Sébastien Plata was born in Medellin, Colombia. He began his musical and clarinet studies at the Red de Escuelas de Música in the same city, and later with Elizabeth Isaza at the University of Antioquia, where he obtained a Master’s degree in Clarinet. In 2009 he settled in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and was accepted into the class of the prestigious French maestro Olivier Dartevelle, and solo clarinetist of the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra at the Conservatory of the Luxembourg capital.
In 2011, his undergraduate recital was laureate and he graduated with honors from the Luxembourg Conservatory. Later he studied with Thorsten Johanns, current professor of clarinet at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt, Weimar and Clarinetist at the WDR Köln. At the Maastricht Conservatory, the Netherlands, where he received a Master’s degree in Interpretation.
In addition to this, Sebastián has received numerous awards, among which the following stand out: Winner of the First National Clarinet Competition in the youth category held in Bogotá-Colombia in 2006, with French clarinetist Philippe Berrod as president of the jury, current clarinet professor at the National Conservatory of Paris; He also received special recognition at Bourglinster Castle for being the first Colombian guest in the history of his Chamber festival in 2012.
Principal clarinet soloist of the Luxembourg Sinfonietta, a chamber orchestra especially recognized for being in charge of the world premiere of contemporary music pieces by European and Asian composers, and with which it toured Asia in Hong Kong and Chengdu, Wuhan
Sebastián has been a permanent collaborator and soloist with different orchestras in Germany, Luxembourg and his native Colombia. He was specially commissioned for the world premiere of Olivier Dartevelle’s creation “d’une rive à l’otre” conversations for clarinet and orchestra, together with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, for which he received the best reviews, being listed as a clarinetist of international stature by the Luxembourg press, and transcending borders to Colombia, where an extensive press article in the newspaper El Tiempo was dedicated to him, due to his incredible success.
In addition, he has been a teacher at the Etelbruck Conservatory in Luxembourg, the University of Antioquia, and the Network of Music Schools of Medellín in Colombia. He has been invited to offer master classes at the University of Antioquia and the EAFIT University in Colombia, and the Wuhan Conservatory in China.
In 2020, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Colombian Ministry of Culture recognized Sebastián for being an outstanding Colombian in his artistic activity. In the same year he was invited to the Agora Chamber Music Festival in the castle of Vianden Luxembourg.
Currently, Sebastián is a clarinetist in the Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra and has taught in the Grand Duchy for several years, to children, youth and adults of different nationalities around the world. At St. George’s School, the International School of Luxembourg and at The European Schools.
