Léolün Planchon

Léolün Planchon began his musical training at the municipal music school in Somain, in northern France. He started with the piano, but soon became interested in the clarinet, and ultimately chose to focus on that instrument in the class of his first teacher, Céline Livoye.

He then enrolled at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Douai, studying first with Michel Castanet and later with Philippe Pachet, where he was unanimously awarded a gold medal in clarinet before passing the entrance exam for the Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles, where he would go on to study under Ronald van Spaendonck – a mentor who would prove to be one of the most influential figures in his career.

In Brussels, Léolün Planchon also studied under Jean-Marc Fessard and Nathalie Lefèvre and attended masterclasses with many exceptional clarinetists, such as Pascal Moragues, Julien Hervé, and Calogero Palermo, among others. He also spent a year on the Erasmus program in Poland, specifically in Gdańsk, to explore new horizons under the guidance of Grzegorz Wieczorek, principal clarinetist at the Opera Baltycka.

In 2019, the year he earned his master’s degree with highest honors, Léolün Planchon joined the academy of the La Monnaie/De Munt National Opera and the National Orchestra of Belgium. There, he formed a special bond with Antonio Capolupo, principal clarinetist of the La Monnaie orchestra, and with Riccardo Matarredona, bass clarinetist of the same orchestra, who introduced him to the instrument in which he eventually specialized.

A lifelong lover of orchestral music, he has been a member of the Nationaal Jeugd Orkest since 2017. Léolün Planchon draws on these experiences to familiarize himself with professional orchestral practice and regularly performs with other renowned orchestras such as the Flanders Opera and the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra. However, it was in August 2020 that he joined the highly renowned Belgian Air Force Band.

A versatile musician and chamber music enthusiast, Léolün Planchon is a founding member of the EtCaetera Quintet and the Volcano Trio, with which he won the prestigious Johannes Brahms International Chamber Music Competition. He is also a multiple winner of the Horlait Dapsens Competition.

A passionate advocate for Belgian music, the music of his adopted country, Léolün Planchon and his colleagues in the EtCaetera Quintet make it a point of honor to promote the Belgian repertoire and its composers, and are preparing to release an album featuring little-known, forgotten, and newly composed works.

Léolün Planchon has been coordinating the various orchestra sessions at the Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles for several years.