On February 20th 2014, aged 24, Thomas put the tuba in the spotlight by winning the “Revelation Instrumental Soloist of the Year” at the annual French classical music award event, the Victoires de la Musique Classique. He has been principal tubist with the Marseille Philharmonic Opera since he turned 19. Thomas Leleu earned awards in several competitions throughout the world such as in Markneukirchen (Germany), Jeju City (South Korea), and Luxembourg. In 2006, he went on an international exchange at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold (Germany) with Hans Nickel (Tuba solo at the WDR Orchestra of Köln). After a three-year training course he obtained the first prize for tuba and a degree awarded with distinctions. He joined the Conservatoire de Paris (the CNSM) at age 17, having won the first prize of the open competition Thomas joined the tuba class of Gérard Buquet and Bernard Neuranter and the chamber music class of Jens Mc Manama. He later studied with François Thuillier and Philippe Legris. His style eclecticism and uninhibited approach to concert performances make him the ideal ambassador of the tuba.”īorn in Lille (France) in 1987, he started playing the tuba with his father.

He wants to bring down the barriers that exist between classical and contemporary music. Thomas Leleu is a true prodigy and deploys a surprising musicality and agility, dusting off the traditional image of the tuba. In his hands the tuba reveals all its richness, fineness and complexity, a range that may seem endless, where it can finally find a new breath, a new youth. This absolute tuba genius, acknowledged by his peers, already has an impressive career. Thomas Leleu is the first tuba player to have ever won the award “Revelation Instrumental Soloist of the Year” at the annual French classical music award event, the Victoires de la Musique Classique.įrom a very young age, Thomas Leleu has been recognised as the “young world star of the tuba (Europe 1).

Victoires de la musique 2016