Olivier Patey is Principal Clarinet of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam.
Born in 1981, he studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris in Michel Arrignon’s class.
In 2003, he received the Audience Prize at the prestigious ARD International Music Competition in Munich, as well as the Munich Chamber Orchestra Prize for his interpretation of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto. In 2005, he was awarded First Prize at the Carl Nielsen International Competition in Denmark.
He subsequently embarked on an international solo career, performing with orchestras such as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Kammerorchester and the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.
His orchestral career began at the age of 20 with the Garde Républicaine Orchestra in Paris. He later became Principal Clarinet of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. Since 2013, he has been Principal Clarinet of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. He has also performed on several occasions with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra under the direction of Claudio Abbado.
Passionate about chamber music, Olivier Patey has been invited to renowned festivals such as the Marlboro Music Festival in the United States and has performed in prestigious venues including Wigmore Hall in London, Carnegie Hall in New York, the Berliner Philharmonie and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. He has collaborated with artists such as Janine Jansen, Lisa Batiashvili, Amihai Grosz, Paul Meyer, Mitsuko Uchida, Éric Le Sage, Emmanuel Pahud and the Quatuors Ébène and Modigliani.
Together with pianist Romain Descharmes and cellist Gauthier Herrmann, Olivier Patey co-directs the ARTIES RECORDS label, distributed by Harmonia Mundi, which releases his chamber music recordings. He is also a founding member of the Concertgebouw Ensemble, a flexible ensemble formed with colleagues from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Olivier Patey is also active as a teacher and has given masterclasses worldwide, as well as teaching at prestigious institutions including the École Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.
He plays Buffet Crampon clarinets.