Christophe Rody was born in Fribourg, Switzerland, in 1973.
He gets his American baccalaureate (Grandview High School, Kansas City, USA) in 1991 and federal maturity type C at Sainte-Croix High School in 1993.
He studied for 3 years musicology (with Prof. Tagliavini), a modern history and contemporary history at the University of Fribourg before turning completely to music.
He speaks French, English and German.
... as flutist
Christophe got his teaching diploma (2000) then his concert diploma (2002) at the Hochschule für Musik und Kunst in Bern with Prof. Christian Studler. He also studied piccolo with Raymond Hutin and Cornelia Zehnder (former and current piccolo of the Bern Symphony Orchestra). It also benefits from the advices of great flutists such as Aurèle Nicolet, Trevor Wye, Matthias Ziegler... In Chamber music he had the privilege to work with teachers such as Siegfried Palm, Bruno Canino, Jürg Ewald Dähler...
In 2000 he was hired by the Fribourg Conservatory as flute teacher. In 2001 he won the competition to become an intern at the Berne Symphony Orchestra. In 2002, he became solo flute in the Cairo Opera Orchestra (he takes a year off in his job at the Conservatory of Fribourg). In 2003, on his return from Egypt, it substitutes one year as piccolo with the Berne Symphony Orchestra. Since 2004, he is regularly asked for replacements with: the Berne Symphony Orchestra, the Wiener Concert Verein, the Zurich Opera, the Symphony of Biel, the Fribourg Chamber Orchestra...
In 2005, he plays as 1st flute with the 100th anniversary orchestra of the Fribourg Conservatory. That same year he became solo flute in the Orchestra of the Festival of the Jura (Orchestra that regularly accompanies the greatest soloists: Barbara Hendricks, Volodine, Maurice André, Maurice Steger...). In 2009 he played as solo flute with the Montreux Jazz Festival Orchestra concerts at the Miles Davis Hall (Montreux Jazz Festival) and the KKL (Blue Balls Festival) with Anthony and the Johnsons. Even freed from the obligations of military service, he is called on several occasions (concerts, tour, recordings) by the Swiss army professional wind symphony orchestra (Armeespiel), mainly under the direction of Jan Cober, first as piccolo and then as solo flute. In 2011 and 2013 he plays in the productions of the opera Louise in Fribourg. From 2008 to 2016, he is the Dean of the Woodwind department at the Fribourg Conservatory. Since 2016, he gives masterclasses in Kiev and advices talented young flutists. In 2017, he plays the world premiere of the flute concerto of the Ukrainian composer Alexander Rodin with the Kiev Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Bogdan Plish at the Philharmonic of Ukraine in Kiev. He is a member of the ensemble Triade: this ensemble was founded in 1998. They performed a concert tour in Argentina during which they became honorary citizens of Mar del Plata, Piazzolla's city. They performed with soloists dancers from the Béjart Ballet Company and with the famous tango singer Silvana Deluigi. They recorded 2 CDs devoted to Piazzolla for the label "Classico." He is also member of the wind quintet with piano Melini (the oboist Jean-Jacques Goumaz, solo oboe in the opera Mannheim, the bassoonist Philippe Reinhard, bassoonist of the Mannheim Opera, the horn player Elia Bollinger, horn of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the clarinettist Antoine Joly, former clarinet solo of the Cairo Opera Orchestra, and the pianist Eric Cerantola).
In chamber music, he had the privilege to share the stage with wonderful musicians: Christian Studler (flute), Philipp Jundt (flute), Christoph Borter (guitare), Filipe Johnson (violin), Arnaud Pairier (clarinet), …
He participated in recordings for singers and soundtracks (Gustav, jingle for Orange, the castle of Gruyères, Puy du Fou multimedia,...).
... as a conductor
Christopher begins studies of wind band conducting with Hervé Klopfenstein at the Fribourg Conservatory, then turns to orchestra conducting with Dominique Roggen (former student of Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa in Boston) at the Hochschule in Bern. Subsequently he was selected to study in Estonia with 2 of the greatest conductors, Paavo Järvi and Neeme Järvi. In 2003, Christophe conducts the Arvo Pärt's "Stabat Mater" at the "biennials Bern'03. That same year, the Jeunesses Musicales in Switzerland calls him in order to take over the artistic direction of an international youth orchestra camp. In three years he contributed to make of this orchestra a growing success. At the Belluard Bollwerk International Festival 2004, he conducts the concert "Urfdesude Kollektiv" (concert of techno music with a classical orchestra). In 2005, with professors of the Fribourg Conservatory, he conducts 'Variety' of Kagel. He will conduct afterwards teachers of the Fribourg Conservatory for 3 other major projects. In 2004 he conducted the musical "Dracula". In 2005 he conducts the Lausanne Sinfonietta at the concert dedicated to the Young Gods at the Montreux Jazz Festival. From 2005 to 2008 he conducted the Fribourg conservatory "ensemble orchestral". In July 2006, he conducts the Pärnu City Orchestra and soloists of the Bolshoï opera (Moscow) during a live broadcast on the Estonian radio
In November 2006, he conducts for the first time the Liatoshinsky Ensemble for Classical Music in Kiev in Ukraine: since then he's been working with this professional orchestra for 4-5 concerts a year, as conductor or as a soloist. That same year he became artistic director of the "" Kiev International Conductors' Festival "(ICF Kiev), annual festival during which he selects, follows, coaches and advises promising young conductors.
From 2008 until 2018 he has been the conductor of the Fribourg Conservatory Orchestra.
He has been the conductor of numerous windbands in the State of Fribourg between 1998 and now (the youth band EJIG, Plasselb, Fribourg Police band, Orsonnens, Le Paquier, Corps de musique de la ville de Bulle, and the « excellence » windband La Gérinia de Marly).
From 2006 until 2021 he has been a member of the music commission of the Fribourg State Windband Association from which he received the title of honorary member. He is regularly requested as expert or jury for competitions (regional, national and international) and examinations. He has been a member of the jury (specialist in the field of music) of the Grand Prize Migros Neuchâtel-Fribourg from 2009 until 2018.
On the private side, he is married with the Colombian-born pianist Eugenia Rody and is father of a 10 years old boy, Matthieu.
They are owners of a chalet they renovated in Ferpicloz, near Fribourg. With his wife, they founded in 2015 the foundation "une école pour tous" (www.une-ecole-pour-tous.com) to help poor children in Cúcuta (city of origin of Eugenia) to attend school.
He gets his American baccalaureate (Grandview High School, Kansas City, USA) in 1991 and federal maturity type C at Sainte-Croix High School in 1993.
He studied for 3 years musicology (with Prof. Tagliavini), a modern history and contemporary history at the University of Fribourg before turning completely to music.
He speaks French, English and German.
... as flutist
Christophe got his teaching diploma (2000) then his concert diploma (2002) at the Hochschule für Musik und Kunst in Bern with Prof. Christian Studler. He also studied piccolo with Raymond Hutin and Cornelia Zehnder (former and current piccolo of the Bern Symphony Orchestra). It also benefits from the advices of great flutists such as Aurèle Nicolet, Trevor Wye, Matthias Ziegler... In Chamber music he had the privilege to work with teachers such as Siegfried Palm, Bruno Canino, Jürg Ewald Dähler...
In 2000 he was hired by the Fribourg Conservatory as flute teacher. In 2001 he won the competition to become an intern at the Berne Symphony Orchestra. In 2002, he became solo flute in the Cairo Opera Orchestra (he takes a year off in his job at the Conservatory of Fribourg). In 2003, on his return from Egypt, it substitutes one year as piccolo with the Berne Symphony Orchestra. Since 2004, he is regularly asked for replacements with: the Berne Symphony Orchestra, the Wiener Concert Verein, the Zurich Opera, the Symphony of Biel, the Fribourg Chamber Orchestra...
In 2005, he plays as 1st flute with the 100th anniversary orchestra of the Fribourg Conservatory. That same year he became solo flute in the Orchestra of the Festival of the Jura (Orchestra that regularly accompanies the greatest soloists: Barbara Hendricks, Volodine, Maurice André, Maurice Steger...). In 2009 he played as solo flute with the Montreux Jazz Festival Orchestra concerts at the Miles Davis Hall (Montreux Jazz Festival) and the KKL (Blue Balls Festival) with Anthony and the Johnsons. Even freed from the obligations of military service, he is called on several occasions (concerts, tour, recordings) by the Swiss army professional wind symphony orchestra (Armeespiel), mainly under the direction of Jan Cober, first as piccolo and then as solo flute. In 2011 and 2013 he plays in the productions of the opera Louise in Fribourg. From 2008 to 2016, he is the Dean of the Woodwind department at the Fribourg Conservatory. Since 2016, he gives masterclasses in Kiev and advices talented young flutists. In 2017, he plays the world premiere of the flute concerto of the Ukrainian composer Alexander Rodin with the Kiev Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Bogdan Plish at the Philharmonic of Ukraine in Kiev. He is a member of the ensemble Triade: this ensemble was founded in 1998. They performed a concert tour in Argentina during which they became honorary citizens of Mar del Plata, Piazzolla's city. They performed with soloists dancers from the Béjart Ballet Company and with the famous tango singer Silvana Deluigi. They recorded 2 CDs devoted to Piazzolla for the label "Classico." He is also member of the wind quintet with piano Melini (the oboist Jean-Jacques Goumaz, solo oboe in the opera Mannheim, the bassoonist Philippe Reinhard, bassoonist of the Mannheim Opera, the horn player Elia Bollinger, horn of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the clarinettist Antoine Joly, former clarinet solo of the Cairo Opera Orchestra, and the pianist Eric Cerantola).
In chamber music, he had the privilege to share the stage with wonderful musicians: Christian Studler (flute), Philipp Jundt (flute), Christoph Borter (guitare), Filipe Johnson (violin), Arnaud Pairier (clarinet), …
He participated in recordings for singers and soundtracks (Gustav, jingle for Orange, the castle of Gruyères, Puy du Fou multimedia,...).
... as a conductor
Christopher begins studies of wind band conducting with Hervé Klopfenstein at the Fribourg Conservatory, then turns to orchestra conducting with Dominique Roggen (former student of Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa in Boston) at the Hochschule in Bern. Subsequently he was selected to study in Estonia with 2 of the greatest conductors, Paavo Järvi and Neeme Järvi. In 2003, Christophe conducts the Arvo Pärt's "Stabat Mater" at the "biennials Bern'03. That same year, the Jeunesses Musicales in Switzerland calls him in order to take over the artistic direction of an international youth orchestra camp. In three years he contributed to make of this orchestra a growing success. At the Belluard Bollwerk International Festival 2004, he conducts the concert "Urfdesude Kollektiv" (concert of techno music with a classical orchestra). In 2005, with professors of the Fribourg Conservatory, he conducts 'Variety' of Kagel. He will conduct afterwards teachers of the Fribourg Conservatory for 3 other major projects. In 2004 he conducted the musical "Dracula". In 2005 he conducts the Lausanne Sinfonietta at the concert dedicated to the Young Gods at the Montreux Jazz Festival. From 2005 to 2008 he conducted the Fribourg conservatory "ensemble orchestral". In July 2006, he conducts the Pärnu City Orchestra and soloists of the Bolshoï opera (Moscow) during a live broadcast on the Estonian radio
In November 2006, he conducts for the first time the Liatoshinsky Ensemble for Classical Music in Kiev in Ukraine: since then he's been working with this professional orchestra for 4-5 concerts a year, as conductor or as a soloist. That same year he became artistic director of the "" Kiev International Conductors' Festival "(ICF Kiev), annual festival during which he selects, follows, coaches and advises promising young conductors.
From 2008 until 2018 he has been the conductor of the Fribourg Conservatory Orchestra.
He has been the conductor of numerous windbands in the State of Fribourg between 1998 and now (the youth band EJIG, Plasselb, Fribourg Police band, Orsonnens, Le Paquier, Corps de musique de la ville de Bulle, and the « excellence » windband La Gérinia de Marly).
From 2006 until 2021 he has been a member of the music commission of the Fribourg State Windband Association from which he received the title of honorary member. He is regularly requested as expert or jury for competitions (regional, national and international) and examinations. He has been a member of the jury (specialist in the field of music) of the Grand Prize Migros Neuchâtel-Fribourg from 2009 until 2018.
On the private side, he is married with the Colombian-born pianist Eugenia Rody and is father of a 10 years old boy, Matthieu.
They are owners of a chalet they renovated in Ferpicloz, near Fribourg. With his wife, they founded in 2015 the foundation "une école pour tous" (www.une-ecole-pour-tous.com) to help poor children in Cúcuta (city of origin of Eugenia) to attend school.