Since her debut as soloist at age 12, Jeanne Hourez has appeared as soloist with such orchestras as the Orchestre Symphonique de Cannes, the Orchestre Symphonique Azuréen and the Orchestre Philharmonique des Musiciens de Montréal. She also performed numerous recitals in Europe, North America and Asia and participated in seasonal music festivals such as Jeunes Talents in Paris, Orford Musique in Quebec, the Festival International de Mandoline de Castellar, Candlelights Concerts in the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam, Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival.
Awards have included three Gold Prizes at the London Young Musician Competition (2021, United Kingdom), the 5th Prize of Harmonium OnlinePlus International Music Competition (2020, Armenia), Grand Prize and the Public Prize at the International Piano Competition Alain Marinaro (2015, France), Winner of the OPMEM Concerto Competition (2013, Canada), 1st Grand Prize of Aix-en-Provence National Competition (2009, France). In 2020, she was a Finalist of the Conero International Piano Competition, Semi-finalist of the Brancaleoni International Piano Competition and Semi-finalist of the Maestro Taiwan International Piano Competition.
An active chamber musician, Jeanne co-founded the Ensemble Benzaiten, the repertoire of which uniquely blends mandolin and piano. The ensemble has performed concerts and pluridisciplinary shows in several places in Europe (France, The Netherlands, Belarus) and Canada. In June 2018, the ensemble released a recording dedicated to Franz Schubert and Julie Thériault, a Canadian composer. They performed at the French National radio France Musique the same year. An equally passionate about new music, Jeanne has collaborated with young composers for several years. In 2020, she was awarded the 4th Annual Kristin Pankonin Award from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
A graduate of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris and the University of Montreal, Jeanne Hourez studied with George Pludermacher, Frank Braley and Dang Thai Son. Through her career, she had the chance to receive valuable advice from great musicians including Stephen Kovacevich, Michel Merlet, Jacques Rouvier, Jean-Claude Pennetier, Jane Coop, and Jean-Philippe Collard. After two years in the Bay Area and a post-graduate diploma from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, she is currently a DMA candidate at UT Austin under the tutelage of Anton Nel. Her research focuses on French female composers from the Belle-Epoque and she has presented several conferences about them in 2022 through the Music Teachers National Association, the Texas Music Teachers Association and the College Music Society.
In addition, Jeanne is a collaborative pianist for the voice department at University of Texas at Austin and holds a staff pianist position at University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. In March 2022, she received the Sidney Wright Endowed Scholarship in piano accompanying.