Sophie Leleu’s music is imbued with poetry, rooted in the lyrical heritage: “Sophie Leleu is a French composer with a wonderful universe from which emerges a poetic abundance, full of descriptive ideas and at the same time sometimes verging on irony. In keeping with the French tradition, she combines extremely lilting and also slightly grating poetic elements, taking us into a strange universe.” Benoit Sitzia, artistic director of the Ars Nova ensemble (Mars 2024/Festival Electrosession)
Mezzo-soprano and harpist, Sophie first turned to opera, both in the repertoire and in contemporary creations. She has performed throughout Europe, the United States and Asia . She has appeared in Bizet’s Carmen, Saint-Saëns’s Frédégonde at the Saïgon Opera in Vietnam, Jacqueline in Gounod’s Le Médecin malgré lui at theSaint-Etienne Opera, Nancy Tang in Adams’s Nixon in China at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Ulrica in Verdi’s Le Bal Masqué at the Mancinelli Theatre in Italy, etc.
A composer and improviser, Sophie is also a creative force. She began writing songs at an early age, accompanying herself on the harp, which she performed in a number of concerts, before composing for the performing arts.
Artistic director of the Des Lieux & Des Êtres company, Sophie creates shows around the voice, offering different aesthetics, mixing repertoire and creations.
While in confinement, she joins J.Pontier’s composition class at Pôle Sup’93- CRR d’Aubervilliers. She went on to perfect her skills in Aurélien Dumont’s class at the Créteil CRR.
She wrote several pieces for prestigious ensembles and obtained her DEM in June 2023.
Sophie writes for the ensembles Court-Circuit, Ars Nova, 2E2M, Multilatérale, Accroche Note and L’Instant Donné.
The Philharmonie de Paris commissioned her to create “Solstice-chant à la lune” in March 2023, then she was named laureate of the “Territoires en Création” scheme launched by the Ars Nova ensemble, which commissioned her for the 2023-24 season.
Creation of the first melody for the “Souviens-toi!” collection project.
As part of a project to write a cycle of melodies for song and piano based on the words of forgotten women, Sophie will create the first melody in the cycle: “Huna” (here), a melody in Arabic based on a text by the feminist poet May Ziadé, Khalil Gibran’s epistolary companion.
Creation of the first melody on June 26, 2025 at the Créteil CRR with Sophie Leleu on vocals and Claire Pigeot on piano.
Creation on December 9, 2024
“Prima Materia” Solo quartet for flute, bass clarinet, violin and cello – First performance for the L’Instant Donné ensemble
Créteil CRR Auditorium
New creation on October 23, 2024
“Vision” on texts by Hildegard Von Bingen – Commissioned by Ars Nova Ensemble
for choir, accordion, organ, brass quintet, saxophone and percussion
Festival Royan-Orgues – Notre Dame de Royan Cathedral
