Fiona Monbet

Born on September 25, 1989, in Seine-et-Marne, France, Fiona Monbet is an acclaimed violinist and conductor. A graduate of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, she was discovered by jazz/classical violinist Didier Lockwood, who introduced her to the world of contemporary music and improvisation. Fiona Monbet began to expand her repertoire and collaborated with artists including Patricia Petibon, Vladimir Cosma, Pierre Cussack, and others. In 2011, she formed the group Django Club with Adrien Moignard, Jérémie Arranger, Richard Manetti, and Sébastien Giniaux and released their self-titled debut album. French director Tony Gatlif invited Fiona Monbet to participate in creating the scores for his films Les Indignés (2012), and Geronimo (2014). In 2013, she released O’Ceol, her first solo album as a leader. Fiona Monbet began performing with chamber orchestras, winning the Chamber Music Prize in 2014 from the International Summer Academy at the Vienna Conservatory. She moved to conducting in 2018 when she created Miroirs Extents, an ensemble consisting of an average of 15 musicians. Her next album, Contrebande, was released in 2018. The following year, she became the resident conductor for the Orchester Symphonique de Bretagne for two years and also appeared as a performer. In January 2022, she released Maelström, her third album as a leader.