Cellist, composer, singer, conductor
Being at the same time appointed to the Bayonne Côte Basque Regional Orchestra at age 18, then to the Pau Pays de Béarn Orchestra at age 21, and performing as a member of the Parisian cello ensemble Nomos, Maitane Sebastián also started teaching early in her career in 2002. She is currently teaching cello and chamber music at the Cergy-Pontoise's CRR and conducting the Symphonic Orchestra at the Amiens Métropole's CRR.
Her unconventional professional path led her to experiment new musical movements, and encounter musicians who have inspired her playing and musical vision, such as the cellists Gary Hoffman and Christophe Roy, the baritone Udo Reinemann, the improvisers Médéric Collignon and Thierry Madiot, the composers Michel Sendrez and Mauricio Kagel, after being a cinema actress in Spain between 1988 and 2000.
Maitane Sebastián is currently giving numerous concerts as a soloist, chamber music player, and soloist with orchestra, with the Midland Symphony Orchestra (Great Britain), the Vignolle Ensemble (Netherlands) ; at the Salle Gaveau, Salle Cortot, Beauvais Cello Festival, the Lyrical Theatre in Cagliari (Italy), La Bâtie Festival in Geneva (Switzerland), "Voix Intimes" Festival in Tournai (Belgium), Classical Music Festival in Peñiscola (Spain), etc. Her favorite chamber music partners are Ann-Estelle Médouze, Naaman Sluchin and Barbara Giepner (Sésame Quartet), the pianist Julien Le Pape (Parhélies Duet) and the guitarist Sébastien Llinares (Anhelo Duet).
Her numerous recordings, ranging from Bach to contemporary musicians, have been praised by musical reviews, (such as Classica, Le Monde de la Musique, Diapason, Charles Cros, Melómano Digital...), reflecting her research on natural phrasing and her attachment to the deep meaning of the music, from its details to its structure and context.
Her instrument was made by Frédéric Chaudière, after a copy of a Giuseppe Guarneri Sr. cello. She plays a bow by Yasha Shidowezki.
