In 1984 he became professor of mallet percussion at the conservatory and won the European Audio-visual Grand Prix for his 1981 CD Saxophone et Percussion.[4] As a player, he is considered one of the most prominent mallet percussionists[5] and expanded vibraphone and marimba performance by introducing six-stick playing and the vibra-midi.[6] He began to compose around the time he began teaching. While continuing his activities on stage and in teaching, Séjourné emphasized composition.
Teacher
In 1984 Séjourné began teaching mallet percussion at the conservatory and became head of the percussion department. He received his Certificat d'Aptitude in percussion in 1991. In 1994, he was appointed academic advisor to the French Ministry of Culture for the preparation of the Certificat d'Aptitude. He regularly sits on the juries of international competitions and gives master classes in the major music academies in Europe, Asia and North America. His educational compositions include a method of mallet percussion in 6 volumes.[7] He is also co-author of 10 ans avec la percussion (2002).[8]
Performer
In 1981 Séjourné and saxophonist Philippe Geiss founded the group Noco Music[9] that recorded Saxophone et Percussion. The album was awarded the audiovisual European Grand Prix in 1984 by the Academie du Disque Français.[6] In 1996, accompanied by the New London Chamber Choir, Séjourné premiered Séance for soprano, choir and MIDI vibraphone, by the English composer James Wood.[10]
As a member of the contemporary ensemble Accroche-Note since 1988, he has premièred more than one hundred works by composers including Donatoni, Dillon, Aperghis, Manoury, Fedele, Mash and Pesson. His performance repertoire includes concertos, chamber music and solos.
He has given numerous recitals in Europe, Asia and North America and has performed with orchestras including the Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg, with which he recorded Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra by Camille Kerger (1997). He has participated in many festivals, including "Archipelago" in Geneva, "Ars Musica" in Brussels, "Ultima" in Oslo and "Musica" in Strasbourg, the Huddersfield and Zurich festivals and the Venice and Zagreb Biennales. He has recorded for Universal, Fingerprint and Auvidis studios.
Séjourné has played improvised music and jazz, particularly with the Swiss guitarist Max Lasser, the Swiss percussionist Fritz Hauser and with Friedemann – the composer with whom he won the German Jazz Award Gold 2012 for The Concert, and in a mallet percussion duo with Sylvie Reynaert.[11]
As a percussionist, Séjourné has specialised in marimba and vibraphone.[12] He has been called "one of the world's best vibraphone players".[6]
Composer
Séjourné began to compose around the time he became a faculty member at the conservatory, and focused increasingly on it while continuing to perform and teach.[13]
In his works, Séjourné varies the ensembles, composing for orchestras, chamber ensembles and soloists. His music is eclectic.[14] His compositions include incidental music and musicals, as well as dance and film music. He also works as a composer for France Culture, German television networks ARD and ZDF and the Franco-German cultural television channel ARTE.[15]
His incidental music composed in 1984 won the award for Best Music at the Avignon Festival.[13] In 1988, on the occasion of the 2000th anniversary of the City of Strasbourg, he was invited to compose the music for The Invaders for the Ballet du Rhin. He wrote Planet Claviers (1998) for the ensemble Percussions Claviers de Lyon on a commission from Grame Festival. The work was performed more than 120 times between 1998 and 2001. In 2001, returning to his preference for a mixture of forms of expression, he composed Famim, a piece combining improvised, contemporary and popular music, commissioned and premiered by the jazz pianist Michael Borstslap and the Amsterdam Percussion Group. In 2004, at the request of the Luxembourg National Theatre, he wrote the musical School Boulevard.[16]
