Titular organist of the choir organ
Born June 25, 2001.
He was initially a student of François Clément at the CRR in Clermont-Ferrand between 2008 and 2019, and obtained his DEM in 2018.
At 17, he prepared for the class entrance exam to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris where he was admitted on the first try in February 2019. He had an exemplary career there, winning the highest awards and which concluded with an organ master’s degree with unanimous honors where he performed in public the organ work of Maurice Duruflé entirely from memory in Saint-Etienne-du-Mont in Paris, on the keyboards of the composer’s instrument. During this course, he followed the teachings of Olivier Latry, Michel Bouvard and Thomas Ospital. He also holds a Master’s degree in basso continuo in the same establishment, with first class honors, with a specialization in 17th century repertoires with Thierry Maeder and Pierre Cazes.
Improviser and composer, he was a finalist in the Etretat organ improvisation competition in 2017 and in the St Albans International Organ Competition in 2025.
Appointed by competition in September 2024 as titular organist of the choir organ of the prestigious Saint-Sulpice church in Paris, he also perfected his skills with Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin, for improvisation, and benefited from the valuable advice of Daniel Roth for interpretation and composition.
Axel de Marnhac has been perfecting his skills since September 2024 in Vincent Warnier’s organ class at the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Musique Alfred Cortot in Paris and is beginning a concert career.
He performs in concerts in Paris (Saint-Sulpice: function concerts at the choir organ, Franck concert of the CNSM in 2024 then audition in January 2025 at the grand organ, Saint-Eustache as part of the class auditions organ of the CNSM, Saint-Séverin, Saint-Etienne-du-Mont, Notre-Dame d’Auteuil, the Philharmonie as part of the Complete Bach organized by the CNSM organ class in 2023), and in France and abroad (Collegiate Church of Mons, Cathedrals of Orange, Grasse, Clermont-Ferrand, Basilica of Nice, La Chaise-Dieu, Pontaumur…).
Since the age of 10, Axel has been organist of the Delhumeau organ of the Pontaumur church, a replica of Bach’s organ from Arnstadt. There he played all the services before heading to Paris. He was also appointed substitute organist of the Grand Organ of Clermont-Ferrand Cathedral at the age of 15, and officiated there between 2016 and 2020. This is the organ where he created his 1st Symphony for Grand Organ in 5 movements in 2015 and in April 2017 his opus 4 Symphony-Resurrection for Grand Organ in 7 movements in front of the city’s musical authorities.
In parallel with his organ studies at the CNSMDP, he obtained his License, and his Master’s degree in General History at Sorbonne-Université.