Born in 1956 in Saint-Chamond in the Loire, the Chief Musician of the Army, Jean-Michel SORLIN, began his musical studies at the Conservatoire de Saint-Etienne where he obtained first prizes in the following disciplines: flute, musical training, history of music, as well as the Grand Prix d'Honneur of the City of Saint-Etienne. He then continued his studies in Paris with R. Hériché (soloist at the Paris Opera) for the flute, and Mrs. Y. Desportes (First Grand Prix de Rome) for musical writing, as well as M.P. Scortino for orchestration. After a one-year assignment as Deputy Chief Musician in Tours, he passed the Military Musician competition in 1982 to take up the position of Deputy Director of the Military Conservatory of Music of the Army. In 1985 he took command of the Regional Music of the French Forces in Germany. On November 1, 1990, he left this formation, having worked as a conductor with Peter Sommer, First Conductor at the Karlsruhe State Opera, to once again occupy the position of Deputy Director of the C.M.M.A.T. Success in the Army Music Director competition in 1992 allowed him to take over the direction of the Principal Music of the Marine Troops.