The Ensemble Écoute is a contemporary music ensemble founded in 2014 by composer Alex Nante and conductor-pianist Fernando Palomeque at the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris. It is composed of young musicians from all over the world, in particular from the DAI-Contemporaine program of the National Conservatory of Music in Paris, as well as other major European musical training institutions. It was hosted in residence at the Cité Universitaire for four years, and then at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris between 2018 and 2020.
The Ensemble Écoute performs not only the masterpieces of the most important composers of contemporary music (Grisey, Murail, Birtwistle, Rihm, Saunders, among others) but it is also very engaged in the promotion of new music, especially from emerging composers. Each concert always offers a premiere by young composers, such as Naoki Sakata, Antonin Rey, Manon LePauvre, Alex Nante, Dahae Boo, Charles, Peck, Demian Rudel Rey, and Nicolas Roulive, among others.
Its involvement in favor of contemporary musical creation led the Ensemble to create the Ensemble Écoute composition competition in 2016. Each year, well-renowned musical personalities are invited to join the jury. This has included: Alessandro Solbiati, Stefano Gervasoni, Bernard Cavanna, and Jean-Philippe Wurtz.
The Ensemble has been invited to participate in several Festivals, among them: Action! Creation! by France Musique, Festival de l’Epau, Festival Européen de Jeunes Talents, Scène Ouverte de l’Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, and Les Journées Européennes de Patrimoines.
Écoute was one of only five ensembles selected worldwide to participate at the first Residence Academy organized by Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt.
From 2015 to 2017 the programs of the Ensemble Écoute were conceived to reveal the richness of the musical and cultural heritage of different countries, such as Japan, the UK, France, Latin America, Lebanon, Egypt, Iran and Syria.
Nowadays, every concert of the ensemble focuses on highlighting different aspects of new music: a particular composition aesthetic or trend, an iconic instrumentation of the XX or XXI century, or a rising composer.
Another way the ensemble further develops collaboration with composers is the organization of artistic residencies. The Ensemble Écoute hosted the Argentinian composer Santiago Santero, Japanese composer Naoki Sakata, Mathieu Bonilla, and Dahae Boo, who will be the next guest.
Currently, it is under the artistic direction of Fernando Palomeque and Rachel Koblyakov.