Originally from Lyon, Yann Thenet studied for his bachelor's and master's degrees in Lausanne in the class of Jean-Louis Capezzali. Passionate about orchestral playing, he was appointed principal oboe of the Orchestre des Pays de Savoie in 2018, then assistant-principal and principal English horn of the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne in 2019. With the latter, he performed as a soloist in concertos by R. Strauss in 2023 and B. Martinu in 2025.

Member of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester from 2018 to 2021, he is regularly invited as principal oboe by orchestras such as the Orchestre National de Lyon, Philharmonia Zürich, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Bern Symphonieorchester, the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse and the Orchestre de l'Opéra de Lyon. As principal English horn, he is invited by the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France or the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg.

With these various ensembles, he has had the opportunity to perform in the most prestigious European concert halls, alongside conductors such as Herbert Blomstedt, David Zinman, Jonathan Nott, Klaus Mäkelä, Daniel Harding, Daniele Gatti, Tugan Sokhiev and Vladimir Jurowski.

Eager to continue his development, in 2025 he enrolled in a post-master's programme (Masterclass programme) in Nick Deutsch's class at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig, and also obtained a trial as principal oboe with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.