Jean-Claude Casadesus
After studying at the Paris Conservatoire, Jean-Claude Casadesus trained under two conductors, Pierre Dervaux and Pierre Boulez. He was appointed musical director of the Théâtre du Châtelet in 1965, and in 1969 became resident conductor at the Opéra de Paris and the Opéra-Comique. He was one of the founders of the Orchestre des Pays de la Loire, and served as assistant director until 1976, when he established the Orchestre national de Lille. Under his direction, the orchestra has brought their wide repertoire, dynamism and artistic integrity to audiences in four continents and thirty countries.

At the same time, he has pursued an international career and is regularly invited to conduct orchestras in Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Montreal, St Petersburg, London, Paris, Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, as well as the Gulbenkian Orchestra and the Berliner Symphoniker. He also conducts opera on a regular basis in Monte Carlo and Trieste, with the Orchestre de Paris, Flanders Opera and of course, the Opéra de Lille, where he conducted Carmen in 2010 (DVD Release in May 2011). He recently appeared with the Orchestre National de France at the 2009 Festival Présences. After China (2007 and the 2010 World Exposition in Shanghai) and a and a triumphant tour in Austria, Slovenia and Croatia (2009), Jean-Claude Casadesus, with his orchestra toured as part of the year France - Russia 2010. His future engagements will lead him to Taiwan, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Prague.

An Ardent Defender of contemporary music, he received the Charles Cros Award for the first recording of his Orchestra : The Première Symphonie by Henri Dutilleux. President of Musique Nouvelle en Liberté (Association for the support and promotion of contemporary music). In 2001 he created a in-residence composers post, and apponted Bruno Mantovani for 3 years (from 2008 to 2011).

Jean-Claude Casadesus has made thirty recordings with the Orchestre national de Lille, which has received a number of awards. Recently he was rewarded with a “choc Classica” for the CD Par la chute d’Adam as a tribute to Olivier Greif published by Accord with the National Orchestra of France and Henri Demarquette, cello. He is the author of 2 books : Le plus court chemin d’un coeur à un autre (Stock) and La partition d’une vie (Ecriture). In 2004 he was awarded a Victoire d’Honneur at the Victoires de la Musique Classique. Jean-Claude Casadesus is director of the Orchestre National de Lille, Director of The Lille Piano Festival He served as musical director of the Orchestre Français des Jeunes until December 2007.

He is a Commandeur de la Légion d’Honneur, Commandeur de l’Ordre National du Mérite and Commandeur des Arts et Lettres, Commandeur de l’Ordre Orange Nassau – Officier de l’Ordre Léopold de Belgique and Chevalier des Palmes Académiques.

Orchestre National de Lille
Since its creation in 1976, thanks to the ambitious project of its director Jean-Claude Casadesus, with the support of the Région Nord-Pas de Calais and the French government, the Orchestre National de Lille has established itself as a leading French orchestra open to all audiences. Each year the orchestra performs in its concert hall, le Nouveau Siècle in Lille, completely renovated and inaugurated in January 2013, its region, in France and abroad. True to its mission the orchestra plays the major symphonic repertoire, with an annual opera production, but also the music of our own time, particularly the works of invited guest composers. In parallel, it presents innovative events dedicated to new audiences. In all aspects of its programming, the orchestra invites experienced international conductors and soloists as well as young talented musicians. The orchestra places its young audiences at the heart of its projects by developing a wide range of participatory events. Over the years critics and public alike have hailed more than thirty recordings with numerous awards. In April 2015 the Orchestre National de Lille became Europe’s first orchestra to go fully digital: with an extensive hi-tech set-up, it now boasts a fully digital signal chain from sound pick-up to recording.