violin
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voice
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Violin Phonix was created by Maxime Morise and Christopher Cohen. These two strong personalities met at the Royal College of Music in London and discovered they shared a common desire to show the richness of the violin. They propose original compositions, mixing violin and voice, entirely elaborated and played by themselves.
They seek to evoke emotion, energy and travel through their music. Their creative process draws on a wide variety of musical inspirations, from folk to film music. From the name Violin Phonix, violin and voice, to the visual identity that pays homage to it (the straight line in the logo represents the bow and the curve evokes the instrument), the project is mainly centered around the violin. Max, French-British, and Chris, French-American, tell us, through their creations, a story close to their own, illustrating their love of the instrument and their multiculturalism.
A dynamic and committed duo, Violin Phonix has performed at the Great Exhibitionists Festival in London in 2019 on the stage of the Royal College of Music, at the Rendez-Vous d'Ailleurs in Paris in 2020, and has been invited to the Un été à Bourges and Les Effusions festivals, as well as the prestigious Fimu Belfort in 2021. Both violinists have also participated in season 5 of Game of Roles.
Chris
Christopher Cohen is a French-American violinist who obtained his Master’s Degree in Performance from the Royal College of Music in London in 2019. Passionate about a wide range of musical styles, he also studied tango with Juan-José Mossalini for several years, and jazz violin with Christian Garrick. He performs regularly with the German Radio Orchestra and the European Union Chamber Orchestra.
Christopher was awarded a scholarship from the Royal College of Music and is currently playing on an 1880 Sgarbi violin, kindly lent to him by the Harrison Franck Foundation.
Maxime Morise is a French-British violinist who obtained a Master’s Degree in Performance with distinction from the Royal College of Music in London in 2020. In 2018, he participated in the “BBC Symphony Orchestra Academy”. Maxime has been invited to participate in numerous chamber music festivals including Encuentro de Santander. In 2021, He was selected as young talent for the prestigious “Académie Musicale Philippe Jaroussky” at La Seine Musicale in Paris.
Maxime is a recipient of scholarships from the Stephen Bell Charitable Trust, the Countess of Munster Musical Trust (Derek Butler Prize) and the Frederick Johnston Scholarship.