Created in 2018 by lutenist Thomas Dunford, the Jupiter ensemble was born of the meeting and friendship between Thomas and brilliant young musicians of his generation. The great freedom, listening skills, improvisation and energy acquired by each of them over the years enable them to render with passion, strength and emotion the different repertoires they tackle, from Vivaldi to Joaquin Rodrigo, via Handel, Destouches, Couperin, Mancini and original compositions by Thomas Dunford and Douglas Balliett.
Ensemble Jupiter’s first recording is devoted to Vivaldi (Alpha label, 2019: Diamant d’Opéra Magazine, Prix Caecillia, ICMA 2020, France Musique choice). Alternating between opera excerpts and instrumental concerti, it showcases the ensemble’s various soloists. Comprising arias from French and Italian operas (17th and 18th centuries), often unjustly forgotten, Jupiter’s second disc, “Amazone”, coincides with Lea Desandre’s first recital on record (Erato/Warner Classics, 2021). The third CD to be released, “Eternal Heaven” is dedicated to Handel’s English oratorios, with soloists Lea Desandre and Iestyn Davies (Erato/Warner Classics, 2022).
During the 2023-2024 season, Jupiter created a major new program entitled “Chasing Rainbows”, with staging (Sophie Daneman) and costumes (Hubert Barrère), presented at L’Opéra-Comique (Paris), Berlin Philharmonie, Opéra de Rouen, Cité Bleue (Geneva), Maison de la Radio (Paris), Festival de Rougemont, Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Salzburg, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, among others.
“A man of great common sense, despite his few years, Thomas Dunford, accompanied by some of the best musicians of his generation, has decided to assemble a crew… Welcome to the ship Jupiter! Let’s follow his voyages closely. (Erik Orsenna, excerpt from the booklet for the CD Vivaldi – Jupiter)
Created in 2018 by lutenist Thomas Dunford, the Jupiter ensemble was born of the meeting and friendship between Thomas and brilliant young musicians of his generation: Lea Desandre, Jean Rondeau, Douglas Balliett, Bruno Philippe, Thibaut Garcia, Peter Whelan … The great freedom, listening skills, improvisation and energy acquired by each of them over the years enable them to render with passion, strength and emotion the different repertoires they tackle, from Vivaldi to Joaquin Rodrigo, via Handel, Destouches, Couperin, Mancini and original compositions by Thomas Dunford and Douglas Balliett.
The Jupiter ensemble’s first disc, released in autumn 2019 for the Alpha label, is devoted to Vivaldi. Alternating between opera excerpts and instrumental concerti, it showcases the various soloists of the Jupiter ensemble. The awards received since then for this recording confirm the success of this first project (Diamant d’Opéra Magazine, Prix Caecillia, ICMA 2020, choix France Musique).
In September 2021, Ensemble Jupiter released its second disc “Amazone”, Lea Desandre’s first recording recital, for the Erato-Warner Classics label. Comprising arias from French and Italian operas, this new album highlights arias from the 17th and 18th centuries. This program, created in collaboration with musicologist Yannis François, gives pride of place to unjustly forgotten pieces, some of which have never been performed since their creation.
In autumn 2022, Jupiter released a third disc entitled “Eternal Heaven”, dedicated to Handel’s English oratorios, with soloists Lea Desandre and Iestyn Davies, again for the Erato Warner Classics label.
In 2023-2024, the Jupiter ensemble will create a major new program entitled “Chasing Rainbows”, directed by Sophie Daneman and with Hubert Barrère for costumes. Jupiter will perform at L’Opéra-Comique (Paris), Berlin Philharmonie, Opéra de Rouen, Cité Bleue (Geneva), Maison de la Radio (Paris), Festival de Rougemont, Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Salzburg, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival.
Ensemble Jupiter is supported by the Orange Foundation, the Centre National de la Musique (CNM), ADAMI and SPEDIDAM, and is in residence at the Fondation Singer-Polignac. Jupiter is a member of FÉVIS and PROFEDIM.
