Holder of a doctorate in singing (Music: Research and practice), masters in chamber music and pedagogy from the National Conservatory of Music and Dance in Lyon, Jean-François ROUCHON studied in the singing class of Brian Parsons before working with the pianist and conductor Michel Tranchant. As part of the Erasmus program, he studied at the Guildhall school of music and drama in London. Finally, he followed for many years the teaching of the German baritone Udo Reinemann, notably in the class of interpretation of the lied and the melody at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.

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It was there that he was able to benefit from the advice of many leading singers and pianists: Hartmut Höll and Mitsuko Shirai, Sarah Walker, Wolfgang Holzmair, Helmut Deutsch, Françoise Pollet, Rudolph Jansen, Roger Vignoles, Maciej Pikulski... Subsequently he worked with the baritone Thomas Quasthoff.

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Directing his activities as a singer very early on towards the repertoire of chamber music, he won the Prize for French Melody at the European competition in Mâcon and, in 2009, the 2nd Prize at the International Lied and Melody Competition in Enschede (Netherlands).

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His concerts and recitals take him to many venues and festivals in France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, China, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Japan, alongside pianists Jamal Moqadem, Billy Eidi , Michel Tranchant or Noël Lee. He also performed as a soloist with an orchestra, such as at the Folle Journée de Nantes, where he performed Gustav Mahler's Rückert-Lieder, at the Festival des Heures Romantiques, where he sang the Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen by the same composer. He has been heard on France-Musique in programs and concerts devoted in particular to the musicians of Paul Verlaine, to the lieder of Hugo Wolf or even within the vocal quartet Amadis, of which he is a founding member.

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His activities as a concert performer naturally extend to the field of oratorio. In particular, he frequently sings the Johannes Passion, Matthäus Passion and numerous JS Bach cantatas with baroque ensembles. His vast repertoire also includes classical (Die Jahreszeiten by Joseph Haydn, Mass in C by WA Mozart), romantic (Requiem by Gabriel Fauré, Ein deutsches Requiem by Johannes Brahms) and contemporary works.

On the lyrical stage, he specializes in Mozart roles (Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte) and in French opera (Ramiro in L'Heure español by Maurice Ravel, Le Mari in Les Mamelles de Tirésias by Francis Poulenc, Des Grieux in Le Portrait de Manon by Jules Massenet, Boniface in Angélique by Jacques Ibert). He sings many times the title role of Pelléas et Mélisande by Claude Debussy. His repertoire also extends to baroque opera  (Æneas in Dido and Æneas by Henry Purcell) and contemporary creation (Marlowe, in the world premiere of Tenebræ by Arnaud Petit).

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Passionate about artistic education and vocal pedagogy, Jean-François Rouchon holds a certificate of aptitude and has been teaching singing and vocal chamber music for more than a dozen years in regional conservatories. After beginning his career at the CRR of Toulon-Provence-Méditerranée, he is now full professor at the CRR of Cergy-Pontoise in the Paris region, and visiting professor at the CRR of Nantes. At the same time, he regularly gives masterclasses in France and abroad, notably at the International Summer Academy in Nice, Osaka and Tokyo.

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His doctoral work on the melodies of Charles Bordes was rewarded in 2016 with the Prix du Mozarteum de France. He is currently collaborating in the critical edition of the melodies of this composer who was one of the great figures of French musical life at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.