Program and Artist Biography

DUO TRANSATLANTIQUE

Formed in 2003, Duo Transatlantique combines the prize-winning talents of guitarists Benjamin Beirs and Maud Laforest. The two musicians formed a duo shortly after beginning their studies at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore. In 2005, Ben took his first journey to France, where the duo won first prize in the Union Francaise des Artistes Musiciens competition and played a concert in the American Cathedral in Paris. Currently, Ms. Laforest lives in Lille, France, while Mr. Beirs remains in Baltimore.

The duo seeks to promote Franco-American relations through emphasis on the music of both countries. In France, the duo has appeared at the Festival des Chapelles in Brittany, the Festival de la Rochepot in Bourgogne, in churches throughout Paris, and for the musical outreach group Coeur en Fête. In the United States, the duo has performed at the Kennedy Center, the Peabody Conservatory of Music, and the Baltimore Classical Guitar Society, where they performed for the society's "Young Talent" concert series, premiering "Chupacabra," a piece written for the duo by American composer Christopher Gainey. Duo Transatlantique received four years of coaching from Julian Gray, an acclaimed chamber musician and founder of the Gray-Pearl Classical Guitar Duo. They recently recorded their debut album, Le Gris et le Vert (The Grey and the Green), which includes music by Debussy, Scarlatti, Petit, Albeniz, and Villoldo.

Benjamin Beirs and Maud LaForest appear by special arrangement with Peabody Presents.