Nolwenn Collet Biography

Nolwenn Collet is a French ballet pianist living in Ireland.

Born in Provence, in the South of France, Nolwenn began playing the piano at the age of three.

She then spent her childhood in a South Pacific Island, New Caledonia and got very influenced by traditional music and dance.

Back in Europe, she and her family went to live in Germany for a while. She studied Harmony and composition in Luxembourg with Professor Mullenbach and discovered improvisation but also music analysis and theory.

Fascinated by music, space and their relationship, she then went to live in Paris where she studied music and architecture.

After graduating in piano, piano- accompaniment and music analysis from: Les Conservatoires de la ville de Paris, Le Conservatoire National de Région de Rueil-Malmaison and Le Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, her aptitude for improvisation led her to concentrate on accompaniment for ballet and contemporary dance under the auspices of Laurent Choukroun, pianist in charge of rehearsing ballet at the Paris Opera Ballet School.

She also became an architect graduating from Ecole des beaux Arts Paris Malaquais but her love for music and dance took over…

Nolwenn was awarded the French State diploma in piano accompaniment for ballet and contemporary dance in 2001. She was immediately appointed as permanent ballet accompanist by the Paris conservatoires, a position she retained until she relocated to Ireland in 2009.

Nolwenn has been company pianist for the National Ballet of Ireland since 2010. In addition, she plays for professional classes, and events in Ireland.

She has had the honor to work with numerous ballet artists and companies such as: 
Birmingham Royal Ballet, Dame Monica Mason, Errol Pickford, Douglas Becker, Judith Reyn Stroux, Libby Farr, Tara Foy, Catherine Plomteux, Andrew Wilson, Joanna Banks, Therese Cantine.