Conductor and oboist François Leleux is celebrated for his irrepressible energy, exuberance, and musical clarity. Since the beginning of the 2025/26 season, he serves as Artistic Director of the Kammerakademie Potsdam, and Principal Guest Artist of the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra. Building on a distinguished career, this has included roles such as Artistic Partner of Camerata Salzburg, Artist-in-Association with Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, and Artist-in-Residence with orchestras including hr-Sinfonieorchester, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Berner Symphonieorchester, Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, and Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife.
François Leleux’s 2025/26 season highlights include guest appearances with Bamberger Symphoniker, Dresdner Philharmonie, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, Staatsorchester Hamburg and Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal.
As an oboist, Leleux has appeared with orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, SWR-Symphonieorchester and the Swedish Radio and NHK Symphony orchestras. A dedicated chamber musician, he performs worldwide with long-standing recital partners Lisa Batiashvili, Eric Le Sage, Emmanuel Strosser and his acclaimed sextett Les Vents Français.
Committed to expanding the oboe’s repertoire, François Leleux has commissioned works from Nicolas Bacri, Michael Jarrell, Giya Kancheli, Thierry Pécou, Gilles Silvestrini, and Eric Tanguy. In recent seasons, he has premiered "Souen Wou K'ong", an oboe concerto written especially for him by Laurent Petitgirard in 2022. He also premiered Thierry Escaich's Double Concerto for violin and oboe with his wife Lisa Batiashvili, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.
His recordings include "Bienvenue en France" with French composers of the 20th and 21st centuries (Warner Classics), an album with works by Bizet and Gounod (Linn), and Escaich's Double Concerto for violin and oboe (Pentatone). His album with works by Hummel and Haydn won an award. Other recordings include works by J. S. Bach and Mozart, as well as Strauss' Oboe Concerto.
François Leleux is Professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München.