Damien Top (born 13 July 1973, in Rouen) is a French tenor, musicologist and conductor, and is artistic director of the International Albert Roussel Festival.
Many contemporary composers have created works for him, including Jacques Chailley, who has proclaimed, "...l'art de Damien Top est exemplaire," as well as Isabelle Aboulker, Françoise Choveaux, Suzanne Joly, Alain Feron, Anthony Girard, Wally Karveno, Philippe Malhaire, Max Pinchard, Jean-Christophe Rosaz; the American Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee, Joni Greene, Isaac Schankler, the Belgian Marcel Cominotto, the Swiss Jean-Luc Darbellay, the New Zealander Edwin Carr, the Dutch composer Harry Cox, the Romanian Horia Surianu and the Australians Houston Dunleavy,[1] Peter Tahourdin,[2] Robert Trumble and Felix Werder.
In his programs, he focuses on the music of our time, rediscovering many neglected works of Albert Roussel, Vincent d'Indy, Claude Delvincourt, Jørgen Jersild, Hans Eklund, George Enescu, Claude Guillon-Verne, Jean-Louis Martinet, Pauli Sandagerdi, Bohuslav Martinů, Christophe Looten,[3] Otmar Macha, Touve Ratovondrahety, José Soler Casabon, Peter Tahourdin and Maurice Thiriet.
Son of the poet Andrée Brunin, Damien Top gives poetry recitals (Alliance Française of Sydney, University of Melbourne, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Wo International Center at Punahou School), exploring a wide range of song texts and introducing the audience to the poetry of our time (Anthologie de la poésie française, Poètes féminins contemporains, Centenaire Paul Verlaine (1844–1876), etc.).
Member of the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique (SACEM), his compositions have been played in France, Belgium, Italy and in the United States.