Richard Dubugnon was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1968. He started music at the age of 20 after studying history in Montpellier and was accepted into the Paris Conservatoire in 1992, where he graduated with prizes in double bass, counterpoint, and fugue. Dubugnon continued his studies in composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London, graduating in 1997 with a DipRAM and a MMus, before becoming a composition fellow in 1998. When he returned to France in 2002, he became the recipient of the Pierre Cardin Prize from the Académie des Beaux Arts in Paris. In 2015 he was awarded the Grand Prix SACEM.

Described as “driven by a playful modern sensibility” by the New York Times, Dubugnon’s music has been championed by Janine Jansen, who premiered his Violin Concerto with the Orchestre de Paris conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen in December 2008, shortly after performing his Piano Quartet at the Berlin Philharmonie. Jansen also recorded three pieces written by Dubugnon for her CD Beau Soir which instantly achieved ‘Gold’ status in the Netherlands in September 2010.

Dubugnon has been involved with many educational projects in the UK, the USA and France, and has several years experience of teaching composition in places such as the Royal Academy of Music and the Purcell School in London. He has created projects for children from underrepresented groups with no access to musical education. He also played the double bass for many years, as a soloist chamber and freelance musician with contemporary ensembles and orchestras such as the Opéra National de Paris, where he played between 2002 and 2013.

Photo Credit: Ruslan Makushkin