[6] He won first prize in cello performance at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris.
[7] After returning from Paris, Desenne joined the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and was El Sistema's resident composer.
[7] On 4 September 2016, Desenne's work Hipnosis mariposa was premiered at The Proms[9][10] by Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.
In 2006, Desenne became a Fellow at Civitella Ranieri Center in Umbria, Italy,[11] and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2009.
[12] He wrote a weekly column on music for the Venezuelan national newspaper El Nacional.