After completing his science-focused baccalauréat, François Salès joined the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon at the age of 18 to study music and oboe. He was awarded with first prize diplomas in oboe and chamber music, and gained experience in symphony orchestra (Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France, Manchester’s Hallé Orchestra) and chamber music (Circé quintet, Haute Trahison ensemble).
While studying music, he also taught himself analogue photograph, video production and creative writing. Alongside his work as a musician, he experiments with analogue photography, installations, video, creative writing, electronic devices and even lutherie sauvage – or rather, turning everyday objects into homemade instruments.
He is a soloist for the Opéra Comique, Les Musiciens du Louvre and the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines theatre, and performs as part of ensembles with Plein jour, Odyssée, Zellig, Ensemble Orchestral Contemporain, Le Piano Ambulant, Nième Compagnie and Schvedranne. He has collaborated with composers such as F. Krawczyk, T. Pécou and F. Kahn, as well as artists like N. Rouxel and I. Fournier. His work has been displayed at the Théâtre du Chatelet, Université Lyon 3 and even the psychiatric hospital in Corbeil.
He is currently solo oboist for the Ensemble Orchestral Contemporain and Le Piano Ambulant, a Lyon-based inter-disciplinary company. He helps create theatrical productions, in particularly with Nième Compagnie under the direction of Claire Truche. As part of these ensembles, he has performed both in the Rhône-Alpes region in France and abroad (Luxembourg, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Poland, Brazil, South Korea, Canada, India…).
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