Séjourné composed concertos for percussion and orchestra, of which two attracted international attention. His Concerto for Vibraphone and String Orchestra, composed in 1999 and premièred by the Orchestra of the Auvergne, has been well received by critics. The Luxemburger Wort wrote: "[The concerto] provides living proof of the tremendous growth of the percussion and the emergence of the process of creation in contemporary music ...".[17] The Concerto for Marimba and String Orchestra (2006), commissioned and performed by Bogdan Bacanu accompanied by the Salzburg Soloists, became a standard work in the marimba repertoire.[18] Anne-Julie Caron, a Canadian percussionist, described it as "unique because it is one of the rare pieces to put the marimba in a romantic context".[19] After a performance at the Washington Square Festival in New York, a reviewer called it "gorgeously composed".[20] It was recorded on the album True Colors.[15]
Concerto for vibraphone and string orchestra (1999) – commissioned by Vibraphone International Competition; also known as Concerto for Vibraphone and Piano[22]
Concerto for solo percussion and brass orchestra (2002) – commissioned by ADDIM 78
Concerto for 3 percussions and brass orchestra (2002) – commissioned by ADDIM 78
Concerto for vibraphone and 5 percussions (2002) – version for percussion group of the Concerto for vibraphone and string orchestra
Book of Gemmes (2003) – for mixed choir, 2 percussions; Latin text of the bishop Marbode (1037–1125); commissioned by Gary Cook and John Pennington
Concerto for Marimba and String Orchestra (2005)[19][23] – commissioned by Bogdan Bacanu
Ketsana (2006) – for symphonic orchestra; commissioned by Young Mondial World Orchestra
Carmina 86 (2007) – for mixed choir, two pianos and five percussionists; commissioned by INECC
America's Cup Concerto (2007) – for multi-percussion solo and orchestra; commissioned by Young Mondial World Orchestra
Ta voix contre la pauvreté (2008) – suite for tenor, soprano, choir, synthesizer and 2 percussions, based on the "Declaration of Human Rights; commissioned by INECC
ConCerto Fuoco (2009) – for marimba and brass orchestra – commissioned by Attilio Terlizzi
Magellan Concerto (2010) – for percussion and string orchestra – five movements; commissioned by Concours International de Percussion Cannes
Double Concerto for Vibraphone, Marimba and Orchestra (2012) – commissioned by Tatiana Koleva
Famim 2 (2002) – duo for piano and percussion; commissioned by the group Pianosticks
Resilience (2004) – visual music for eight percussionists; commissioned by Ju Percussion Group
Departure (2005) – duo for 2 marimbas 5 octaves; premiered by Nancy Zeltsman and Ria Ideta
Eluard 's Pieces (2006) – for marimba 5 octaves and baritone; commissioned by Doug Smith
Sosso-Bala (2007) – for eight percussionists; commissioned by Ju Percussion Group
Suite for marimba and percussion quartet (2007) – commissioned by Laurent Mariusse
Attraction (2007) – for violin, marimba 5 octaves and tape; commissioned by the Opera of Paris
Calienta (2009) – for guitar and marimba 5 octaves; commissioned by duo Berimba
Abalone (2011) – for flute and two 5 octave marimbas; commissioned by Art, Culture and Tradition Association of St Paul de Vence
Avalanche (2012) – for percussion (vibraphone, marimba) and piano; commissioned by A. Gerassimez
Khamsin (2018) – for 2 percussion (marimba 5 octave, castanets); commissioned by Quey Percussion Duo
Solo
Nancy (1989) – marimba 5 octaves
African Songs (1991) – for marimba
6 Baguettes (1994) - for marimba
Katamiya (1995) – for marimba
Chandigarh (2007) – for marimba 5 octaves; commissioned by Guy Frisch
Romantica (2007) – for marimba 5 octaves
Prelude (2012) – for marimba 5 octaves; commissioned by Bogdan Bacanu
Performance
Planète Claviers (1998) – performance for five percussionists; commissioned by Percussions Claviers de Lyon group
