Biographie
A young conductor with an atypical background, Marc Hajjar has distinguished himself in the conducting field. Semi-finalist of the 2015 Besançon Competition, he is active in many aspects of this profession, whether as a guest of prestigious ensembles, specialized groups, project coordinator, or through transmission of his art.
Particularly involved in contemporary repertoire and new music, Marc has in the last seasons multiplied collaborations with several leading institutions across Europe, such as the Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Lucerne Festival Academy, and ensembles like the Orchestre de Flûtes Français (Pierre-Yves Artaud). He was a member of the Ensemble Modern Academy (IEMA), where he built up a repertoire of dozens of pieces. He also founded the Diaphonix ensemble in Germany, created with IEMA alumni, which recently became resident at the Royaumont Foundation. Regularly working with renowned composers such as George Benjamin as well as with the younger generation, Marc has premiered more than a hundred pieces to date and intends to keep this activity as central in his artistic mission.
His engagements lead him to work on a wide range of repertoires, from classical to modern, in both symphonic and operatic contexts: he has been invited by the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, the Orchestre National d’Auvergne, the Orchestre Victor Hugo Franche-Comté, the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Orchestre National de Lille. He also assisted Alexandre Bloch with the Lyon Opera, the Munich Opera, and the Orchestre National de Lille.
Marc is also the co-founder of the Ensemble Nouvelles Portées, established in Paris with Victor Jacob in 2015. Through this initiative, he has combined his experienced entrepreneurial profile with his artistic ambitions, which include musical creation in all forms, the promotion of young talents, and transmission especially about the orchestra and the role of the conductor.
Marc is a graduate engineer from Ecole Centrale and worked in this field while pursuing high-level amateur violin practice in orchestras. In conducting, he studied under Jean-Sébastien Béreau before earning his Master's degree from the Royal Academy of Music in London. His teachers included Colin Metters, Sian Edwards, Vsevolod Polonsky, Leonid Grin, David Zinman, Stefan Asbury, Péter Eötvös, and Matthias Pintscher.
Marc is a laureate of the Bleustein-Blanchet Foundation.