Guillaume Paoletti was born in the United States in 1968. He began his musical education at the CRR in Boulogne and was subsequently admitted to the CNSM in Paris, where he was unanimously awarded the first prize for cello and chamber music. He perfected his technique during two stays in the United States, under the guidance of Aldo Parisot at Yale University and Janos Starker at Indiana University. He has played under the direction of Bernard Haitink, Carlos Maria Guilini and Mstislav Rostropovitch. He has been a faculty member of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris since 1996 and was principal cello with the Chamber Orchestra of Paris from 1998 to 2016.
As a member of the Bartholdy Trio, he has been extremely active, winning four major international prizes (including the ARD in Munich), and collaborated with several grand masters, including Isaac Stern, Yo-Yo Ma and, Menahem Pressler. He is a past member of the Arpeggione Quartet, and the Hoboken Trio’s cellist, alongside Jérôme Granjon on piano and Saskia Lethiec on violin. He has performed as a soloist on many occasions (Beethoven’s Triple concerto, Brahms Double concerto, Saint-Saëns and Elgar Concertos) at prestigious venues in Saint-Petersburg, Berlin and Paris (Théâtre des Champs-Elysées under the direction of John Nelson), and at the Colmar Festival. His discography includes many recordings with the Chamber Orchestra of Paris (OCP) — two records dedicated to the work of Schubert, including the famous Trout Quintet, a solo recording of Fauré’s Elégie with the OCP and a recording of work by Smetana and Dvorak with the Hoboken Piano Trio.