Thierry Barbé is principal bass of the orchestra of the Opéra National de Paris (Paris National Opera http://www.operadeparis.fr/ ) and, since 2000, professor of double bass at the National Superior Conservatory of Music of Paris CNSMDP http://www.conservatoiredeparis.fr/).
He has taught the double bass since 1982, notably at the CRR (National Regional Conservatory) in Saint Maur, east suburbs of Paris where he still teaches now. Born in Metz, a town situated in the Lorraine region of Eastern France, in the heart of Europe, Barbé studied piano and double bass while simultaneously pursuing a degree in science, before devoting himself exclusively to music at the CNSMDP, where he earned degrees in music theory and analysis, music history, harmony, counterpoint, and a « Premier Prix » in double bass. After entering the orchestra of the Paris Opera in 1983 (where he is currently principal bassist), he continued studying electro-acoustic music and conducting.
Barbé’s passion is to play recitals with piano and conducted master classes in Italy, Greece, Brazil, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, New-York Juilliard school (USA), Germany, Austria, Norway, United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain, Taipei, China, Denmark, Poland, Russia, Tcheque Republic and France. He appreciates all styles of music, from Bach to Xenakis, world music and jazz, and frequently performs his own compositions (his first compact disc, Nomade, was released in 1998).
Barbé has experimented with numerous international technical approaches to the double bass and wants to reconcile them. He performs double bass music and transcriptions sensitively with the expressive “French touch.”
Since 2001, Barbé has succeeded Pierre Hellouin as president of the French Bass Society (Association des Bassistes et Contrebassistes de France ABCDF), and is one webmaster of its site www.contrebasse.com. He is passionate about stimulating the activity of the double bass community in the world, created the « Edouard Nanny » competition in Capbreton, organized the bass convention « Bass’2008″ in the Paris Conservatory in october 2008. He is board member of the ISB, International Society of Bassists.http://www.thierrybarbe-contrebasse.com