Say a few words about yourself
New York City based Musician, Composer and Educator Yvonnick Prene has performed around the world in places such as Switzerland, Paris, Los Angeles, West Indies, New York, Berlin and festivals including the Bern Jazz Festival, Lamentin Jazz Fest, Marciac Jazz Festival, CUNY Jazz Festival and Jazz on Ubaye.
He has also appeared at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, Smalls, Manhattan Center, Fat Cat, Miller Theater, Cornelia Street Cafe, Sunset Jazz Club, Duc des Lombards and The Iridium.
Born in Paris XV arrondissement, Yvonnick began his career in France at age 17, recording and performing around the world with some of today’s top musicians such as Manu Katche, Nate Smith, Ira Coleman, Tom Kennedy, Ben Street, Laurent de Wilde, Alexandre Tassel, Cyrille Aimee, Dave Glasser, Yotam Silbersten, Laurent Cugny, Freddy Bryant, Yaron Herman among others.
Yvonnick has garnered numerous awards that showcase his abilities as a performer and a composer. Among those he was awarded the first prize of "Trophées du Sunside" in Paris with the Scott Tixier Group 2007, he was selected to participate to the highly competitive Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Residency Program in Washington D.C, 2011. Moreover he was the first harmonica player to have been chosen to audition for the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute in Los Angeles. The jury included Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Jimmy Heat, Kenny Burrell and James Newton among others jazz legends.
Yvonnick was also awarded multiple full-tuition scholarships at The City College of New York, (MICEFA ,2007), Columbia University ( Alliance Program, 2008) and at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music (Merit-Based Scholarship, 2009) where he had the opportunity to study with Lee Konitz, Reggie Washington, John Patittuci, Peter Bernstein, Charles Persip, Kevin Hays, Charles Tolliver, Ben Street, Jerome Sabbagh, and Aaron Goldberg among others.
He earned in 2011 a Master’s degree in Music and Research at the Sorbonne University and a Bachelor of Fine Art from The New School.
In 2012 He signed with the Danish Label SteepleChase Records and recorded
"Jour de Fete" his Debut Album.
He is the founder of New York Harmonica School.
