The essentials An intensive course organized over 5 days in Arreau, in the Hautes-Pyrénées, allows young musicians from Gers to play together.
It is in Arreau, in the Hautes-Pyrénées, that, as every year for more than thirty years, young musicians from Gers meet for an intensive course, i.e. 5 days at the Oxygers center for hours of music where theory and practice are on the menu every day for its students from music and harmony schools linked to the French Musical Confederation (CMF) Gers (formerly Federation of musical societies of Gers): Auch, Cazaubon, Condom, Estang, Fleurance, L’Isle-Jourdain, Lectoure, Lupiac, Manciet, Marciac, Mirande, Montréal-du-Gers, Nogaro, Pavie, Plaisance, Riscle, Vic-Fezensac and musicians from outside the department (Montauban, Agen, Muret and the regional conservatory, CRR, of Toulouse).
Divided into two harmonies (the cadet harmony for the youngest who have three to four years of musical practice and the junior harmony for musicians with more than 6 years of training), the 75 musicians aged 12 to 33 are currently at work: sight-reading pieces on Sunday afternoons, then throughout the week, work by desk and orchestra rehearsals. Some young people, during their first internship, then discover work in desks and in ensembles.
Two concerts
For this 2024 session, Nelly Despax, president of the CMF Gers, has entrusted the musical direction of this course to Florent Lussan. At the end of this intensive music course (8 hours of musical work in music stands and orchestras per day), the two harmonies will offer the program worked on during 2 concerts given today, at 8:30 p.m., at the Mirande multipurpose hall, and tomorrow, at 8:30 p.m., at the Castillon-Debats village hall (free entry).
This course allows, during concerts, to show the public that amateur musical practice, and especially harmony practice, is well represented in the Gers, with gifted young people and attentive, competent teachers who are happy to give up their vacation time to pass on their knowledge and passion for music to the trainees.
