Martin Brookes Oakham Rutland

Duo Transatlantique

September 25th  8 pm

St. Mary's Church, Manton

Rutland

01572 737503

Maud Laforest (FR) and

Ben Beirs (USA) present a

virtuoso Franco-American programme

for two guitars with works from

their native homelands.

Programme to feature works by

Frank Tiersen,

Joplin and Bellinati.

Suitable for 7 yrs+

A Centre Stage Event

01572 737503

Formé en 2002, le Duo Transtlantique rassemble les talents des guitaristes Benjamin Beirs et Maud Laforest, lauréats de nombreux prix. Ces deux jeunes musiciens décident de former un duo peu de temps après le début de leurs études en 2002 au Peabody Institute de Johns Hopkins University à Baltimore, dans le Maryland. Par la suite, en 2005, Ben découvre la France, où le duo gagne le premier prix du concours pour duo de guitares de l’Union Française des Artistes Musiciens et se produit à la Cathédrale Américaine de Paris. Maud Laforest vit actuellement à Lille, en France, tandis que Ben Beirs est resté à Baltimore, aux Etats-Unis.


Le duo cherche à promouvoir les relations franco-américaines en mettant l’accent sur la musique de ces deux pays. A cette fin, le duo joue fréquemment tout au long de l’année dans les deux pays. En France, ils ont joué entre autre joué au Festival de la Rochepot en Bourgogne, et dans des églises et cathédrales de Paris, ainsi que bénévolement pour l’association Cœur-en-Fête. Aux USA, le duo s’est produit au Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, à Washington D.C., au conservatoire de Peabody, comme pour la série «Jeunes Talents» de la Baltimore Classical Guitar Society, où ils ont joué la première de «Chupacabra», une œuvre composée pour le duo par le compositeur américain Christopher Gainey.

Avec les fondations acquises pendant quatre ans grâce aux conseils de Julian Gray, un musicien de chambre acclamé et fondateur du duo de guitares Gray-Pearl, Duo Transatlantique est prêt à se distinguer dans le monde de la musique. Ils ont enregistré un CD, intitulé «Le Gris et le Vert», avec de la musique de Debussy, Scarlatti, Petit, Albeniz, et Villoldo.

Formed in 2002, Duo Transatlantique combines the prize-winning talents of guitarists Benjamin Beirs and Maud Laforest. Almost immediately after beginning their studies in 2002 at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, the two decided to form a guitar duo, under the guidance of Julian Gray, an acclaimed chamber musician and founder of the Gray-Pearl guitar duo. Early in their collaboration they realized that their ensemble had the potential to last far longer than the years they were planning to spend at Peabody. Soon, in 2005, Ben embarked on his first journey to France, where the duo won first prize in the Union Francaise des Artistes Musiciens Guitar Duo Competition and played a concert in the American Cathedral in Paris. Currently, Ms. Laforest lives in Lille, France, while Mr. Beirs has stayed in Baltimore.


Duo Transatlantique is a celebration of the power of music and its ability to cross bridges, cultures, and time zones. To that end, the duo gives concerts frequently throughout the year in both countries. In France, the duo has appeared at the Festival des Chapelles in Brittany, the Festival de la Rochepot in Bourgogne, in churches throughout Paris, and has performed for the musical outreach group Coeur en Fête. In the United States, the duo has performed at the Kennedy Center for the performing arts, at the Peabody Conservatory of music, as well as for the Baltimore Classical Guitar Society, where they performed for the society‘s “Young Talent” concert series, premiering “Chupacabra”, a piece written for Duo Transatlantique by American composer Christopher Gainey and commissioned by the BCGS. Similarly, a famed French composer, Eric Pénicaud, has just dedicated his “Little Suite for Children” to the duo.

They have recorded a debut album entitled "Le Gris et le Vert" (The grey and the green) which includes music of Debussy, Scarlatti, Petit, Albeniz, and Villoldo.