Born in Paris, Alain Pâris was trained as a pianist and has a law degree.
He studied conducting with Pierre Dervaux, Paul Paray and Georg Solti and won the First prize at the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors in 1968.
He has been invited to perform in Germany (Dresden and Karlsruhe), Switzerland (bands from French-speaking Switzerland and Italian-speaking Switzerland), Italy, Spain, Portugal, Finland, Russia, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Greece, Turkey, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, Mexico, Argentina (Buenos Aires Teatro Colón), South Africa, China, Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore... a total of 90 orchestras in more than 50 countries.
Sought after for his knowledge of the French repertoire, he also gives masterclasses in all these countries and sits on juries for international competitions.
He created or directed the first audition of works by Philippe Chamouard, Hugues Dufourt, Mikołaj Górecki, Iyad Kanaan,[3] Bechara El-Khoury, Bruce Mather, Piotr Moss, Tristan Murail, Jacques Offenbach, Luis de Pablo, Yoshihisa Taïra, Tōru Takemitsu.