Manon Gillardot began playing the cello in Orléans in Raphaële Sémézis’s class. After a spell studying with Ophélie Gaillard in Aulnay-sous-Bois, followed by Michel Strauss in Boulogne-Billancourt, she enrolled at the Paris Conservatoire, where she obtained her Bachelor’s degree under Michel Strauss and her Master’s degree under Jérôme Pernoo.

Passionate about orchestral music, she trained with the Orchestre Français des Jeunes and the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, before joining the Karajan Akademie, the academy of the Berlin Philharmonic, which enabled her to perform alongside them for two years under the baton of some of the world’s greatest conductors. 

In September 2016, Manon joined the Orchestre de Paris.