French bassist, Clémence Sarda, discovered the double bass whilst pursuing her university studies and her training as a violinist. From then on, her interest in the instrument continued to grow; she decided to devote herself fully to it and trained at the Paris Conservatoire, where she was awarded her Prix à l’Unanimité in 2014 in the class of Stanislas Kuchinski (double bassist with the Orchestre de Paris). She then went on to study with Philippe Noharet (Paris National Opera) and Daniel Marillier (principal double bassist at the Paris National Opera). This artistic encounter would greatly shape her career, enabling her to discover the immeasurable richness of the operatic repertoire, and to perform at the Palais Garnier, the Opéra Bastille and the Philharmonie de Paris under the baton of conductors such as Philippe Jordan, Gustavo Dudamel, Dan Ettinger, Susanna Mälkki, Semyon Bychkov, Giacomo Sagripanti, Vello Pähn, etc., at the Opéra de Rouen with Antonello Allemandi and Léo Hussain, and at the Opéra de Reims under the baton of Cyril Englebert, Dylan Corlay, Yann Molenat.
Equally drawn to more intimate musical forms, she has developed her chamber music career with the Paris Opera Soloists Quintet, and took part in the world premiere of Némésis as a quintet with the Miroirs étendus ensemble, co-produced by the Théâtre de l’Odéon and numerous national venues.
Clémence is also passionate about contemporary music and works regularly with the Ensemble Ecoute, conducted by Fernando Palomeque, and the Ensemble Regards. She took part in the French premiere at the Nouveau Théâtre de Montreuil, followed by a national tour, of the opera *Votre Faust* – with a libretto by Michel Butor and music by Henri Pousseur – with the Ensemble tm+. Holding a Master’s degree in Sociology of Arts Education from the University of Paris IV-Sorbonne under the supervision of Hyacinthe Ravet, she also decided to direct her artistic practice towards so-called unconventional venues. In 2020, Clémence joined forces with the actress and circus artist Elisa Couvert to found the Compagnie Contez Pas Sur Nous, which presents an original work, La Complainte, blending music and elements of scenography, which has been programmed at numerous festivals. In 2023, she formed a trio with Daniel Uzcategui and Rossmary Rangel Lacruz, performing traditional Venezuelan music blended with influences from the so-called classical repertoire, which has performed in numerous venues in Paris and across the region. Her desire to share music is also strongly expressed through her work with young people; Clémence teaches at the Petites Mains Symphoniques summer academies and supervises the double bass section at the École Normale Supérieure.
