Thomas Dunford/Jupiter Ensemble

Born in Paris in 1988, Thomas Dunford dicovers lute at the age of nine thanks to his professor Claire Antonini. He continues his studies at the Conservatoire de Paris where he gets a First Prize (unanimous) in the class of Charles-Edouard Fantin, and then at the Schola Cantorum of Basel with Hopkison Smith. He attends several masterclasses with lutenists such as Rolf Lislevand, Julian Bream, Eugène Ferré, Paul O’Dette, Pascale Boquet, Benjamin Perrot and Eduardo Eguez.

Between 2003 and 2005, Thomas makes his debuts in the role of the lutenist in Twelfth Night by Shakespeare on the stage of La Comédie Française. Since then, he has been performing in the entire world : Carnegie Hall and Frick Collection in New York City, Wigmore Hall in London, Washington Kennedy Center, Vancouver Recital Society, Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, Paris and Berlin Philharmonies, TAP Poitiers, WDR Köln, Bozar Brussels… He also performs in festivals such as Saintes, Radio France Montpellier Occitanie, Ambronay, Leipzig Bachfest, Utrecht, Folles Journées de Nantes… He is also playing in England, Scotland, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switerland, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Estonia, Czech Republic, Danemark, the US, Brasil, Colombia, Chile, Mexcio, Israel, China, Japan and India.  Thomas Dunford is regularly invited to play with ensembles and orchestras, or to conduct them as well. Among them : Les Arts Florissants, Academy of Ancient Music, Cappella Mediterranea, Pygmalion… He has also been conducting production with Opera Lafayette in Washington DC since 2017.

In 2018, at the age of 30, he created his own ensemble Jupiter, formed out of a meeting and friendship with brilliant young musicians of his generation. Their multi-award-winning first disc devoted to Vivaldi was released by Alpha in 2019. The discography continues with an “Amazone” disc in 2021, a Franco-Italian recital program with Lea Desandre, a “Handel – Eternal Heaven” disc in 2022, with soloists Lea Desandre and Iestyn Davies, and a “Songs of Passion” disc exploring the repertoire of John Dowland and Henry Purcell, due for release in 2025. Jupiter has already been programmed in the greatest concert halls in Europe and the United States: Philharmonie de Paris, Philharmonie de Berlin, Auditorium Radio-France, ElbPhilharmonie Hamburg, Carnegie Hall in New York, Wigmore Hall in London, Festival de Pâques d’Aix-en-Provence…

Previously, Thomas Dunford has received numerous awards for his solo discs (on Alpha): Lacrimae in 2012, Labirinto d’Amoreen 2014 and solo Bach Suites in 2018.

In 2023, he released a new album “Idylle” with mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre, as well as a 5-track EP: “The Other Side”, mixing original compositions but also covers, including the Beatles.

Thomas Dunford is fond of many musical genres, particularly jazz, and has been working in chamber music projects with conductors and soloists such as Paul Agnew, Leonardo Garcia Alarcon, Nicola Benedetti, Keyvan Chemirani, William Christie, Jonathan Cohen, Christophe Coin, Iestyn Davies, Lea Desandre, Isabelle Faust, Bobby McFerrin, Philippe Herreweghe, Monica Huggett, Alexis Kosenko, Francois Lazarévitch, Anne-Sophie von Otter, Trevor Pinnock, Patricia Petibon, Sandrine Piau, Anna Prohaska, Hugo Reyne, Anna Reinhold, Jean Rondeau, Skip Sempé, Jean Tubéry… He also very regularly performs with hapsichordist Jean Rondeau and mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre.

For the 2024 – 2025 season, Thomas Dunford will be touring international with the Jupiter ensemble (Festival de Lucerne, Festival d’Auvers sur Oise, Festival de Pâques d’Aix en Provence, Frick Collection (New York), Théâtre des Champs Elysées, La Chaux de Fonds, Wigmore Hall…), in duet with mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre (Opéra-Comique, ElbPhilharmonie Hambourg, Sommets musicaux de Gstaad…). He will also be touring his project “The Other Side” (from the Baroque to the Beatles). In March and April 2025, he will return to the U.S. and Canada to tour his solo program and conduct the Arion Baroque Orchestra (Québec).