It’s one of the last pre-concert rehearsals. On stage, 110 amateur instrumentalists selected for the 2022 edition of Viva l’Orchestra. They give their first concert on Sunday, May 29: amateur musicians supported by those of the Orchester national de France (ONF) at the Auditorium of Radio France, as part of the 8th edition of Viva l’Orchestra. A project that allows beginners or experienced amateurs to play in a symphony orchestra.
The amateur musicians have been working together for almost six months. Alongside them, 26 musicians from the Orchester national de France, such as flautist Joséphine Poncelin. “We, the winds, in rehearsal, we hardly play. We’re really just there to listen to them, give them advice, offer them things to simplify the somewhat complicated starts… Breathe well, things just right , setting up…”
Advice for musicians aged 9 to 73. At Viva l’Orchestra, there is no age barrier. You only need to have at least two years of musical practice. This is the case of Justine, 10, who has been playing the cello for three years. And the most complicated thing for her is to understand the chef, the Englishman Toby Thatcher. “I understand a few words, but not all of them. There is my teacher who is part of the ONF, who explains to me.”
At 73, Jean-François is the dean of the orchestra after years of classical guitar. He started the cello ten years ago and during the first rehearsals of Viva l’Orchestra, he was a little worried. “I wondered if I was going to hold on because the program is still, I find, very complete. At the technical level, everything is not so simple, you have to work a lot.”
A work rewarded because all say they have progressed. Viva l’Orchestra is as much a musical adventure as a human adventure, according to Marc Olivier de Nattes, co-creator of the project and violinist at the National Orchestra of France. “The first day of rehearsal, nobody knows each other. There is a kind of discovery of each other, and of the music, and of making music together. And that brings people together, that forms solidarity between generations, between professions. There are no social barriers. Everything has fallen, there, we are all musicians and whether we are 7 or 74 years old, we are all there in the service of the same cause : to give pleasure to the people who will come to listen to us and to develop as much musicality as possible on his instrument.”
And for Justine, Viva l’Orchestra may change her life. “Before, I wanted to be a scientist, but now I have decided to become a professional cellist later. Since Viva l’Orchestra!” In the meantime, there is a first concert this Sunday and a second on June 21, the day of the Fête de la Musique.