Camille Thomas

Optimism, vitality, and joyful exuberance are among the rich elements of cellist Camille Thomas's compelling personality. Her charismatic artistry is driven by a passion for life and a desire to inspire others to open their hearts to the wonder and emotion of classical music. Born in 1988 in Paris, she began playing the cello at the age of four and made such rapid progress that she was soon taking lessons with the acclaimed teacher Marcel Bardon. She moved to Berlin in 2006 to study with Stephan Forck and Frans Helmerson at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler, continuing her training with postgraduate lessons from Wolfgang-Emanuel Schmidt at the Franz Liszt Hochschule für Musik in Weimar. Before leaving music college, she gave debut performances at prestigious venues that include Paris's Salle Gaveau and Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Victoria Hall in Geneva and the Jerusalem Music Centre, and received immediate invitations to return. Her mature artistry also secured prize-winning success in a series of competitions, with her international breakthrough coming in 2014 when she was nominated for a Newcomer of the Year award at the 21st Victoires de la Musique Classique (the French equivalent of the Grammy Awards). Named winner of the 2014 New Talent competition sponsored by the European Broadcasting Union, she went on to triumph in the Young Soloist of the Year category in RTBF's 2016 C'est du Belge awards, chosen in collaboration with Paris Match, and in 2018, was selected for Forbes' prestigious 30 under 30 list. Thomas's natural charm has captivated television audiences, as well as international online audiences through the broadcast of her debut concert at the Flâneries Musicales de Reims. In addition to her solo work, Thomas is also a dedicated chamber musician and her second album, Reminiscences, recorded with Belgian pianist Julien Libeer, was released in 2016 and won the 2017 Echo Klassik award for best (19th-century) chamber music recording of the year. The young Franco-Belgian cellist signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon in 2017. In understanding art's power to bring people together and to unite individuals from diverse cultures, countries, and backgrounds, Voice of Hope, her second DG album, was the first classical album recorded in partnership with UNICEF, reflecting her desire to help others through her music. At its heart is the world premiere recording of Fazil Say's Concerto for cello and orchestra "Never Give Up", the composer's response to terrorist attacks on Paris and Istanbul, written expressly for Thomas, who gave its world premiere performance in 2018. For the 2019-20 season, Thomas was loaned the Feuermann Stradivarius for one year by the Nippon Music Foundation, made her first appearance at the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie and completed her residency at the Ryedale Festival in 2019 that included her UK concerto debut (Elgar, with the Orchestra of Opera North in Scarborough). Most recently, she visited the Middle East, performing the Bach Cello Suites at the Dubai Opera.