Born on 6 December 1927 in Boulbon, a small Provençal town, Jacques Bondon went to Paris at the age of 19 in order to study successively the violin with André Proffit, harmony and counterpoint with Georges Dandelot and Charles Koechlin, and composition at the Paris Conservatory with Darius Milhaud and Jean Rivier. His music is marked above all by intuition, sensitivity and emotion. His catalogue numbers some 70 works, including five operas and two oratorios. He has on several occasions been asked to compose music for large-scale spectacles such as the first fireworks display with synchronised music, on 8 May 1965 in Paris, or the official opening of the Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble in 1968. Throughout his career he has regularly been awarded distinctions such as the First Prize of the Nicolas Obouhov Competition (1957), the Grand Prix Musical of the Conseil Général de la Seine (1963), the Second Prize in the Prince Rainier III of Monaco Competition, the Grand Prix of the Académie du Disque Français (1972), or the Prix Henri Dauberville of the French Institute (1979).