Clément Saunier is one of the most active French classical trumpeters on the French and international scene.
After studying at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris (class of Clément Garrec), he won several major prizes in international interpretation competitions: Citta di Porcia (Italy 2002), Prague (2003), Jeju (South Korea 2004), Théo-Charlier Brussels (2005), Tchaikovsky-Moscow (2011), and Maurice André-Paris (2003-2006).
In 2013, he was appointed solo trumpet of the Ensemble Intercontemporain and collaborated with the great composers and conductors of our time (Peter Eötvös, Matthias Pintscher, Pierre Boulez, Simon Rattle, Pablo Heras-Casado, François-Xavier Roth, Unsuk Chin, Martin Matalon, Helmut Lachenmann, Olga Neuwirth, Philippe Manoury).
He performed as a soloist with the Berlin Radio Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Brittany, the Chamber Orchestra of Lausanne, and the National Orchestra of Pays de la Loire, and gives many recitals and masterclasses at the University of Seoul, the Lucerne Academy, the University of Tokyo, Bologna, Bogotá, and Chosen Vale (USA).
Particularly interested in chamber music, he is a founding member of the Trombamania ensemble as well as the Paris Brass Quintet and performs as a trumpet and organ duo with Pascal Marsault.
His discography includes many publications, such as the recording of Henri Tomasi’s concerto with the English Chamber Orchestra and Baroque works with the ensemble Leipzig Amici Musicae (Cristal Records-2009). He recorded the collection of educational DVD-ROMs "Musik’It," featuring 250 original works for trumpet and piano (Cristal Records-2008).
He has also recorded several albums with the Paris Peacekeepers’ Harmony Orchestra, including André Jolivet’s 2nd Trumpet Concerto (Maguelone-2005), Ida Gotkovsky’s Concerto (Cristal Records-2009), and trumpet concertos by Roger Boutry, Charles Chaynes, Lalo Schiffrin, and Anthony Girard (Corélia-2014).
The CD "Direction," released in 2017, brings together works for solo trumpet by Fedele, Maxwell Davies, Pintscher, Scelsi, Henze, and Takemitsu.
After 7 years as a teacher at the CRR and Pôle Supérieur de Paris, Clément Saunier has been a trumpet teacher at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Lyon since 2021.
He has also been teaching since 2015 at the "Center for Advanced Music" in Chosen Vale, USA (NH). Every summer, he heads the brass and percussion academy in Surgères, which he founded in 1998. He has been artistic director of the "Le Son des Cuivres" Festival in Mamers since 2013 and of the "Surgères Brass Festival" since 2016.
Clément Saunier plays Antoine Courtois Paris instruments.