Raphaël Collignon

Raphael Collignon is a harpsichordist, pianist, accompanist and teacher.
After being awarded First Prize in piano and harpsichord at the Paris Conservatoire, he turned his attention to different musical languages including improvisation: jazz and early music. Continuing his studies in Strasbourg, Raphaël took classes in the early music department, as well as in the jazz and improvisation department. He further specialised in Historical Performance at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague in the Netherlands, before finally obtaining the equivalence to a Master’s Degree in harpsichord, and the ‘Agrégation’ qualification from the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels in 2009.
Selected to be part of the European Union Baroque Orchestra in 2004, 2006 and 2009, Raphael performed in numerous orchestral tours across Europe. A founder member of chamber ensembles ‘Sirocco’ (recipient of the First Prize in the International Bonporti and Pro Musicis competitions) and ‘Laterna Magica’, as well as the Harmony of Nations baroque orchestra, Raphael develops his own projects, combining musicological research activity with recording projects. As soloist and chamber musician, Raphael has appeared in many prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall New York, Boston Pickman Hall, NCPA in Beijing and Bombay, Opera City Hall Tokyo, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Salle Cortot in Paris, KonzertHaus Vienna, Cologne Philharmonie Hall.
He is regularly invited as a continuo player with leading European ensembles, collaborating with musical directors Ton Koopman, Jordi Savall, Chiara Banchini, Christophe Coin, Emmanuelle Haïm, François Lazarevitch, Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Alfredo Bernardini, Andrew Manze, François-Xavier Roth, among others.
Raphaël is also a qualified yoga teacher and this field of work, combined with several activities in the sphere of personal development, runs parallel to his musical career. Raphaël leads regularly workshops that focus on creating more awareness and sense of harmony in the relational and emotional fields. Among them, he led some walks in the Sahara desert for a group of fathers and sons. He is also involved in “deep ecology”, facilitating “Work That Reconnects” workshops inspired by American eco-philosoph Joanna Macy.
The accompaniment of dance, among many other collaborations with performing artists, allows Raphael to achieve this balance between the dimensions of the body, sound and movement.
Raphaël works as an accompanist at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels since 2019.