Jean Pierre Seyvos
Biography
Trained as a guitarist and winner of national and international competitions, Jean-Pierre Seyvos deepened his musical journey by studying harmony, counterpoint, conducting and composition. After a period divided between writing and concert tours in France and abroad, he has chosen to direct his activities towards teaching, composing, designing and directing shows.
Among the works in his catalog are some forty commissions from public organizations, professional instrumental ensembles and theater companies. Writing for and with young audiences occupies a special place in his work: a CD-book Pochée, (1994) with the writer Florence Seyvos and the illustrator Claude Ponti was published by the Ecole des loisirs, and two CDs were released by Alpha production: le Magasin ZinZin (2007) and an opera for children, Max et les maximonstres, which won the "coup de cœur" of the Académie Charles Cros in 2006.
Aspiring to create new polyphonies and to serve a perception of the world that is more sensitive to ecological issues, Jean-Pierre Seyvos composes and directs: "Terre et ciel/Terra e céu" (2015 - state commission from the Ministry of Culture for musical writing) a creation for 150 choristers and 11 soloists mixing Occitan polyphonies, traditional songs, contemporary creation and renaissance music; "Le chant des Arbres" (La Mégisserie - Scène conventionnée d'intérêt national en région Nouvelle-Aquitaine - 2020, as part of his residency as an associated composer with the support of SACEM and the Ministry of Culture) a concerto for viola da gamba, storyteller, contemporary dancer, string quintet and citizen orchestra in homage to the work of Jean Giono (on tour).
He has also been for twenty years director of artistic teaching establishments, including the CRR of Poitiers. In 2004, Jean-Pierre Seyvos created the association S-composition, in order to develop projects combining artistic creation and collective reflection on the issues of today's world. In particular, "shared creation" projects are created within this framework, such as "Vocal portrait of the city of Poitiers" (TAP-Scène nationale de Poitiers, 2013), "The world and us" (Maison Maria-Casarès -Alloue, 2015), "Humanimal" (Ferme de Villefavard, 2018), "A chacun son Teppaz" (Ancienne usine d'électrophone Teppaz- Mongivray, 2019), "Qu'est-ce que t'as dans le ventre?" (la Mégisserie, 2019). He co-creates and co-pilots the action research "Where to land? /Down to earth" in collaboration with the philosopher Bruno latour, and a multidisciplinary artistic and scientific team, a project funded by the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Solidarity (La Mégisserie, 2021).
"Jean-Pierre Seyvos is a contemporary artist who takes the word "composition" seriously, in all its forms: artistic, musical, political, social. His projects pursue a search for original musical dramaturgy aiming to create "compositionist" works capable of resonating with the complexities of our time, and of fully integrating into the artistic work a sharing of reflection and citizen expression with the inhabitants of a territory." – Chantal Latour