Hélène Breschand

Hélène Breschand (born 18 March 1966) is a French harpist, composer and improviser. Breschand leads a career both as a solo artist as well as in ensemble work, playing both a contemporary repertoire and premiering new works as much as she plays improvised music and musical theater. She is a musician who plays on the verge of several genres ranging from contemporary music to jazz. She plays both written and improvised music. Family She was born to the painters Thérèse Boucraut and Maurice Breschand in Paris. Her brother is the director Jean Breschand. She is the niece of singers Jacqueline and Roger Leroy. Life and career Born in Paris into a family of artists, she discovered contemporary music during the heyday of the serial music movement, and discovered free jazz and the expansion of new technologies as early as the 1970s. She began learning harp with Martine Géliot, before deciding to continue with Brigitte Sylvestre. Sylvestre initiated Breschand into musical theater and contemporary music. She obtained the “Médaille d’or” and the “Prix d’Excellence” by unanimity at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional of Paris under the direction of Sylvestre and obtained the “Prize of Ana