Having originally planned to take a physics degree, Julien Hervé decided at the age of 21 to devote himself to music instead and worked with Pascal Moraguès at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique (CNSM), Paris. An eclectic musician, he performs all kinds of music, and has created a patchwork musical life for himself, centered around the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, for whom he has been principal clarinet since 2008, playing under the greatest conductors in the world’s finest concert halls.
As a soloist, Julien has appeared with Rotterdam Philharmonic orchestra, Sinfonia Rotterdam, Prag Philharmonia, Lodz Philharmonic Orchestra ,Louisianna Chamber Orchestra, Les Dissonnances, Les Siècles, La Symphonie des Lumières, Orchestre régional de Cannes, Orchestre de Chambre de France, Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Madrid, Orchestre de Picardie... As chamber musician, he is very much in demand and performs in prestigious Festivals. He is a member of Het Collectief and Calliopée Ensemble, artistic director of the Rotterdam Chamber Music Society and of Festival International de Musique de Chambre de Thèze.
He is developping new material with the brand D'Addario and is a Buffet Crampon Artist.
In 2018 he has performed as soloist with Joyce DiDonato and Yannick Nézet-Séguin for the 100th anniversary of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, live broadcast by Medici.
His recordings have been acclaimed internationaly and his last recording as soloist with orchestra ("The Sound of Trees" by Camille Pépin) has been awarded by a "Victoire de la Musique".
Julien teaches the clarinet at the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp.