Containment is a false note. A re-containment is a cacophony. Or worse: silence! The Gradus Ad Musicam (GAM) formation is so affected that it is not sure to recover.
“All musical groups are currently suffering, that’s for sure. But our training is unique in that we depend 75% on our own funds, ”underlines its founder, François Légée. “But without a concert, there is no cash flow. And there, it became extremely tense. “
A singular formation, too, in that it allows a choir of amateurs to rely on an orchestra of musicians, most of whom are either pros or have the level. A workforce of up to 180 people in total. “A rare alchemy that has existed for 38 years! »With the capacity to put on about twenty concerts each year.
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There’s € 18,000 outside
An alchemy however put in real danger after the various blows of fate inflicted by this pandemic year which in particular deprived the GAM of all its summer concerts. “Fortunately, we managed to give two concerts before confinement, in Poirel and Saint-Fiacre. But in both cases, we made them because we wanted to stay present. Only in history we have lost money. As a result, we currently have € 18,000 outside! », Deplores François Légée. “And we have reached the point where, indeed, the question of the sustainability of the structure arises. “
In reaction, they have already given up their office in the old town, canceled the Internet subscription and sold “everything we could sell!” And again, we benefited from € 5,000 in donations from our own subscribers. This is what has saved us so far ”.
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The GAM was able to play twice
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“No one has failed! “
Alas the announcement of the reconfinement threw everyone in astonishment and the unknown. “We still have the impression that culture is the least of the concerns of the State,” bitterly regrets President Monique Maj. “While in the choir, no one has failed! We sang just masked, and from a distance. “
If people do not want to or can no longer meet, come together, a whole society will collapse.
Francois Lege
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With this additional difficulty that social distancing is incompatible with the rooms that the Gradus had until now to rehearse. Except in small groups.
In order not to throw away the conductor’s baton at the same time as the sponge, the Gradus Ad Musicam has nevertheless tried to project itself into the future, by establishing a program running until August 2021. It calls on communities for help.
“Human structures are fragile”, wishes to remind François Légée. “If people do not want to or can no longer meet, come together, a whole society will collapse. »He would like a new requiem not to be composed …
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