Welcome to Sophie Binet-Budelot’s website !
Laureate at competitions for French and European soloists, she currently leads many projects (chamber music, concerts, CDs). As a Soloist in the Hauts-de-France-Brass-Band, she teaches the tenor horn in the North of France: at the music school of La Gorgue and at the Conservatory of Douai.
A dynamic and creative childhood
Born in 1991, Sophie was influenced by the brass band universe during her childhood, and started practicing the piano and the French horn. But a few years later, she fell in love with the tenor horn and chose to focus on it.
In her youth, she evolved in several ensembles (Brass Band Sagona (70) – Brass Band de Franche-Comté, Brass Band du Rhône, Brass Band de Lyon, Burgundy Brass Band, Brass Band Buizingen) and also in chamber music by creating the Brass Family, a family quartet consisting of her brother and her two sisters. They participated in the Eurochestries Festival (2007-2008) and the Musicora event in Paris (2009).
Her beginnings
At 16, she represented France in the European Youth Brass Band, first in Birmingham (England-2007), then in Stavanger (Norway-2008) and finally in Ostende (Belgium-2009).
She continued to study the euphonium and musical education in the Dijon Conservatory and was unanimously awarded her diploma in 2011.
Her Career
She was admitted to the PESM de Bourgogne where she was awarded the Diplôme d’Etat in 2013 and the Diplôme National Supérieur Professionnel du Musicien in 2014. The same year, during the 6th European Solo Competition for Brass and Percussion Instruments held in Perth (Scotland), she was awarded « Best Tenor Horn Player ». In May 2016, she was awarded a third place but also the band prize and the audience prize at the same competition organized in Lille.
Until August 2015, as she was teaching in the Burgundy region, she decided to move to the North of France in order to create a tenor horn class. She developed teaching solutions for this instrument, through masterclasses.
She released her first record « Adventure » in November 2015, accompanied by the piano. This first CD was the opportunity for her to propose a brass band creation and another for an unusual duo: tenor-horn/vibraphone.
Then, in 2019, she released her second CD « Alive » composed only of original compositions. Thanks to the composers (Sophie and friends), the pieces explore the possibilities that life offers us to be happy.
She joined the tenor horn players of the French Air Force Brass Band (Paris) in October 2016. She is regularly invited to play as a soloist with French and European Brass Bands. Beyond chamber music and brass band ensembles she also played with the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra (2017) and National Orchestra of Montpellier (2019).
Sophie is currently a member of the Hauts-de-France Brass Band. In January 2020, she was awarded « best soloist » at the French National Brass Band Championship. She is a founding member of the OZE brass quartet and the UNUSUAL duo.
She teaches the tenor horn at the Music School of La Gorgue and at the Conservatory of Douai.
Her other activities and projects
She also studied lyrical singing, euphonium, trombone, choir direction and acting. As an atypical artist, she constantly tries to eliminate boundaries between different kinds of arts.
In 2017, she created, with her friend Claire Genet, « La grive s’en mêle » company. They wrote their first show together about the protection of the environment, targeted towards a young audience.
Sophie’s love for music making is quickly evident to anyone meeting her. Her passion and drive to create wonderful music is written all over her and this is something she doesn’t want to contain. Individuality, intensity, virtuosity and charisma all flow from the bell of her alto horn at every given moment.
Owen Farr, former Cory Brass Band solo tenor horn