Introduction to the Choir

The musical world of the Republican Guard also includes a world class chorale, the French Army Choir established in 1982.

Some 40 professional singers and piano accompanists make up this unique professional men’s choir in France. They sing under the direction of their conductors, Lieutenant-Colonel Aurore Tillac and her assistant Commandant Émilie Fleury.

The French Army Choir is not just a chorus of male voices; it is the official choir of the French Republic, like its instrumental cousin, the French Republican Guard Orchestra. The Choir performs in official contexts at the request of the State, in numerous annual commemorations in the presence of the President of the French Republic. But the Choir does not sing exclusively for governmental and military authorities: it goes regularly to meet a wider public everywhere in France. The Choir welcomes the invitations of concert halls, municipalities or charitable associations. These concerts are then an opportunity for the Choir to interpret its wide repertoire, ranging from French and foreign military songs to French popular songs, from opera to operette. These sublime men’s voices have been recorded and they have an extensive discography; their latest opus, Paris Je t’aime, was awarded the April 2019 RTL Gold Classic award.

The French Army Choir regularly collaborates with other French orchestras: the Republican Guard Orchestra, of course, but also the Pays de la Loire National Orchestra conducted by Pascal Rophé, the Orchestra Bordeaux Aquitaine, directed by Paul Daniel, Le Balcon Orchestra conducted by Maxime Pascal or the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Mikko Franck.