Quarto para Quatro (2001) – performance for four percussionists; commissioned by the group Drumming (Portugal)
Resilience (2004) – performance for 8 percussionists; commissioned by Ju Percussion Group (Taiwan)
Comment on fait pour le soleil (2004) – commissioned by the regional council of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur; texts/director Pierre-Jean Carrus
School Boulevard (2005) – musical theatre; commissioned by the National Theatre of Luxembourg; music and scenario E. Séjourné; dialogues and scenario: C. Duguet; staging and choreography: G. Celestino
Music for young audiences
Issa (2004) – for percussion ensemble, children choir, tenor and soprano; commissioned by the city of Arras
La forêt (2006) – for percussion ensemble, jazz quartet, and narrator; commissioned by the town of Aurillac
Kiga (2007) – for large percussion ensemble; commissioned by the association Ça Percute
Feu (1989) – commissioned by the city of Strasbourg on the occasion of the bicentenary of the French Revolution
Syndrome 87 (1987) – for magnetic tape; choreography by Marie-Anne Thil
Musicoregraphiline (1987) – trio for 2 percussions and saxophone; commissioned by Ludwigsburg Festival, choreography by Marianne Thil
Les Envahisseurs (1988) – for percussion group, synthesizer, and 6 brass instruments; commissioned by the city of Strasbourg; choreography by Jean Sarelli for the Ballet du Rhin
Null Bock in der Kunst (1989) – ARD film (Germany)
Gleichnisse (1990) – ARD film (Germany)
Paraboles (1991) – ARD / ORF / GIS film
Gleichnisse (1997) – ARD film (Germany)
Mississippi (2000) – ARTE film
J'ai vu changer la terre (2010) – France 5 serial
Des racines et des ailes (2011) – France 3
Thalassa (2013) – France 3
Discography
As performer
Contemporary music soloist
Withered leaves – New Birth – for solo marimba and orchestra – works by Kerger, Manoury, Mash, Almada, Smith, Batistelli, and Takemitsu – with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg, conductor: Paul Polivnick – Crystal / SCACD 54221
Donatoni: Mari – Centre International de Percussion – Grammond Portrait / MGB CTS-M81
With the Accroche-Note ensemble
Accroche-Note: Live in Berlin – MFP
Georges Aperghis: Simulacres – Universal
Ivan Fedele: Maja – Empreinte digitale 2004 (Coup de coeur Charles Cros, five diapason awards by Monde de la musique)
Philippe Manoury: Chamber Music – Empreinte digitale 2007
François-Bernard Mâche: Chamber Music – Empreinte digitale 2007
Jazz
Friedemann: Indian Summer – Biber Records 1987
Friedemann: Short stories – Biber Records 2002
Friedemann: The Concert – Biber Records 2005 (German Jazz Award Gold 2012)
As composer
"Sosso-Bala" – CD Moving On Ju Percussion Group – Windmusic.com
"Famim" – CD Release Amsterdam Percussion Group – APG Music 2003
"Departures" – CD Marimba Classica Katarzyna Mycka – SWR Stuttgart/MONS Records 2008
Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra – CD True ColorsBogdan Bacanu – Classic Concert Records
Concerto for Vibraphone – CD Vibraphone Concertos Alexandru Anastasiu and Bucharest National Radio Orchestra – Sniper Media 2009
"Nancy" – CD Rhythm and TimeRobert van Sice – Biber Records 66601
"Katamiya" – CD See Ya ThursdayNancy Zeltsman – Equilibrium EQ 29
^"Noco Music". Infoconcert. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
^Leroux, Robert (2003). "Entretien avec Emmanuel Séjourné" (in French). Percuweb. Archived from the original on 3 March 2004. Emmanuel Séjourné est considéré comme l'un des principaux percussionnistes spécialisés dans les claviers de percussion
^Séjourné, Emmanuel (1986). Les claviers de percussion. Paris: Leduc. OCLC658674018. (6 volumes)
^Bonzon, Claude; Cals, Michel; Geoffroy, Jean; Macarez, Frédéric; Séjourné, Emmanuel; van Gucht, Georges (2002). 10 ans avec la percussion. Cité de la Musique. ISBN9782906460621. (2 volumes)
^"Noco Music". La Discographie du Rock Français. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
