Willy BRACOUD

Born in Draguignan (83) on September 21, 1990, his interest in music started when he was 5 years old, in Haute Normandie because of his father. He started learning how to play the piano in a music school but he quickly entered the Conservatoire of Le Havre in Willem Reitsema’s class. Even though he kept on playing the piano, he decided when he was 12 to start learning how to play the trumpet in Silvain Maillard’s class.

He then integrated the Conservatoire de Rouen through a middle school offering special time schedule to include music by succeeding in a competitive exam in trumpet and joined Joël Baligout’s class before joining Guy Messler’s. By integrating the Theater Music and Dance section, he was introduced to new musical horizons such as Musical Culture, Musical Analysis, Leading Orchestra, Writing and Composing.

He didn’t know about the notion of “Brass Band” but tried integrating one as a cornet soloist in the « Brass Band en Seine » under Pascal Piedefer’s lead, and then was initiated to the Saxhorn Alto mib in the same band. That was when he developed a passion for this instrument. He started to play it at the age of 22 at the Conservatoire of Caux Vallée de Seine in Philippe Gervais’s class and in less than a year, he obtained his C.E.M., son cycle spécialisé et his Diploma of Musical Studies (=D.E.M., highest diploma obtainable in Regional conservatoires) in saxhorn alto. Around the same time, he also joined the Brassage Brass Band as an Alto Soloist.

In March 2015, he obtained a third prize in the category Young Soloists Professionals and also gets a Fourth Prize with his band « Four Part Brass » category Chamber Music at the Music Competition for Young Talents Normans.

At 24 years old, Willy Bracoud aims at promoting in France and abroad this instrument which has a unique sound during recitals accompanied by a piano or his own band: The « Four Part Brass » created at his iniative in June 2014. He is also a soloist in the Brass Band. Meanwhile he also leaded the Amoroso Orchestra during 2 years and is now a piano teacher at the music school of Bourgtheroulde and Saint Ouen de Thouberville as well as a music teacher in middle school.

For more information, a website is currently being developed.

Willy Bracoud plays the Saxhorn Alto mib Besson Prestige.