Biography
Graduated from the Conservatoire National de Region in Nice (France) in piano and chamber music. While there, he also studied double-bass, singing, clarinet, harmony and counterpoint. After
graduating, he went on to study with Brigitte Engerer, from the National Conservatory in Paris. He performed many times as a pianist and in chamber music in France and across Europe and Middle-East.
He then studied orchestral conducting in France before entering George Hurst's conducting classes in Great Britain. He received first prize there in orchestral conducting with distinction. He is also
a laureate of the conducting competition in Manchester (Royal Northern College of Music). He was then chosen to participate in conducting master classes across Europe.
Simultaneous to his career as pianist and accompanist, he has worked as repetiteur, vocal coach and assistant for many theaters in France and abroad. As pianist and conductor, Maestro Pionnier has
taken part in many festivals, including the Pablo Casals Festival, Festival Messiaen, Monte-Carlo Spring Festival, Hong-Kong French May, Ambronay's Festival, Festival Manca, Festival Musiques au
Coeur, Festival Pierre Cardin, and the Macao International Music Festival.
He has also been assisting many famous conductors, most recently James Levine, who invited him to the Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall.
He has conducted many operas - mainly in France, Europe and Asia - including works by Gluck, Mozart, Donizetti, Gounod, Offenbach, Bizet, Massenet, Delibes, Lehar, Verdi, Puccini
Art. Lebedev Studio