Skip Sempé

Harpsichordist and conductor Skip Sempé has a busy schedule as director of the ensemble Capriccio Stravagante, solo harpsichordist, educator, and recording producer. His performances include an unusual degree of improvisation on the harpsichord and with ensembles, he creates distinctive realizations of the continuo parts. Sempé has a substantial recording catalog as director of Capriccio Stravagante, continuo player, and soloist. The former group includes the album Dowland: Lachrimae; it appeared on the Paradizo label, which Sempé formed. Sempé was born on March 8, 1958, in San Diego, but grew up in New Orleans. He attended the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, studying music, the history of musical instruments, and art history. In the early '80s, Sempé continued his studies in Europe, notably with the pioneer harpsichordist Gustav Leonhardt. In 1986, he founded the ensemble Capriccio Stravagante in Paris; it is one of the more durable ensembles on the early music scene, and he has remained its director as of the mid-2020s. The members are an international group, chosen by Sempé personally. Sempé and Capriccio Stravagante soon attracted the attention of recording companies, and the group issued its debut recording, Henry Purcell: Airs and Instrumental Music, in 1992 on the DHM Deutsche Harmonia Mundi label. Capriccio Stravagante is unique in its flexibility, with performances including as few as three and as many as 70 individuals; in larger iterations, it is known as the Capriccio Stravagante Renaissance Orchestra, and it also has an operatic offshoot. Sempé often played the harpsichord in continuo realizations, which were distinctive, and some albums, such as William Byrd: Virginals & Consorts, featured him prominently. He also performs as a soloist. His performing résumé includes concerts at such major halls as Wigmore Hall, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and the Opéra Royal in Versailles, as well as tours of many countries in Western Europe and North America. Sempé has held artist-in-residence posts at Bozar in Brussels and at the Utrecht Early Music Festival. He founded the Paradizo label in 2006 and has issued several Capriccio Stravagante albums on it as well as duo harpsichord music with Olivier Fortin; he has also been artistic director of the Terpsichore Festival in Paris since 2014 and of the Piccola Accademia di Montisi in Italy since 2015. Sempé's releases with Capriccio Stravagante include Dowland: Lachrimae, which appeared in 2025. Sempé was named Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 2021. ~ James Manheim, Rovi