Jean-Baptiste Dupont - Organ Improvisations for Silent Films

On September 14 at 7:00 PM, the Małopolskie Centrum Kultury SOKÓŁ in Nowy Sącz will host the ceremonial opening of the 1st Sądecki Organ Improvisation Course. The evening will be hosted by Filip Nowak.

During the concert, Jean-Baptiste Dupont will perform live organ improvisations accompanying two silent films: "The Immigrant" directed by Charlie Chaplin and "An Andalusian Dog" directed by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí.

Jean-Baptiste Dupont is an improviser, pedagogue, and performing artist, recognized as one of the leading representatives of the French school of organ improvisation. He studied organ, harpsichord, and piano under Michel Bouvard, Louis Robilliard, Philippe Lefebvre, Jan Willem Jansen, and Thérèse Dussaut. He is a laureate of, among others, the First Prize at the International Improvisation Competition in St Albans (2009), Second Prize and Audience Prize at the International Interpretation Competition named after Mikael Taverdieff in Kaliningrad (2009), Third Prize at the International Competition named after Xavier Darasse in Toulouse (2008), and the François Vidal Prize awarded by the city of Toulouse (2006). He has also received honors from the Glinka Foundation and De Boni Arte Foundation in Moscow.

As a soloist, he has performed nearly 600 recitals across Europe and performs worldwide. He conducts masterclasses and lectures on improvisation and interpretation, and serves on the juries of international competitions in Europe and the United States. His discography comprises approximately fifteen albums - including recordings of organ works by Max Reger, albums of improvisations, the Eighth Symphony by Charles-Marie Widor, and transcriptions of works by Johann Sebastian Bach. Since 2012, he has served as principal organist of the great organ at Bordeaux Cathedral, and in 2014 co-founded the association Cathedra, of which he is artistic director. Since 2018, he has worked as an independent expert in organ building.