On December 5, second year NSCD student Fanny Pouillot will be joining Les Contre-Sujets as part of their Four Nations concert, at the first York International Concerto Competition, where England, France, Germany and Italy will engage in a battle for the best concert.

The ensemble’s baroque dancer, Guillaume Jablonka, will collaborate with Fanny in preparation for the competition. Each nation will be represented by a single concert, audience members will then vote for their favourite, and Les Contre-Sujets will play an extra concert from the winning nation as their encore.

The National Centre for Early Music (NCEM) welcomes the young French ensemble, Les Contre-Sujets to York in November 2015 for the first residency in a four year programme funded by EEEmerging (Emerging European Ensembles). It’s a large-scale European cooperation project promoting the up-and-coming new talent in music led by the Centre Culturel de Rencontre d’Ambronay, France, and brings The National Centre for Early Music (NCEM) together with prestigious early music organisations in Slovenia, Romania, Latvia, Italy and Germany.

Les Contre-Sujets will also take part in:
• An evening concert at the University of York in a double bill with the University Chamber Choir & Baroque Ensemble with Compagnia d’Istrumenti, directed by Peter Seymour on 2 December at the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall
• A lunchtime concert at the University of Huddersfield on 3 December followed by a workshop with undergraduate music students.