A the age of six, Jean-Christophe Feldhandler discovers Pierre Chériza and his Haitian drums. At ten, he discovers Cosi Fan Tutte, Mozart and the opera… He starts learning the piano around the same time.
After meeting the composer Mauricio Kagel at the Centre Acanthes in 1981, he steers his musical career towards the intersection of artistic disciplines. He does not identify with a single musical genre, instead his influences are multiple, ranging from Renaissance polyphonic repertoire to Alban Berg, John Cage, Morton Feldman, Luigi Nono or free jazz…
Jean-Christophe Feldhandler is one of the founding members of the percussion quartet Hêlios, dedicated to the music of John Cage and new works for percussion by composers such as Kaija Saariaho, George E. Lewis, Jean Pierre Drouet, Vinko Globokar or Georges Aperghis. Together Hêlios recorded numerous records notably with the label Wergo, and played in many international festivals both in Europe and the USA.
He works across theatre, the visual arts, contemporary poetry, danse and the circus… As a composer whose work primarily consist of chamber music, solo pieces and opéra de poche, he enjoys exploring musical interpretation alongside figures from different genres, ranging from composed to improvised music. To name a few… Thierry Madiot, Vinko Globokar, Anne Gouraud, Martine Altenburger, Tiziana Bertoncini, Michel Doneda, Sophie Agnel, Michel Maurer, Claudine Simon, Jacques Rebotier, Vivien Trelcat, Christian Sébille, Philippe Foch, Lê Quan Ninh, Christophe Havard, Aurélie Maisonneuve, Géraldine Keller, Sylvie Deguy, Fabrice Arnaud-Crémon, Hélène Breschand, Jérome Joy, l’ensemble ]h[iatus, l’ensemble C Barré… His collaborations with various CNCM, and with Christian Sébille in particular, led him to compose many pieces with live electronics. At Athénor scène nomade (CNCM), he developed with Brigitte Lallier-Maisonneuve a musical and artistic research in relation to childhood. Some of his work has been recorded under labels such as MFA-Radio France, Vand’Oeuvres, Sub Rosa. He also leads workshops for different audiences (L’Aria Corse, CFMI Aix-Marseille, École de la seconde chance / Césaré, Athénor, Lycée Expérimental Saint Nazaire…).