Clara Izambert
Clara Izambert studied harp from the age of 8, notably with Marielle Nordmann. A graduate of the Conservatoire national supérieur de Paris, she also won a Chamber Music Prize and trained in baroque harp, music and jazz history, improvisation, and organ. Passionate about the rediscovery of the single-action harp, she regularly plays on a historical harp and is interested in rare and unpublished repertoires from the Classical and Pre-Romantic periods. She has distinguished herself as a soloist and chamber musician, performing with artists such as the Quatuor Ébène, harpist Marielle Nordmann, and flautist Anna Besson. A principal harpist at the Balcon since 2009, she is involved in contemporary creation, collaborating with numerous composers. She regularly performs in symphonic and lyrical repertoires, notably with the Orchestre de chambre de Paris and the Orchestre de l'Opéra de Paris. She devotes part of her time to teaching. Her discography includes Éric Lebrun's Twenty Mysteries of the Rosary, the complete sacred music of Théodore Dubois, Harp trio alongside Marielle Nordmann (Evidence Classics) and various 18th-century repertoires with the Trio Dauphine and Maïlys de Villoutreys (Arion/Evidence Classics/CVS). She participates in the podcast Les Zinstrus with journalist Saskia de Ville and comedian Didier Bourdon, as well as numerous symphonic recordings. Clara Izambert is a laureate of the Société Générale, Kriegelstein and Meyer Mécénat Foundations, as well as the Fondation de France. In 2013, she received the Tissier-Grandpierre Grand Prize from the Institut de France.