Christian Manen facts for kids

Christian Manen (born July 3, 1934 – died September 11, 2020) was a famous French composer and music teacher. He was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, France.

Christian Manen loved music from a young age. He studied at the Conservatory of Nice. Later, from 1949 to 1961, he went to the important Conservatoire de Paris. There, he learned from many great teachers. He studied piano, organ, conducting, and how to compose music.

In 1961, he won a very special award called the Premier Grand Prix de Rome. He won it for a musical piece called La Loreley. Winning this award meant he got to live and study in Rome at the Villa Medici until 1965.

His Musical Career

Christian Manen started teaching music in 1954 at the Conservatory of Asnières. He became a professor at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1965. He also taught at other music schools, like the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris. From 1985, he gave talks at the Académie Internationale d'Eté de Nice.

Some of his students became very famous musicians themselves. These include Thierry Escaich, Pascal Devoyon, Nicolas Bacri, Pascal Godart, Alexandre Tharaud, and Cédric Tiberghien.

Conducting and Performing

In 1970, Christian Manen started a group called the Orchestre des Cadets d'Asnières. He led this orchestra until 1999. They performed almost one hundred concerts! They played in Paris, all over Europe, and even in the USA.

He also conducted the Turkish National Orchestra in Istanbul for several years. Besides conducting, he played the organ in many churches in Paris. He was part of a group for church music leaders and organists since 1960. He stopped teaching in 1999.

His Compositions

Christian Manen wrote about 140 musical pieces. These included music for full orchestras and smaller groups (called chamber music). He also wrote motets and other songs for choirs and singers. He even created music to help people learn about music.