Franck Christoph Yeznikian

Born in 1969 in Besançon, Franck Christoph Yeznikian began percussion as part of a group in 1984, before taking various classes at the National Conservatories (CDR) of Besançon, Dijon (improvisation on piano with J. -P. Leguay), Strasbourg and Lyon, as well as courses with Klaus Huber, Gérard Grisey, Harrison Birtwistle (Acanthes Centre), James Dillon, Michael Jarrel and Brian Ferneyhough (Fondation Royaumont).

In 1994, he won the first prize in acoustic composition of the Conservatory of Lyon (in the course of Denis Dufour and Jean-marc Duchenne) as well as a first prize in esthetics for his memoire "Relation et valeur dialogique entre Heinz Holliger et Paul Célan." At the same time he began studying composition with Klaus Huber. His piece Surface d'Écueil earned the first prize in instrumental composition at Boswil in 1995. From 1994 to 1996, at the CNR of Lyon, he studied Medieval and Reneaissance counterpoint in Gérard Geay's course and 20th-century ananysis in Robert Pascal's course.

He then took a residency at the Fondation Künstlerhaus Boswil, where he began a long work involving cyclical structure primarily based upon the works of philosopher and art historian Georges Didi-Huberman.

In 1997 he was selected by the Fondation Paul Hindemith at Blonay, where he worked with the ensemble Contrechamps. The same year, he received a prize from the city of Hanover and participated as well in the Kompositionmeisterkurs in Bremen under the double direction of Klaus Huber and Younghi Pagh-Paan. Selected by the Gaudeamus Music Week the following year, he also completed his composition course with Robert H.P. Platz at the Conservatory of Maastricht, from which he received his diploma in 2000.

In 1999 he was chosen by the jury at IRCAM to take an intensive computer course. In 2000 he held a grant from SACEM. He then began a series of annual lectures at the École Nationale Supérieure Des Arts Et Techniques Du Theatre.

The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of the city of Strasbourg honored him with a concert-portrait with the trio Sabeth de Bâle in 2001. He also lectured at IRCAM in the seminar "Musique/Psychanalyse."

In 2002 the jury of the 11th orchestral composition competition of the 55th International Festival of Besançon awarded him unanimously with the first prize for his piece Lacrimis Adamanta Movebis, which will be performed in the next conductor's competition in 2003.

(Source : www.bostonmicrotonalsociety.org)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66303366@N04/6126475589/in/photostream