Conservatoire de la Communauté urbaine Grand Paris Seine & Oise to Be Renamed THE QUINCY JONES CONSERVATORY

World-famous trumpeter/arranger/composer/producer Quincy Jones will be given a new eponym on Friday, June 16 – The Quincy Jones Conservatory – formerly the Conservatoire de la Communauté urbaine Grand Paris Seine & Oise, located in Mantes-la-Jolie in France. Jones, who has worked with numerous entertainment greats including Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and more, has a close connection with the region and considers France as his second home.

One of the world’s most influential composition teachers, Nadia Boulanger, will also be celebrated at the event when the Conservatory’s auditorium is named in her honor. Pierre Bédier, President of the Yvelines Departmental Council; Cécile Zammit-Popescu, President of GPS&O and Raphaël Cognet, Mayor of Mantes-la-Jolie, will participate in the celebration of the only conservatory in the world to bear Jones’ name.

The organist/singer Rhoda Scott, who was a student of Jones, as well as students and teachers from the Conservatory will pay tribute to the musical geniuses, Jones and Boulanger. 

It is an event for Grand Paris Seine & Oise, but the global star is approaching the honor with humility and gratitude. In a letter to  Jean-Pierre Vignola, Jazz Festival Producer.  Jones wrote, “It makes my soul smile to know there is a school of music named ‘Quincy Jones’ in France, my second country! I was fortunate to be on the shoulders of the greats; it is an honor to be able to contribute in the legacy of music education. My memories of France are intimately tied to my beloved Nadia Boulanger, and I cannot express how flattered I am to be her neighbor with a school named after me. Merci mille fois from the bottom of my heart!”

Over the past 70 years, Quincy Jones has become a living legend. His music is among the most sampled by today’s greatest hip hop artists. From bebop to bossa nova, soul to hip hop, futuristic big bands to funk soundtracks, he has left his mark on most of the mutations in modern music. He owes much of his success to Nadia Boulanger. Described as “the most influential teacher since Socrates,”  she counted among her pupils George Gershwin, Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Astor Piazzolla and Philip Glass, in addition to Jones. Boulanger was the first woman to conduct the Boston and New York Philharmonic orchestras, and she was the first conductor to lead Gabriel Faure’s Requiem at Carnegie Hall in 1962.

Given  all of their achievements and accolades bestowed upon these two icons of music, it is no doubt an excellent decision to present The Quincy Jones Conservatory and Nadia Boulanger Auditorium to the world.

For more information, please visit https://gpseo.fr/.