Oscar Strasnoy’s opera Cachafaz with the Ensemble 2e2m.
In his concerts he places contemporary pieces alongside music from earlier eras. He does not aim to base the identities of his artistic projects around ideas of authenticity and heritage, but rather to understand compositions as part of a dynamic movement, in which they gain new impetus from being performed in combination with works by other artists. He is especially inspired by 17th and 18th century music and by ethnomusicology.
Jourdain has given the world premieres of works by composers including Silvia Borzelli, Jérôme Combier, Ivan Fedele, Francesco Filidei, Beat Furrer, Hanna Eimermacher, Mauro Lanza, Pierre-Yves Macé, Wolfgang Mitterer, Marco Stroppa, Eva Reiter and Francesca Verunelli. Through collaborations with artists from the dis- ciplines of dance, theatre and visual arts, such as Julie Bérès, Aurélien Bory, François Chaignaud, Clément Cogitore and Benjamin Lazar, he has developed new formats through which music breaks away from the conventions of the classical concert.
Geoffroy Jourdain has been working with harmonia mundi since 2016. His recordings with Les Cris de Paris include the albums Berio to Sing with Lucile Richardot, Melancholia featuring Renaissance music, Debussy with Les Siècles and François-Xavier Roth, the anthology Passions and David and Salomon, featuring works by Schütz. In February 2025 he released Strana armonia d’amore featuring madrigals by Vicentino, Gesualdo and de Rore in combination with Francesca Verunelli’s VicentinoOo.
