AIX EN JUIN « OJM – 1984/2024 » SESSION

At the crossroads of the artistic workshop the outreach project, this creation is brings together 16 artists from the Orchestre des Jeunes de la Méditerranée (OJM) and local amateur participants of all ages and backgrounds. The program has been developed with Passerelles, the Festival d'Aix's cultural action department, committed to providing access to opera and the performing arts for as many people as possible.

This artistic creation is inspired by George Orwell's 1984, a dystopia particularly relevant today. Together, artists and amateurs question the main values that structure societies, in dialogue with the 40-year history of the OJM, founded in 1984. From its unifying dimension to its role in our societies, what does the future hold for the OJM for the next 40 years?

16 young musicians from all over the Mediterranean basin, grouped into 4 quartets, will take part in the residencies within educational institutions and medical/social facilities: the Jas de Bouffan secondary school, the Metropolitan Apprentice Training Center (CFA métropolitain Campus des métiers), the Jas de Bouffan « résidence autonomie » in Aix-en-Provence, and the adult daycare center L'Astrée in Marseille.

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With the aim of including a wide variety of audiences in the life of the Festival d'Aix, and offering cultural initiatives in tune with the local area, the Passerelles department works with more than 190 associations, educational, health and social structures, inviting them to discover, practice and co-create with professionals.

PERFORMANCES

• June 21 – Schedule to be confirmed – venues: Collège Jas de Bouffan (Aix) / Résidence autonomie Le Jas de Bouffan, Aix-en-Provence / Foyer de l'Astrée, (Marseille).
• June 22, 7 pm - Festival d'Aix / Aix en juin – public space downtown Aix-en-Provence
  

RESIDENCY PROGRAM

June 10 to 22, 2024
Travel days on June 9 and 23, 2024

• June 10 and 11: meeting of the 16 participants for the preparation of the residencies
• June 12 to 20: a quartet residency of composition/work in situ in the 4 structures associated with the project, with time for workshops/collective creation with the public of each structure.
• Public performances on June 21 in the partner structures and on June 22 in the public space as part of the Aix en juin program, a prelude to the Aix Festival.

MENTORSHIP

Violaine Fournier

Violaine Fournier is a singer, playwright and author with a particular affinity for the Mediterranean heritage. She is specialized in the creation of live shows aiming to raise musical awareness among the widest possible range of audiences, by opening up performance spaces and diversifying creations’ forms. Since 2022, she has been working on several participatory projects with Passerelles and the Orchestre des Jeunes de la Méditerranée.

Mark Withers

Mark Withers, who started his career as a clarinettist, has many years of experience as a mediator and coordinator of audience outreach projects, notably with the London Symphony Orchestra, as well as with a large number of institutions committed to making music accessible for all. For over 10 years, he has trained a large number of young artists from the Orchestre des Jeunes de la Méditerranée in audience outreach, and has collaborated on several participatory projects with the Passerelles department.