Maude Gratton
Born in Niort in 1983, Maude Gratton pursues a solo career in France and abroad on the organ, the harpsichord and the fortepiano. She also performs regularly with such musicians as Philippe Pierlot, Damien Guillon, Bruno Cocset and Jérôme Hantaï. For some years now she has been a member of Collegium Vocale Gent (director Philippe Herreweghe) and Le Concert Français (director Pierre Hantaï).

Since 2011 she has been artistic director of two projects she founded in the Poitou-Charentes region, the Académie de Musique de Saint-Loup and the Musiques en Gâtine festival. She also teaches the organ and the harpsichord at the Royal Conservatory in Ghent and is a faculty member of the Vannes Early Music Institute, directed by Bruno Cocset.

Her first recording (works by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach on Mirare) won a Diapason d’Or of the year for 2009 and was named Critics’ Choice in Gramophone. She then took part as organ soloist in the first recording of works by J. S. Bach by Le Banquet Céleste under the direction of Damien Guillon. Subsequent recordings (all on Mirare) have included a Weckmann programme with the Ricercar Consort under Philippe Pierlot (Choc de l’Année in Classica), the sonatas for cello and pianoforte of Georges Onslow (with Emmanuel Jacques) and Bach’s Musical Offering (with the Ricercar Consort).

Maude Gratton graduated from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris in harpsichord, continuo, organ and Renaissance counterpoint. In 2003 she won second prize at the Bruges International Organ Competition, and she was named ‘Young Soloist 2006’ by the Association of French-Speaking Public Radio Stations.

Il Convito
The chamber ensemble Il Convito was founded in 2005 by the harpsichordist and organist Maude Gratton. Its repertory consists of music ranging from the Renaissance to the nineteenth century, focusing on harpsichord, grand organ or fortepiano, and played on period instruments. In 2007 the ensemble won a place on the Déclic programme supported by Cultures France and Radio France. It has already appeared at numerous festivals, including La Roque d’Anthéron, Saintes, Sablé, Arques-la-Bataille, La Folle Journée de Nantes, the Bach Academy in Bruges, Midi-Minimes in Brussels, and Musiques en Gâtine. Foreign tours have taken it to Washington, Ottawa, Sweden, and South and Central America.