Emma Gibout Named Concertmaster in Toulouse

French violinist Emma Gibout has been appointed concertmaster of the Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse, joining the ensemble after several years leading the Orchestre des Pays de Savoie.

Gibout held the Savoie position from 2021. Her new appointment builds on an orchestral career that has included leadership at the Verbier Festival and regular appearances with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the Orchestre National de Lyon.

She expressed her happiness and sense of honour at joining the Toulouse orchestra in a social-media announcement.

Her preparation for orchestral leadership began well before her first permanent concertmaster position. She joined the Verbier Festival Orchestra in 2017 and became its concertmaster in 2018, gaining experience under conductors including Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Daniel Harding, Manfred Honeck and Antonio Pappano. 

Gibout studied at the Lyon Conservatoire with Marianne Piketty and other members of its violin faculty before continuing in Berlin. She completed a master’s degree with Ulf Wallin at the Hanns Eisler School of Music.

Her competition distinctions include first prize at the Arthur Grumiaux International Violin Competition in Belgium in 2018 and third prize at the Marie Cantagrill Competition.

Chamber music has remained an important parallel activity. Gibout has collaborated with violist Françoise Gneri, cellist Emmanuelle Bertrand and violinist Gilles Apap, and performs with colleagues in the Fractales collective.

She also co-founded the European Chamber Music Ensemble, appearing at festivals including Verbier, Zermatt and Sanary. That work complements the responsibilities of a concertmaster, whose role combines exposed solo playing with close coordination across the string section.

The Toulouse appointment brings together these strands of her career: conservatoire training, festival orchestral leadership, professional experience in Savoie and sustained involvement in smaller ensembles. It marks a significant new position for a musician whose activities have developed across several European musical centres.