DUO IMMINENT

Hortense Airault is a French cellist, composer, and performer whose work merges contemporary repertoire, composition, free improvisation, and interdisciplinary performance.

Born in Paris in 1999 and raised on the island of Mayotte, she discovered the cello there before studying with Thomas Duran at the CRR de Paris. She later joined the Haute École de Musique de Genève, where she earned a Master’s in Concert Performance with a Composer-Performer specialization under the guidance of Ophélie Gaillard and Joshua Hyde. She is currently pursuing a Master’s in Creative Practice Composition at the Hochschule der Künste Bern.

A committed contemporary artist, she collaborates with ensembles such as Contrechamps, Ensemble Intercontemporain, ONCEIM, and Nomos. 

She participated in the Ulysses and Stauffer Academies, and her encounter with Joëlle Léandre opened the door to improvisation. She co-founded Duo Imminent with Ana Parejo Belando, dedicated to free improvisation and collaborative composition with electronics. She is also a member of the Side ProYect improvisation quartet. In parallel, she performs with the Free Spirit Ensemble (dir. Ibrahim Maalouf), La Fanfare du Loup, and Vincent Lê Quang (soundpainting).

As a composer, she has studied with Simon Steen-Andersen, Luis Naón, Joshua Hyde, Cathy Van Eck, and Franziska Baumann. Her works have been commissioned by Ensemble Contrechamps, Quatuor MOMO, and Les Ateliers du Violoncelle 2024, and published by 22D Music. She also co-composed and improvised for the contemporary circus company MPTA in the creation Immaqaa.

A passionate chamber musician, she is a member of Quatuor MOMO, creating interdisciplinary stage works. The quartet won 1st prize at “Osez!” 2025, 3rd prize at Orpheus 2024, and received the Daisy de Saugy and Ponticello Prizes. She currently studies in the Quatuor Belcea’s class (CAS in string quartet performance).

Hortense is laureate of the Tremplin Leenaards Prize, the Contrechamps Prize (2024), and the Fritz Gerber Award (Lucerne Festival 2025). She also won the Violoncellenseine Competition and received a cello on loan from Antoine Gonon following the Musique & Vin competition at Clos Vougeot.

Ana Parejo is a Valencian saxophonist, singer, and composer with a multidisciplinary profile and a strong drive for artistic exploration. She recently completed her Master’s in Voice with a composer-performer specialization at the Haute École de Musique de Genève (2023–2025), where she also earned a Master’s in Contemporary Saxophone (2021-2023). She holds degrees in Classical and Contemporary Saxophone Performance from ESMUC, Barcelona (2017-2021) and in Fine Arts from the Polytechnic University of Valencia (2013-2017).

Ana is particularly interested in co-creation and collaborative work with composers. Several pieces have been written for and premiered by her, including La sed by Hilario Flores-Coni, Cuerpo/Mar by Florencia Novoa, and Traces by Pablo Andrés (all 2025).

As a saxophonist, she has performed with renowned ensembles such as the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Geneva Camerata, Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, and the Banda Municipal de Barcelona. She has appeared at the Archipel and Mixtur festivals with her collaborative project Duo Imminent, and performed in Hor, an opera by Luis Tabuenca at Forum Wallis (2019).

As a singer, she has taken part in various productions, including Dernière expédition au pays des merveilles with OperaLab at the Comèdie de Genève (2025) and María de Buenos Aires at the Grand Théâtre de Genève (2023). She has sung solo roles in a Ciconia program conducted by Pedro Memelsdorff (2024). In August 2025, she will perform with [H]Éros Ensemble at IYAP.

As a composer, her recent and upcoming works include A su suerte (2025); Larmes, performed at Octobre Musical de Carthage, Tunisia (2024); and the vocal-electronic cycle Casa (2023).

Ana is also active in chamber music. She is a founding member of Quatuor Amapola (prizewinners at the 2022 ORPHEUS Swiss Chamber Music Competition), Duo Imminent, and Trio Turbulences & Ensemble Las Delicias, which focuses on Baroque vocal music.

Although her academic training is rooted in contemporary music, Ana has a deep love for early music, particularly Italian and French Baroque. She has studied with Elisabeth Dobbin and Mónica Pustilnik and attended masterclasses with renowned early music specialists such as Jill Feldman, Marc Mauillon and Sophie Daneman.