Julie Sevilla Fraysse

Julie Sévilla Fraysse is a French cellist whose international solo career has been built on exceptional training and a remarkable artistic trajectory. Her sound — often described as both captivating and modern — embodies the crossroads of classical excellence, French elegance, and an enduring curiosity for innovative stage formats.

A graduate of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris (CNSMP) in the class of cellist Roland Pidoux, she went on to refine her artistry at the prestigious Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth under the guidance of Gary Hoffman. A laureate of the Fondation d'Entreprise Banque Populaire, she made her mark on the international scene early, notably through her appearance on the album Viva V.E.R.D.I. alongside the trio of pianist Giovanni Mirabassi in 2013. She also deepened her orchestral experience as a member of the Orchestre de la Garde Républicaine and subsequently the Orchestre de l'Opéra National de Paris — two of France's most prestigious ensembles.

Now fully devoted to a solo trajectory, she performs major concertos from the repertoire — including Haydn and Saint-Saëns — and develops recording projects and recitals both in France and abroad. She performs in chamber music settings with pianist Anastasia Calmus, and presents thematic programmes such as "The French Touch", weaving together Fauré, Debussy, Ravel, and Saint-Saëns. In landmark venues such as the Church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis in Paris, she has performed the complete Bach Cello Suites, a testament to her musical depth and technical mastery.

A multi-faceted artist, Julie Sévilla Fraysse also develops projects combining movement, image, and music, embracing a vision of performance that is open to the most contemporary forms. Alongside her stage career, she passes on her experience at the École Normale de Musique de Paris – École Cortot, where she teaches cello and supports young artists in their artistic development.

As part of the Les Gardiennes de la Mer artistic residency at Résidences Rocabella, Julie Sévilla Fraysse brings with her the depth and fullness of the cello — an instrument whose lower registers resonate like a primordial voice, intimately close to the murmur of the sea. For an artist who has made the relationship between sound, body, and space a central thread of her practice, the Mediterranean coastline offers a setting of rare intensity.

This residency allows her to explore new creative directions at the intersection of music, image, and movement, building on the interdisciplinary projects she has been developing throughout her career. Far from concert halls, facing the vastness of the Mediterranean, Julie Sévilla Fraysse reflects on what it means to play alone before the elements — and how nature, in its silence and power, can transform performance into something more bare, more essential, more alive.