Created at the initiative of cellist and conductor Victor Julien-Laferrière, the audacious project that would become the "Consuelo" Orchestra was born in 2021. It chose the figure of Consuelo, the heroine of George Sand's eponymous novel. Thus, under the double sign of the most musical of heroines, described by the most musical of novelists, the artistic approach of this orchestra comes to life. A true ensemble with a variable geometry of 15 to 50 musicians, the "Consuelo" Orchestra's mission is to approach symphonic repertoire through the prism of chamber music and to execute it with rigor and passion.
Highlighted at the 2022 and 2023 editions of the Folle Journée de Nantes with two concerts broadcasted live on ARTE, the "Consuelo" Orchestra appeared at the Variations Classiques festival in Annecy and the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, at the La Roque d'Anthéron Festival, at the Halle aux Grains in Toulouse, and at the La Chaise-Dieu festival. It closed the year 2023 with two concerts at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris.
The orchestra began the year 2024 with a concert featuring Ukrainian pianist Anna Fedorova at the Auditorium de Vincennes and Prima La Musica! in a Tchaikovsky program, which it will also perform at the Folle Journée de Nantes festival with pianist Alexander Malofeev. The orchestra's musical year will continue at the Coursive Scène nationale de La Rochelle, then at the Festival de Música dos Capuchos in Portugal, the Rocamadour festival, and the Vichy opera. It will return to the La Chaise-Dieu festival for the continuation of its complete Beethoven Symphonies and will make its debut in September at the 77th Besançon-Franche-Comté festival.
Beyond its stage activity, the "Consuelo Orchestra" aims to develop recording projects. A first album dedicated to Johannes Brahms with the Mirare label was released in 2023. "Consuelo" Orchestra's next recording project dedicated to the complete Beethoven Symphonies
The Consuelo Orchestra realizes its projects with the support of the Caisse des Dépôts, its main patron. It also receives support from its Circle of Friends, the Centre National de la Musique, Fonpeps, Adami, and Spedidam.
