Guillaume Pirard (France)

Born in Belgium, Guillaume Pirard studied at the Brussels Royal Conservatory of Music, receiving the First Prize at the age of 16. He then studied at the Juilliard School and the Den Haag Conservatory. Following a strong desire to explore the Baroque and Classical repertoire, Mr. Pirard has had extensive relationships with some of the masters of the performance practice movement such as Anner Bylsma, Vera Beths and Mira Glodeanu. As a proponent for the musical styles and language of Bach, Mozart and their contemporaries he has become one of the most sought-after chamber musicians and chamber-orchestra collaborators.
A founding member of The Knights, Mr. Pirard has toured extensively in the United States and Europe including performing with Yo-Yo Ma at Ravinia and Caramoor Festivals as well as with Dawn Upshaw at the Musikverein in Vienna and the Semperoper in Dresden.
As co-concertmaster, he has led the orchestra, without a conductor, in performances of Schubert 5th symphony, Mozart 39 and Mendelssohn Italian symphony in Tanglewood and Caramoor to great acclaim.
Mr. Pirard has also performed with the Saint-Paul Chamber Orchestra, Camerata Pacifica, A Far Cry, the Sejong Soloists and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonic.
As a pedagogue and conductor, he has given master-classes across the country, including at Cornell University and UCSB and has conducted the NYU Philharmonia, the NYU Symphony and the Orlando Philharmonic.
He has taught at New York University and San Diego State University.