Optimism, vitality and joyful exuberance are among the rich elements of Camille Thomas’s compelling personality. The young Franco-Belgian cellist, who signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon in April 2017, understands art’s power to bring people together, to unite individuals from diverse cultures, countries and backgrounds.
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. “I strongly believe that music has the power to enlarge the heart, to make you feel everything with more intensity,” she says. “Music gives hope for the beauty and the greatness of the human soul.”
Voice of Hope, her second DG album, was set for international release on June 6, 2020. 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 Paris in April 2018. It is the first classical album recorded in partnership with UNICEF, reflecting the cellist’s desire to help others through her music.
Camille Thomas was 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 Hanns Eisler Hochschule für Musik, continuing her training with postgraduate lessons from Wolfgang-Emanuel Schmidt at the Franz Liszt Hochschule für Musik in Weimar.
Camille is conquering the world stage at a staggering pace. Camille already worked with conductors like Paavo Järvi, Mikko Franck, Marc Soustrot, Darrell Ang, Kent Nagano, Stéphane Denève and with orchestras such as the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Academia Santa Cecilia, Sinfonia Varsovia, Staatsorchester Hamburg in the Elbphilharmonie, the Lucerne Festival Strings in the Herkulessaal in Munich, the Orchestre National de Bordeaux, Brussels Philharmonic.
Camille Thomas performs on famous “Feuermann” Stradivarius as a loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.
