Dominique Gesseney-Rappo (*1953)

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The Swiss composer Dominique Gesseney-Rappo is born in Lausanne in 1953. He graduated with a cello Diploma at the Fribourg Conservatory in the class of Paul Burger. He studyied harmony, counterpoint and fugue with Henry Baeriswyl and orchestration with Jean Balissat.

As a conductor of many vocal ensembles, he wrote a certain number of works for choir: Missa brevior (1992, choeur des XVI, Fribourg, André Ducret conductor); Dei populus liberatus (1998, Jerusalem festival Zimryia); Ecce tu pulchra es (2002, Harelbeke, Belgien, Goyvaert Consort / 2003, Ensemble Accroche-Choeur, Fribourg, Switzerland, Jean-Claude Fasel conductor); Lumen vitae (2004, Ensemble Chorège, Romainmôtier, Switzerland, Hugo Stern conductor).

In 2003, the library of the University of Lausanne gave him the opportunity to publish a list of his works under the supervision of Jean-Louis Matthey.

In December 2006 he was awarded the prize of the Leenards Foundation who encourages the modern creation.

These last years, Dominique Gesseney-Rappo oriented his career toward the composition of instrumental works: Quatuor de cuivres no 1 (Fribourg, 1990, Brass Quartet of Fribourg); Nunc dimittis (New-York, 2005, string quartet Sine Nomine and the tenor Gilles Bersier); Instants (Lausanne, 2007, for pan flute, Jeanne Gollut and string quartet Sine Nomine); L'aube dérobée (Boston, April 2008, dedicated to the Hawthorne String Quartet); K 65 for string orchestra (Wettingen, Kammerorchester, conductor Alexandre Clerc); Musique et Pinceaux for brass ensemble and percussion (November 2008, Siviriez, Delémont, Granges, Nyon, Neuchâtel with the Flying Brass Ensemble, conductor Blaise Héritier and the painter Dessa).

In May 2008 he received a special commission from the Pro Helvetia Foundation for a composition for pan flute and orchestra, to be performed by the flautist Michel Tirabosco and the chamber orchestra of Fribourg, conductor Laurent Gendre.