Music Director Denis Segond has since the creation of The French Opera Comique in Denmak been saluted by the Danish press as "an excellent conductor.. who made the orchestra play with both precision and inspiration (Politiken) and". . . was as a conductor a real pleasure, with pointive rhythms and reflective lyricism" ( Berlingske Tidende). Among Mr. Segond's performances with The French Opera Comique of Denmark were "La Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein" in 2001 and "Orphee aux enfers" in July 2000 at the Tivolis Concert Hall. Ms. Segond recently conducted performances off "La Belle Helene" with the French Opera Comique of Denmark and was a guest conductor for performances of G. Puccini 's Madama Butterfly with the Abilene Opera, TX. Since 1999, he has filled the position as the Conductor in Residence of the Idyllwild Arts Academy Orchestra leading the ensemble conjointly with Maestro R. Wilson in its Concert Series, with upcoming performances scheduled through May 2004.

A native of Saint Raphael ( France), Denis Segond began his conducting career in Nice at the age of 24, and has been performing throughout Europe and the U.S. over the past ten years. In 1999 he became Music Director of The French Opera Comique of Denmark a company he cofounded in 1999 with Executive Director, Karen T. Andersen. From 1996 to 1998, Mr. Segond served as Resident Conductor for the Yale Philharmonic, Yale Opera and New Music New Haven. He was Resident Conductor for the New York University 20th Century Music Festival, from 1994 to 1996. His first appointment, was as Music Director for L'Orchestre Symphonique Azureén, performing throughout France and Italy.

Mr. Segond studied Double Bass at the Conservatoire National de Nice and graduated in 1984. Moving on to Paris, he studied Musicology at the University of La Sorbonne, before entering the Conservatoire National de Musique de Paris, where he graduated with honors in 1991 for Harmony, Counterpoint and Fugue. In 1993, he was awarded a fellowship from the Lavoisier Foundation to attend the Manhattan School of Music in the U.S., where in 1996 he received a Masters degree of Music in Composition. The same year he conducted the American premier of Maurice Ohana's "Les trois contes de l'honorable fleur" at La Mama in NYC.

In 1997 Mr. Segond studied Orchestral Conducting at Yale University and was awarded the Charles Ives Scholarship.The following year he received a Master degree of Music. Concurrent with his Yale's studies, he attended Master Classes in conducting with Maestro Kurt Masur, Zdenek Macal, Sixten Erhling, George Tinter and Gustav Meier, with whom he continued private studies from 1998 to 1999. In 2000 he began his ongoing studies with Conductor Daniel Lewis.

Mr. Segond's extensive studies in the U.S., beginning in 1993, led to several successful collaborations with American composer R. Danielpour. While in New York, In 1994, Mr. Segond also began his long collaboration with L'Opera Français de New York, working as an Assistant/Cover Conductor for Maestro Yves Abel, in the U.S and in Europe. In 2002, Mr .Segond appeared as Musical Assistant/Cover Conductor for Maestro Ransom Wilson at The OKMozart Festival.