2026 AU GRAND AIR SESSION

18 — 27 MAY 2026

For the fifth consecutive year, the “Au Grand Air” session is open to 4 young instrumentalists, singers from the Mediterranean basin.

Conceived as a true walking journey, punctuated by musical creations at the heart of the exceptional natural site of the Bibémus quarries, “Au Grand Air” is an invitation to creativity and sharing, seeking to bring artists and audiences together within a shared imaginary.

These musical walks are the result of a one-week advanced training session of the Orchestre des Jeunes de la Méditerranée, in partnership with Passerelles, the cultural action department of the Festival d’Aix, committed to enabling access to music for the widest possible audiences.

Led by actress and singer Violaine Fournier, with the collaboration of choreographer Ana Eulate, this session invites young artists from diverse musical backgrounds (classical music, jazz, traditional music of the Mediterranean, etc.) to compose this musical narrative specifically for the project, in dialogue with the environment and the history of the site, which they are invited to immerse themselves in. They thus become atypical guides, offering audiences a sensitive experience of this space, while inviting them to genuine artistic discoveries and encounters.

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This programme aims to strengthen young artists’ creativity, their awareness of respect for and enhancement of the environment that surrounds them, and their ability to interact with audiences.

“Au Grand Air” offers a unique discovery of the Bibémus quarries. Located in the heart of the Grand Site Sainte-Victoire, these former quarries were shaped by the extraction of stone blocks and made famous by the gaze that painter Paul Cézanne cast upon these landscapes and the Sainte-Victoire mountain.

PERFORMANCES

• Saturday 23 and Monday 25 May, 2026 : musical walks open to the public
• Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 May, 2026 : musical walks for Passerelles audiences

RESIDENCY PROGRAM

May 18 – 27, 2026
Travel days : May 17 and 28, 2026

PROGRAMME

• May 18–22 : creation session for the 4 selected artists, with mentoring by Violaine Fournier and Ana Eulate
• Saturday May 23 : 2 musical walks open to the public
• Sunday May 24 : day off
• Monday May 25 : 1 musical walk open to the public
• Tuesday May 26 : 2 musical walks for Passerelles audiences
• Wednesday May 27 : 2 musical walks for Passerelles audiences

MENTORSHIP

Violaine Fournier, singer, playwright and author, shares here her expertise in the creation of live performances aimed at raising musical awareness among the widest range of audiences, by stepping outside traditional performance venues and breaking down boundaries between performance spaces and creative forms. A unique professional development opportunity to place creativity at the service of exploring and enhancing an environment, to develop stronger interaction with diverse audiences (young people and adults), and to dare to create new forms and new stages.

Dancer, choreographer and pedagogue, Ana Eulate develops artistic research in which movement becomes a tool for relationship, listening and sharing with audiences. Her work explores the body in dialogue with spaces and environments, outside traditional performance frameworks. A collaborator with the Service Passerelles of the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence since 2016, she designs and supports artistic and educational projects that engage artists in a sensitive experience of place and foster a living, embodied interaction with audiences.

The Orchestre des Jeunes de la Méditerranée is seeking very high-level young artists with strong potential, either young professionals or completing postgraduate studies in one of the countries of the Mediterranean basin, who are aiming to become professional musicians.
This programme aims to support young artists in developing their creativity and acquiring new skills in artistic mediation and audience awareness.

ARTISTIC PRATICES

• Classical and/or improvised music (all styles: traditional Mediterranean music, jazz, etc.)
• Very good instrumental and/or vocal level – ease as an improviser
• All instruments and/or voice. Practice of musical arrangement and/or composition is an asset.

PROFILES

• Very strong instrumental or vocal technique and skills – sustained practice of musical improvisation, and possibly aptitude for arrangement and/or composition techniques
• It is not required to have been, or to be, a student in a higher education institution. An initial experience of intercultural and collective creation will be appreciated.
• Session open to artists aged 18 to 32, at the beginning of their professional career
• Proficiency in professional English required (working in an intercultural context)
• Sensitivity to mediation, with a desire to develop skills in engaging the widest possible audiences

 

APPLICATION

• Selection process based on applications (CV, cover letter, video and audio)
• Deadline: Friday 31 January, 2026  11:59PM (CET)

Apply

CONDITIONS

• The session takes place from May 18 to 27 (travel on May 17 and 28).
• Artists will be under a training agreement during the creative mentoring period from May 18 to 21, then under an employment contract during the performances with audiences (remuneration according to the CCNEAC Collective Agreement), on May 22, 23, 25, 26 and 27.
• For the duration of the session, the Festival d’Aix covers: accommodation in Aix, meals, one return trip to Aix-en-Provence, and the educational costs of the session.