Clarissa Severo De Borba will lead the Conservatoire of Nice starting from July 2025. She succeeds Thierry Muller and brings with her a solid artistic and pedagogical experience.
The Pierre Cochereau Conservatoire à rayonnement régional of Nice will have a change in leadership in summer 2025. Clarissa Severo De Borba, a percussionist and composer, will succeed Thierry Muller. The latter will have led the institution for nine years. The appointment was officially announced yesterday.
Clarissa Severo De Borba is originally from Brazil. She started her percussion studies there before continuing her studies in the United States. She earned a Master’s followed by a Doctorate in Percussion Performance. She teaches at the University of Miami and leads a percussion ensemble there. In parallel, she conducts research on extended techniques for percussion instruments.
Since arriving in France, she has developed a career that is both artistic and pedagogical. She regularly performs as a soloist or within contemporary ensembles. She has notably collaborated with George Crumb, the Intercontemporain Ensemble, and the Offrandes Ensemble. Her work explores the connections between improvisation, sound creation, video, and visual arts.
Clarissa Severo De Borba practices in Paris
Holder of the Certificate of Aptitude in the management of artistic establishments, she has directed several conservatories in the Paris region. She is currently the Deputy Director of the Conservatoire à rayonnement régional of Paris. She supervises a team of 280 teachers and oversees more than 1,200 students.
Her experience as a project leader in arts education has allowed her to develop innovative pedagogical methods. She has initiated projects that combine music, neuroscience, and contemporary creation, while paying particular attention to social inclusion.
Christian Estrosi, mayor of Nice, highlights this continuity: “it is with the same enthusiasm and in this dynamic that we are delighted to welcome the new director of the conservatory Clarissa Severo De Borba. […] With her multidisciplinary vision of the arts, the conservatory of Nice will continue its expansion both in the diversity of its artistic practices and its openness to a diverse audience.”
The Pierre Cochereau Conservatoire, founded in 1916, educates more than 1,700 students every year and reaches 3,000 children as part of its artistic and cultural education.