Conductor Ulysse Derrien is passionate about French repertoire, including well-known masterpieces and under-performed works by composers such as Boulanger and Schmitt. He collaborates with living composers and actively works to ensure overlooked modern works can be heard again in concert.

Ulysse recently made his debut with the Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra at the Rudolfinum in Prague to great critical acclaim. He was finalist of the 5th Almería International Conducting Competition and a semifinalist of the 21st Khachaturian International Conducting Competition. He has served as cover/assistant conductor for Fabien Gabel with the Malmö Symphony Orchestra, and for Tan Dun with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.

Ulysse was a Conducting Fellow at the 2024 Aspen Music Festival, collaborating closely with living composers such as Nico Muhly and Paul Novak, and participated in the 2025 Järvi Conducting Academy in Estonia. He has also worked with the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, Pärnu City Orchestra, Athens Philharmonia Orchestra, and the Beijing Central Conservatory Orchestra.

He was born in Paris, where he trained at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Paris before moving to New York, where he studies music and economics at the Bard College Conservatory of Music, on track to obtain two bachelors magna cum laude. He was mentored by Paavo Järvi, Johannes Schlaefli, Jorma Panula, James Bagwell, Robert Spano, Mark Stringer, Leonid Grin, Jane Glover, Nicholas McGegan, Rüdiger Bohn, Leon Botstein, Feng Yu and Michalis Economou.