ODO Ensemble

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Founded and directed by singer Claire Merigoux, ODO Ensemble is a research, composition and interpretation company working in ancient and traditional world music. They have been in residence at the Abbey of Cluny, in partnership with the Center des Monuments Nationaux, since 2016. ODO Ensemble consists of about twenty musicians, and brings together artists from several origins, horizons and musical styles in order to create favorable conditions for meeting, sharing and engaging in musical dialogue, through the promotion, preservation and dissemination of a variety of living musical traditions.

Beyond the boundaries, ODO Ensemble restores, makes accessible, transmits, and brings to life the treasures of the songs of humanity.
The company has performed on stage and at festivals in France and internationally (South Korea, Germany, Iran, Morocco, Norway, Corsica ...).

 

Based in Cluny, ODO takes its name from Saint Odon, a Benedictine monk and musician who from 926 to 942 presided as the 2nd Abot of Cluny. The ODO Ensemble was founded in 2013 by the duo of vocalists Claire Merigoux and Olivier Marcaud. Enriched by numerous international experiences, the ensemble creates a link between diverse musical styles and time periods that traverses both time and space.
 
ODO takes its roots in medieval music and dialogue with traditional world cultures. Imagination, improvisation, and a solid historical context all play a large role in defining the ensemble.
 
ODO embarks on musical voyages that follow the paths of history, telling the epic stories of humans and their initial voyages that resonant strongly in today's modern world.
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​New performances are being produced regularly...

For each of its projects, the ODO Ensemble calls for musicians coming from a wide range of backgrounds: medieval music, baroque, classical, traditional music, Celtic, oriental, world, jazz, rock,

In addition to concerts, ODO proposes seminars, cultural and/or pedagogical workshops presented to a diverse public audience: schools, universities, professionals, museums...

 

Claire MERIGOUX, singer and artistic director

 

Origin

Born in an international context with both Celtic and Mediterranean origins, Claire’s voice has roots in West and East.

 

Founder

In 2013, she founded her own research, creation and musical performance compagnie. It has been in residence at the Abbaye de Cluny, Center des Monuments Nationaux since 2016. It ensures its circulation in France and on the international scene. She founded in Cluny the centre DIALOGUS DE MUSICA that produces a festival, a choir, creative residencies, events and training sessions, promotes and supports ODO Ensemble compagnie. In 2019, she organized and directed the first edition of the FESTIVAL DIALOGUS DE MUSICA de l’Abbaye de Cluny (early music, world music and instrument building) in co-production with the Center des Monuments Nationaux and the Center National de Création Musicale VOCE (Pigna, Corsica).

 

Public Outreach

Beyond research, Claire also directs training courses, internships, workshops and master classes.
Her work has focused particularly around the birth of the voice and the blossoming of potential, vocal expression, artistic identity, and even further, the voice as a tool and a path to resilience.

As a child soloist, she took her first singing lessons with Nicole Fallien and joined the Maîtrise de Bourgogne, then the Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine, under the direction of Francis Bardot, conductor of the Children’s Choirs of the Paris Opera. She collaborated in opera productions and took part in numerous concerts, from the Salle Pleyel aux Invalides, in various festivals in France and abroad. As an adult, she has specialized in ancient, medieval and polyphonic music, reading and interpretation, improvisation and ornamentation, Mediterranean and Corsican female repertoires, and has deepened her vocal training, her experience and her research with Olivier Marcaud, Paul Van Nevel (Huelgas Academy), Agnès Mellon, Frédéric Faye, Nicole Casalonga and Jean Tubery (Academia de PIGNA, Corsica), and Marcel Pérès (Ensemble Organum) with whom she has collaborated to renew the links which united Cluny and Moissac in the 11th century by organizing Les Diagonales d’Automne à Cluny since 2017. At the same time, Claire graduated in Management of International Organizations, Management of Development and Humanitarian Actions, and trained in Art Therapy, which she practices.

 

 

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