École Normale de Musique de Paris Appoints New Cello Teacher

French cellist Christophe Coin has joined the school’s faculty as a new cello teacher 

École Normale de Musique de Paris “Alfred Cortot” (ENMP) has welcomed cellist and gambist Christophe Coin as a new faculty member. Coin also leads a class for cello and the viola da gamba at the Paris Conservatoire.

Beginning his musical training with Jacques Ripoche, Coin later studied at the Paris Conservatoire with André Navarra. At the age of 16, he received a scholarship to study in Vienna. 

His interest and expertise in early music were inspired by his meeting the late Austrian conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt. From 1978, Coin chose to take viola da gamba lessons at Switzerland’s Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with Jordi Savall. 

In 1984, he established the Ensemble Mosaïques, from which the Quatuor Mosaïques emerged in 1985 — comprising Erich Höbarth, Andrea Bischof, and Anita Mitterer, who served as members of the Concentus Musicus Wien (cofounded by Harnoncourt). 

An expert in the field of instrumentology and the playing techniques of old instruments, Coin has been teaching cello at the Schola Cantorum since 1988. He has also explored the 17th- to 19th-century European repertoire through his leadership of the Ensemble Baroque de Limoges since 1991. 

Coin often performs with acclaimed early music ensembles such as the Concentus Musicus Wien, the Hespèrion XXI, and the Academy of Ancient Music. 

Additionally, he has played solo with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Il Giardino Armonico, Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and the Concertgebouw Orchestra.

“We have the pleasure to announce the arrival of Christophe Coin as a cello teacher!” the ENMP posted on Facebook. “Coin, a renowned French cellist, trained in Paris, Vienna and Basel, specialized in ancient music. Founder of the Mosaïques Quartet and director of the Baroque Ensemble of Limoges, he collaborates with the largest European ensembles.”