Every year for more than thirty years, the Eurochestries – international youth orchestra festival – resounds with orchestral music in the four corners of Charente-Maritime.
By inviting young musicians from around the world, the event is an unmissable event for performers and music lovers.
For this 33rd edition, 330 young people from 11 countries will give 60 concerts throughout the department. Among them, Ukrainians, Italians or even Brazilians with one and the same motivation: to share music.
Victor Teodosiev is Bulgarian. He is one of the five winners of the competition organized in the midst of a pandemic. His reward: eight concerts as a soloist, where he can share his passion for the horn. “I’m so happy, I’ve been waiting for this for two or three three months. Work with such good musicians, the quintet but also the conductor and the orchestra, it’s a pleasure. I am really happy to meet new people with an international level and to share our experiences”, he confides.
With five orchestras, a choir and seven chamber music ensembles, the Eurochestries attract many high-level young musicians. Two conductors are invited to work with the performers and the other conductors. Among them, the French Yves Bouillot, and the Japanese Yusuke Kimoto.
Guest of honor, the latter wishes to transmit his vision of music despite the language barrier. “Musicians are the keepers of time. Music is the best stopwatch. You also have to listen to each other, not just play but also listen to other people’s games. If I can’t say everything that with words, I can convey it with my wand”, he explains.
The first Eurochestries festival was launched in 1989 in Charente in order to promote the orchestral practice of young people aged 15 to 25, through international exchange. Building on its success, the concept has spread throughout Europe and around the world.
In 33 years of existence, 98 Eurochestries festivals were organized in France, Poland, Great Britain, Russia, Spain, Slovakia, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and also in China. More than 510 orchestras and choirs from 42 different countries participated. 2,500 concerts brought together thabout 490,000 spectators.
The Eurochestries concerts are offered to the public until August 12, 2022 in Charente-Maritime, but also in Gironde and Charente.