Laurent Houque

Laurent Houque was born in 1985 in Dunkerque, France, where he began studying violin and piano. He then moved to Belgium, where he graduated with great distinction from the Conservatoire de Mons-ARTS2 with a specialised master's degree in violin and violin teaching (class of Daniel Rubenstein). A keen improviser, he tried his hand at self-taught composition and, living in Paris at the time, took classes with two of Olivier Messiaen's student composers, Jean-Michel Bardez and Alain Louvier. He later studied composition with Claude Ledoux at the Conservatoire de Mons. A show devoted to his compositions, Toi et Moi à Lesbos, was premiered by the Musiques Nouvelles ensemble at Arsonic (Mons) in July 2023. A complete musician, he is also a violist and is interested in conducting. A frequent member of the Orchestre de chambre de Wallonie, he has been a permanent member of Ensemble Musiques Nouvelles since 2012, performing as a soloist or in a duo with pianist Misa Kakumoto. With Misa Kakumoto, he recorded his debut album Haru Kara on the Triton label to rave reviews and is frequently broadcast on France Musique. Laurent Houque plays a violin by Pietro Giacomo Rogeri dating from 1715.