Born in Annecy, France, in 1979, I lead a dual career as both a guitarist and composer, having recorded 25 albums under the name Arnito. My diverse influences and musical encounters have led me to explore a wide range of styles, from classical to contemporary music, as well as jazz, improvisation, and world music.

After graduating with unanimous special mention and the congratulations of the ju...
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Born in Annecy, France, in 1979, I lead a dual career as both a guitarist and composer, having recorded 25 albums under the name Arnito. My diverse influences and musical encounters have led me to explore a wide range of styles, from classical to contemporary music, as well as jazz, improvisation, and world music.

After graduating with unanimous special mention and the congratulations of the jury from Music Academy International (Nancy) in 2000, and studying in the jazz departments of the conservatories of Annecy and Chambéry, I dedicated myself to developing my own musical language. I traveled to various countries to compose and immerse myself in musical traditions based on oral transmission.

My catalog now includes more than 300 compositions for a wide variety of ensembles. I regularly perform as a solo guitarist and with numerous bands and ensembles across many different musical styles.

Since 2013, I have been giving solo concerts featuring my original compositions for 7-string guitar, notably in chapels and churches throughout France. In 2015, filmmaker Nazan Aksoy directed the documentary Mélodies nomades during one of my tours.

I have led numerous artist residencies, masterclasses, and concert programs at Aswara Academy of Arts (Kuala Lumpur), in partnership with the Alliance Française and the Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur (April 2011), as well as guitar clinics at Soul Music, Excel Music Studio, Cornerstone Music Studio, and the Alliance Française de Penang (Malaysia). I have also been invited to conduct improvisation workshops and concerts in India at Wayanad Muslim Orphanage (Muttil and Sulthan Battery, Kerala), the Alliance Française de Chennai, and several orphanages in Mamallapuram (winter 2007). Other teaching engagements include masterclasses at the Kolkata School of Music (June 2011), Dhow Countries Music Academy (Stone Town, Zanzibar, 2017), a tour of cultural centers in southern Madagascar coordinated by the Académie Nationale des Arts et de la Culture (2023), and programs in Mbale and Kampala, Uganda, with Africa Music School and the Saved by Music Foundation (2024).

I have composed and recorded two scores for the Connaissance du Monde documentary series, as well as the soundtrack for Frédéric Murarotto's short film L'amour à contrechamps (2012).

In 2018, I was awarded a composer residency by the Helen Wurlitzer Foundation (Taos, New Mexico, USA), where I worked on Kune, a large-scale work for choir, soloists, and orchestra incorporating around 50 languages around unifying texts. The work premiered on October 7, 2023, at the S. Lyudkevych Concert Hall in Lviv, Ukraine, performed by the Lviv Chamber Choir Gloria and the Lviv National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Serhiy Khorovets. It was subsequently recorded in partnership with Phasma-Music. The album received a Silver Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the Contemporary Classical category at the Global Music Awards 2024.

Among my orchestral works, my Guitar Concerto reached the finals of the I-Melody International Composition Competition (USA) in 2017. The same year, it was the highest-ranked French work and received a Special Mention as a finalist at the Maurice Ravel Composition Competition (Italy). It was later included in the jury's recommended works list for the Klami Competition 2019 (Finland). That same year, the concerto was recorded at Hungarian Radio by guitarist Johan Smith (winner of the prestigious Guitar Foundation of America competition) with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Gergely Vajda. The album also features my orchestral work Un ange parmi les soupirs for violin and orchestra, originally presented at the Queen Elisabeth Competition (2011), performed by Alain Arias and conducted by László Kovács.

My chamber music includes numerous works for a wide range of ensembles, including Écarlate (guitar quartet), Douce amertume (piano, violin, viola, and cello), Filigrane (guitar and voice), L'enfant grandit (cello quartet), Into the Whirl of Centuries (for dizi, guzheng, erhu, pipa, Chinese percussion, flute, B♭ clarinet, B♭ trumpet, tenor trombone, violin, viola, cello, and double bass), and my Sonatas for 7-String Guitar Nos. 1 & 2, among many others.
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