Born in late 1972, Arnaud Leroy is a musician from northern France: a clarinettist, chamber musician, orchestral musician and dedicated teacher. After beginning his studies at the Municipal Music School in Marcq-en-Barœul, his home town, under the guidance of the outstanding artist Gilbert Voisin, and then in Michel Corenflos’s class at the National Music School in Roubaix, he continued his studies at the Paris Conservatoire (CNSMDP). There he was awarded three first prizes: in clarinet (class of Michel Arrignon), bass clarinet (class of Jean-Noël Crocq) and chamber music (classes of Maurice Bourgue and David Walter).

In 1994, he won first prize at the European Chamber Music Competition in Paris (the Sacem Prize), followed in 1995 by fourth prize at the Tokyo International Clarinet Competition. After a distinguished stint with the Orchestre Français des Jeunes, he joined the Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux as principal clarinet at the age of just 21. His successive successes in orchestra auditions led him to take up the post of principal bass clarinet with the Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse, followed by that of principal clarinet with the Orchestre national de Bordeaux-Aquitaine.

Arnaud Leroy has been a soloist with the Orchestre de Paris since 2000. During his orchestral career, he has been invited as a soloist by the Orchestre national de France, the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, the Orchestre de l’Opéra de Paris, the Orchestre philharmonique du Luxembourg, the national orchestras of Lille, Lyon, Rennes and the Pays de la Loire, and the Orchestre de Picardie… He has performed under the baton of conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Seiji Ozawa, Pierre Boulez, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Georges Prêtre, Bernard Haitink, Mstislav Rostropovich, Myung-Whun Chung, Christoph von Dohnányi, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Michel Plasson, Frans Brüggen and Klaus Mäkelä.  

The joy of sharing music and his knowledge has naturally led to teaching playing a major role in Arnaud Leroy’s career. In fact, he secured his first teaching post at the Lambersart Music School in the Nord department at the age of just 17. He went on to teach at the Chéreng Music School (59), and subsequently at the municipal conservatoires in the 7th, 19th and 12th arrondissements of Paris.

The lockdown period led him to consider becoming more involved in teaching. After obtaining a certificate in mental preparation for professional performance in 2020, he passed the competitive examination for the post of arts teacher in the local civil service (2023). Arnaud Leroy currently holds the posts of clarinet teacher at the Saint-Maur-des-Fossés Regional Conservatoire (since September 2024) and assistant teacher for the clarinet classes at the CNSMSP (since September 2002).