Since it was founded in Toulouse in 1997, the chamber choir Les Éléments has pursued a demanding musical project, under the impetus of its founder Joël Suhubiette, ranging from the early repertoire to contemporary works. The ensemble’s approach to early music has been nurtured by the musicological research of recent decades, and it performs the great choral repertoire of the 20^th century, commissioning works from today’s composers every year, and exploring a wide range of forms – the a capella repertoire, the ‘vocal concerto’ for an ensemble of soloists and instruments, the oratorio and opera – all of which have given Les Éléments an ‘identity of its own’ in the French choral landscape.

Ensemble of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique Classique awards in 2006, the chamber choir regularly receives critical acclaim for its ability to master different repertoires, driven by the precision and conviction of Joël Suhubiette, who is always keen to “combine fidelity to the text with emotion”. In 2005, he was awarded the Lilian Bettencourt prize for choral singing by the Académie des Beaux-Arts and the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation.

The Opéra Comique and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées also call on their choir for stage productions. Every season, the choir performs in Paris and on the main French stages, at festivals and, of course, in Toulouse and the Occitanie region, where the chamber choir has been in residence at Odyssud-Blagnac since 2001 and at the Cité de Sorèze since 2006. The choir also performs abroad, in Canada, the United States, Lebanon, Tunisia, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Greece, Switzerland…

Conducted by Joël Suhubiette or invited to record by other conductors, Les Éléments record early a cappella polyphony, the great baroque and classical oratorios, and works from the 20^th and 21^st centuries for the record companies L’empreinte digitale, Hortus, Virgin Classics, Ligia Digital, Naïve and Mirare.

In 2019, as part of its national programme to promote the vocal arts, the French Ministry of Culture has designated the chamber choir Les Éléments as a Centre d’Art Vocal for the Occitanie region.

The chamber choir Les Éléments is an ensemble subsidised by the Ministère de la Culture – Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles Occitanie, by the Région Occitanie / Pyrénées-Méditerranée and by the City of Toulouse.

It is subsidised by the Conseil Départemental de la Haute-Garonne. It is supported by SACEM, SPEDIDAM, the Centre National de la Musique and the Maison de la Musique contemporaine. The Bettencourt Schueller Foundation is a patron of Les Éléments, Centre d’Art Vocal Occitanie. The choir has been in residence at Odyssud-Blagnac since 2001 and at the Cité de Sorèze since 2006. Les Éléments are members of FEVIS, PROFEDIM, Futurs Composées and ARVIVA.