Jean-François Verdier

France's Jean-François Verdier maintains dual careers as a conductor and clarinetist, and he is also a composer of music for children. In 1996, Verdier became the principal clarinetist of the Paris Opera Orchestra, where he has continued to perform. In 2010, he became the music director of the Orchestre Victor Hugo in Besançon. He remained in that position as of the mid-2020s. Verdier made his recording debut as a clarinetist with the early music group Les Sacqueboutiers on a 2014 recording of Monteverdi's Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda. Verdier's recording activity has been mostly as a conductor; with the Victor Hugo Orchestra, he backed soprano Sandrine Piau on her 2021 release Clair-Obscur. In 2022, he led the orchestra on the jazz crossover album Baptiste Trotignon: Anima, returning in 2024 on Piau's album Reflet.