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The French composer and pianist, Karol Beffa, undertook both a liberal and musical education after working as a child actor bet-ween the ages of 7 and 12. Among his roles he portrayed an eight-year-old Mozart in a television film by Marcel Bluwal. He was awarded degrees in history, English, philosophy, and mathematics in addition to 7 first prizes at the Paris Conservatory. Ranking 1st in the French music education accreditation competition (or Agrégation), he taught at the Sorbonne and later at the École Polytechnique. In 2003, he received a doctorate in musicology, and was appointed associate professor at the École Normale Supérieure (Ulm) the following year.
As a pianist, Karol Beffa has appeared as a soloist with orchestra on seven occasions and regularly accompanies silent films. With pianist Lorène de Ratuld, he has formed a duo that specializes in works from the repertoire as well as improvisations on themes chosen by audience members. As a composer, his works have been performed in Europe and Asia, by various prestigious ensembles and orchestras. Some of his pieces are scheduled for performance at the International Young Artists Biennial festival in Turin and the Présences Festival in Paris. Since the fall of 2006, Beffa has served as composer-in-residence for the Orchestre National du Capitole.
Karol Beffa has held grants and received awards from the Institut de France (2001), the Fondation Lili et Nadia Boulanger (2001), the Académie Musicale de Villecroze, the Fondation Natexis (2002), and the Fondation Charles Oulmont (2005). He was a finalist for the Prades international composition festival in 2005.
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