Draped in light, we touch…
2 flutists, including 1 piccoloist, dressed in micro-ties; 6, or three times two, disheveled saxophonists of different sizes; 1 sousaphonist and his tie; 1 relentless drummer; 1 percussionist who has weathered many a storm; 3 trombonists, including one bass trombonist, with their mutes; 3 trumpet, bugle, mellophone, and euphonium players, depending on their moods; 1 keytarist/guitarist and his omnipotent pedals.
…But in the shadows, we see…
Geniuses of lights and sound, masters of the cajon, rendering the orchestra’s destiny in decibels and beats; 1 graphic designer, reflecting as she traces the group’s near future in lines on paper; 1 administration/programming/production department – that is, a bunch of people united to make croissants rain at breakfast.
The orchestra is a collective. All our operations—in terms of people and projects alike—are run using a horizontal model.
The Music
Made entirely of original compositions by members of the ensemble, our repertoire is eclectic. It blends themes equal parts crystalline, twisted and clever. Our music is all kinds of jazz, it’s pop in three-four time, it’s nonsense to dance to, it’s tight big band-style compositions. Every proposal we make is an overture to the wild winds of improvisation.
Since day one, we have embraced a whimsical type of directed collective improvisation, also called sound painting. Developed collectively, and based on Walter Thompson’s[1] research, this gestural language allows each musician to exit the ranks and momentarily guide the orchestra. In the moment they split from the group, they may choose to twist open the bars of a verse and let the unknown rush in, or surreptitiously close the gates on a bygone musical path. Even as these interventions allow the repertoire to evolve, they inspire spur-of-the-moment orchestral invention that is free and spontaneous, ever-shifting and always new.
[1] Walter Thompson is an American musician who has worked for the past thirty years to develop a language of improvisation entirely based on gestures, called sound painting. As a system that is simple, expansive, and cohesive, sound painting attracts musicians and dancers alike. To learn more, check out: http://www.soundpainting.com/walter-thompson/
Members of Surnatural Orchestra
There are many…
Currently playing with the orchestra
Léa Ciechelski (flûtes), Clea Torales (flûte), Basile Naudet (sax alto), Camille Secheppet (sax alto), Jeannot Salvatori (sax alto, cavaquinho), Guillaume Christophel (sax ténor, clarinette), Nicolas Stephan (sax ténor), Fabrice Theuillon (sax baryton, effets), Pierre Millet (trompette, bugle), Julien Rousseau (trompette, bugle, mellophone, euphonium), Antoine Berjeaut (trompette, bugle), François Roche-Juarez (trombone), Hanno Baumfelder (trombone), Judith Wekstein (trombone basse), Boris Boublil (claviers, guitare), Fabien Debellefontaine (sousaphone), Ianik Tallet (batterie), Sven Clerx (percussions), Zak Cammoun, Guillaume de la Villéon, François-Xavier Delaby & Rose Bruneau (son), Anne Palomeres, Michaël Philis & Jacques-Benoît Dardant (lumière), Jérôme Bertin (régie générale), Nicolas Legendre (régie cirque), Christine Nissim (administration), Marie-Edith Roussillon (production/diffusion), Caroline Pageaud (illustration/graphisme), Catherine Cristofari (communication)
Past, present, and occasional members (it’s a long story!)
Arthur Alard (percussions), Benoît Alziary (d.a.), Adrien Amey (sax soprano), Jérôme Ballero (sousaphone), Antoine Berland (claviers) Baptiste Bouquin (sax alto, clarinette), Philippe Bouttier (régie g), Sébastien Brun (batterie), Solenne Capmas (costumes), Morgane Carnet (sax baryton, ténor), Manu Céalis (lumières), Marielle Chatain (sax baryton, effets), Marc Chonier (presse et +), Damien Christéa (lumières), Philippe Cortez (trombone), Julien Couzy (production-diffusion), Martin-Oger Daguerre (sax ténor), Pierre Déaux (trombone), Christobal Diaz (percussions), Guillaume Dutrieux (trompette), Naïé Dutrieux (flüte), Jean-Philippe Feiss (violoncelle), Robin Fincker (sax ténor), Nicolas Flesch (textes, voix), Fidel Fourneyron (tuba basse), Alain François (son), Laurent Géhant (sousaphone), Benoît Gilg (son), Théo Girard (basse), Giovanni Hector (trombone), Sylvaine Hélary (flûte),Yann Jankiélévicz (trombone), Bertrand Landhauser (trombone), Arnaud Laprêt (percussions), Shan Lefrant (sousaphone), Izidor Leitinger (trompette), Sylvain Lemêtre (percussions), Agnès Lété (administration), Gabriel Levasseur (trompette), Camille Lévêque (diffusion), Antonin Leymarie (batterie), Hansen Limtung (sax alto), Guillaume Magne (guitare), Gaspard Manesse (trompette), Hugues Mayot (sax ténor), Sylvain Mazens (trombone), Fanny Ménegoz (flûtes, voix), Jean-Pascal Molina (batterie), Stéphane Montigny (trombone), Julien Omé (guitare), Anne Palomeres (danse), Csaba Palotaï (guitare), Françoise Pelherbe (flûte, voix), Emmanuel Penfeunteun (batterie), Brice Perda (sousaphone), Katia Petrowick (danse, chorégraphie), Brice Pichard (trompette), Yann Priest (trompette), Raphaël Quenehen (sax alto), Timothée Quost (trompette), Jean-François Riffaut (guitare, claviers), Elizabeth Saint-Jalmes (scénographie), Jérôme Sautton (flûte), Camille Sauvage (graphisme), Thomas Sisqueille (batterie, percussions), Sylvain Tamalet (sax baryton), Jérôme Tisserand (diffusion), Maxence Tual (comédie), Corentin Vigot (son), Claire Van Waerbeke (flûte)…
