Biography
Elodie Bouny is a guitarist, composer, producer, orchestrator, and teacher. Born to a Bolivian mother and a French father, she grew up in Paris, where she completed a full course of classical studies, focusing on the study of classical guitar at the Boulogne-Billancourt Conservatory (Paris).
She obtained her final diploma in 2000, with the highest honors unanimously.
Subsequently, she refined her skills with Pablo Márquez at the Strasbourg Conservatory, where she had the opportunity to broaden her knowledge and expand her field of work, particularly in ancient music and improvised musics. She completed this second course in 2005, earning her D.E.M. (Diploma of Musical Studies). During these years of study, she supplemented her education by attending numerous MasterClasses with eminent personalities and participated in classes related to the music of South America, briefly attending courses at the National Folklore Conservatory of Buenos Aires, directed by guitarist Juan Falú.
She holds a Master's in Musical Education from the School of Music at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (2012) and a Doctorate in Creative Processes from the same institution (2019).
During these years of study, she was awarded in some International Festivals.
In 2013, her master's thesis was published by Novas Edições Acadêmicas with the title: 'Classical-trained guitarist and popular-trained guitarist: Investigating the differences in musical training' (ISBN 978-3-639-68569-5).
From 2008 to 2020, she lived in Rio de Janeiro where she developed her professional career, and where she remains actively involved to this day. She is also considered a Franco-Brazilian artist.
She performs at festivals and series in Brazil and abroad as a soloist or as an instrumentalist in other projects.
She is a member of the juries for important competitions, such as the Violão Sem Fronteiras Contest of the Assad Festival; BDMG Instrumental Contest; Alliance Française Singing Contest, Miguel Llobet Contest (Spain), in addition to the Novas Contest, which she has organized since 2012.
She regularly receives commissions for different formations, from solo guitar to opera, through chamber music.
Below are some relevant events from her career as a composer in recent years:
In 2020, FUNARTE/UFRJ commissioned a suite for string orchestra (Brazilian Childhood Suite) aiming to help create a new repertoire for youth orchestras in Brazil (SINOS Project).
In 2019, the Theatro Municipal Orchestra of São Paulo commissioned a piece for soprano and orchestra (Half a Tear) which was premiered by soprano Marly Montano under the direction of Roberto Minczuk.
In April 2022, her opera Paper Men was premiered, commissioned by the Theatro Municipal of São Paulo (the first opera commission since the theater's creation), with a libretto by Hugo Possolo based on the homonymous play by Plinio Marcos. (Conducted by Roberto Minczuk with the Lyric Choir and Orchestra of the Theatro Municipal of São Paulo)
In 2022, the piece for orchestra 'Eclipse' was premiered, commissioned by the Santo André Symphony Orchestra.
In 2022, the Siqueira-Lima duo recorded the piece 'Heads or Tails', dedicated to them, released on the duo's most recent album (Guitaristic).
In 2022, the Guitar Foundation of America commissioned a guitar trio (Three Wishes) published by the Canadian publisher Les Productions d’Oz.
In 2022, the piece for bass clarinet solo, 'Bull', was premiered by soloist Thiago Tavares at the Rio de Janeiro City of Arts.
In January 2023, her piece 'A Hug for Waldir' was premiered, commissioned by the Curitiba Music Workshop for its 40th edition; a work for 5 solo cavaquinhos, string orchestra, and Brazilian ensemble.
In November 2023, her piece Resilience for orchestra will be premiered by the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra (Rio de Janeiro).
In August 2023, her piece Homage to the New Song for Chamber Orchestra was premiered at the Music to Breathe Festival (Sucre, Bolivia)
In 2024, a piece for solo guitar dedicated to João Camarero will be premiered, commissioned by Cultura Artística.
In 2024, a piece for guitar and orchestra will be premiered with the Inhotim Orchestra.
Since 2020, she has been part of the artistic direction and is also a guest professor on the e-learning platform Guitar by Masters. On this platform, in 2023, she edited the piece 'Le pli du temps,' composed in partnership with Sergio Assad.
Her piece for guitar quartet 'Déjà Vu' was selected for the XXIII Bienal de Musica Brasileira Contemporânea and had its Brazilian premiere in November 2019 at the Sala Cecilia Meireles.
In 2022, the album 'Caravana do Amanhã,' a collaboration with Iara Ferreira, was released, and the launch tour occurred in various countries: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Asuncion (Paraguay), Hohenau (Paraguay), Buenos Aires, Tunja (Colombia), and Medellín.
In 2023, the solo album 'Luares,' entirely original, was released.
In March 2024, the album 'Helping Hands,' a duo with Yamandu Costa, was released.
She has orchestrated various pieces in partnership with Yamandu Costa (suite 'Passeios,' for seven-string guitar, accordion, and orchestra; concerto 'Fronteira,' for 7-string guitar and orchestra, among others), which were performed in prestigious halls (Salle Pleyel in Paris; São Pedro Theater in Porto Alegre; Cine Odeon Theater in Cuiabá, Gewandhaus in Leipzig; La Philharmonie in Paris; Theatro Municipal of São Paulo; Sala Cecilia Meireles under the baton of Antônio Borges-Cunha, Leandro Carvalho, Kristjan Jarvi, Alondra de La Parra, and Roberto Minczuk.
She regularly works as an arranger and orchestrator, and recently (June 2022), she orchestrated songs by Mario Lucio de Sousa that were premiered by the Gulbenkian Choir and Orchestra and recorded by RTP at the auditorium of the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon.
As a guitarist, she is involved in various projects: Iroko Trio (with Marcelo Caldi and Carla Rincon), Iara Ferreira and Elodie Bouny, Duo Andrea Ernest-Dias and Elodie Bouny, Duo with Portuguese singer Susana Travassos, and occasionally plays in a duo with Yamandu Costa, in addition to her work as a soloist.
She is the director of the guitar composition contest 'Novas Contest,' which is in its 4th edition.
She was a substitute guitar teacher at the Institute of Arts and Design at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora in 2019 and at the School of Music at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro from 2015 to 2017.
Currently, she lives in Lisbon.