Laure Thomas – ARD INTERNATIONAL MUSIC COMPETITION

2026: 3rd prize

Bassoon

Laure Thomas was born in Colmar (Alsace) in 2003 and began taking her first bassoon lessons at the age of seven with Alain Deleurence. At the age of 14, she was accepted into Gilbert Audin’s class at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. There, she completed her master’s degree in 2023 with the distinction “Très Bien.” She then continued her studies with Dag Jensen at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich and completed her master’s degree in contemporary music in 2025, also with the highest honors.

In 2024, Thomas won first prize at the Fernand Gillet-Hugo Fox International Competition for Bassoon in Arizona. In addition, she was a finalist at the International Aeolus Wind Competition in 2021 and 2024 and received awards at The Muri Competition in Switzerland in 2023 and 2025.

As an orchestral musician, Thomas regularly collaborates with various ensembles, including the Opéra national de Paris, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Les Dissonances, the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, the Bavarian Philharmonic Orchestra Munich, the Ensemble Oktopus, and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo.

Thomas also performs at festivals such as the Festival International de Musique de Chambre de Salon-de-Provence, the Festival Musique et Patrimoine en Pays du Mont-Blanc, and the Festival des Arcs.

In addition to her work as an orchestral musician and soloist, Laure Thomas is particularly dedicated to chamber music and contemporary music. In 2020, she co-founded the wind quintet Pentagone and regularly participates in chamber music projects in France and abroad.

At the 75th ARD International Music Competition, Laure Thomas won third prize in the bassoon category.