Conservatoire International de Musique

Le Conservatoire International de Musique de Yaounde is an international music conservatory currently being developed in the Cameroonian capital, conceived to provide musical training and equipment to talented students in The Republic of Cameroon whose geniuses may be stifled by their limited means. The school was envisioned by internationally renowned musical classicist and friend of CameroonONE, Jacques-Greg Belobo, whose distinguishable bass baritone is celebrated around the world, in his adopted city of Dresden, Germany, and his native homeland of Cameroun. CameroonONE, along with her partners at Freesax, a California-based foundation dedicated to supporting music education, will be involved in several aspects of Le Conservatoire International de Musique by helping to sustain it, sponsoring its young students, and funding the salaries of its instructors.

Freesax is a foundation that sponsors musical education through monetary scholarships, provides free instruments to those students who cannot afford their own, and organizes concerts and musical events that fund musical programs.

    Jacques-Greg Belobo was born in Cameroon, where he started his vocal studies in Yaoundé. He won first prize in the Concours National de Chant Classique, the Concours Aguimucla in Yaoundé, and the Concours International Diapason in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire. He studied at the Conservatoire National de Nice, where he won the Gold Medal as well as the Operetta Competition in Rennes and the first prize of the Concours National de Chant Lyrique in Béziers, Concours National de Chant Lyrique in Ales.

Jacques-Greg got admitted at the Conservatoire of Music and Dance of Paris in 1998 and graduated in 2001. This chronic winner went on to win the second prize of the International Competition of Geneva in 2000 and five prizes at the International Belvedere Competition in Vienna in July 2002 including engagements with the Semperoper Dresden, with the Strasbourg Opera, the Kammeroper Vienna and a recital at the Philharmonic hall in Cologne.

He sings several roles and parts such as Il Grande Sacerdote (Nabucco), Kaspar and Eremit (Der Freischutz), Leporello (Don Giovanni), Vicar Gedge (Albert Herring), Polyphemus (Acis et Galatea), The Verdi Requiem, Dvorak’s Stabat Mater, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Rossini’s La Petite Messe Solennelle, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Bach Cantatas or Fauré’s Requiem and is now a member of the Junges Ensemble der Bayerischen Staatsoper München, regularly performing at the opera of Gelsenkirchen. In 2003 he was chosen from singers around the world to compete in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, in Wales.

In addition, Jacques-Greg is very connected to his Cameroonian roots despite a very successful career abroad. He still performs in Cameroon and greater Africa and is very engaged in Development Projects for Cameroon.

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