University of Montreal: Student training with the Orchester Métropolitain
This text is part of the Higher Education special section
Master classes, guest artists, free concert tickets… these are some of the activities envisaged in a brand new collaboration between the Orchester Métropolitain (OM) and the Faculty of Music of the Université de Montréal (UdeM). This collaboration will allow students to learn professional experiences.
The mission of this initiative is mainly to create projects aimed at supporting musical influence, concludes Jean-Francois Rivest, full professor at the Faculty of Music at the University of Montreal. “It’s about creating collaborations, offering students opportunities to get to know works, conductors, musicians,” said the conductor and founder of the Orchester de l’Université de Montréal.
He believes that this new relationship between the two organizations will bring visibility to both OM and the Faculty of Music. He hopes that this cooperation can “serve as a model of partnership between a music education institution and an important player in the practical environment” by creating various projects.
On October 13, the first activity within the framework of the initiative took place. The head of the OM, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, came to conduct the University orchestra with 1.er movement Symphony No. 8 by Gustav Mahler. The training consists of young people participating in programs ranging from bachelor’s to doctoral degrees. ” [Yannick Nézet-Séguin] he was very happy. He even talked about it the next day at the rehearsal of the Orchester Métropolitain,” says Mr. Rivest.
And for students, it’s a way to find some satisfaction. “They were very enthusiastic. And as [Yannick Nézet-Séguin] it is very popular, it was effective for young musicians, says the professor. They were extremely proud of themselves because they were well prepared. »
And that pride boosts their motivation and increases their long-term commitment, adds Nathalie Fernando, dean of the University of Montreal’s Faculty of Music. According to the full professor of ethnomusicology, such partnerships allow for relationships that have a real impact on people’s lives.
Open to all faculties
The agreement between OM and the Faculty of Music at UdeM was born out of a “warm and dynamic dialogue and joint desire” to create such an initiative, the lady explains.I Fernando.
While the training given by Maestro Nézet-Séguin will primarily aim to engage students in playing an orchestral instrument, other activities will focus on students from other programs at the institution.
Translation students can also join OM for a concert or participate in another professional immersion project. Enrollees can, in turn, have their work read by OM as part of a business session. “There is an open door for young doctoral students in orchestral conducting to conduct composer recitals with OM,” adds Mr. Rivest.
Future master classes with guest artists such as singers or pianists will also reach more students, the professor believes. The donation of concert tickets will also enable all students of the Faculty of Music to benefit from this cooperation. “A student of electroacoustics or musicology can go and listen to a symphony concert because it’s good for his culture anyway! depicts the conductor laughing.
Later, music mediation projects will be offered to musicology students, while also serving to reach a wider audience outside the faculty, Mr. Rivest adds. “If you look at all the activities on offer, there’s something for everyone,” he says.
Three years of partnership…or more
The contract, which started this year, is for three years. “It’s three years on paper, but we’re open to longer,” says Mr Rivest. There are no restrictions; on the contrary, we are open to development. »
This collaboration is also part of the mission of the Faculty of Music to put young people at the center of the professional context, even if they have not completed their studies, continues Ms.I Fernando. “We will work out the details of the planned activities each year,” he says. He notes that Yannick Nézet-Séguin has expressed his desire to return to conduct a rehearsal of the University orchestra.
Mr Rivest adds that further discussions will take place after Christmas to organize other projects within the partnership. “During the second and third year, it will increase more and more,” he said.
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