In December, Passeurs d’Arts were honoured to be visited by Gustavo Dudamel. Meeting at the Conservatoire a rayonnement regional de Paris, Passeurs d’Arts teams from across the country came together for this very special occasion.
From the northern suburbs of Paris, the Garges lès Gonesse orchestra aroused the maestro’s emotions with a performance of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy in the same arrangement as that which he himself had played as a child.
Dudamel was also touched by the presence of the team and some young string players from the newly-formed Passeurs d'Arts Méditerranée, who had made the long trip up to the capital from Marseilles.
The Passeurs d'Arts Méditerranée team travelled up to Paris with some of their students & their parents to meet Gustavo Dudamel and the other Passeurs d'Arts formations
There were also some familiar faces on hand to greet the maestro. Passeurs d’Arts’ coordinating maestro, Yefren Carrero - whose siblings play in the Simon Bolivar Orchestra - enjoyed a particularly good understanding with Dudamel, both sharing a bond of common experience & a strong belief in music's power to improve society.
And, of course, the meeting wouldn’t have been complete without Passeurs d’Arts’ president, Jean-Claude Decalonne, who was on site to once more greet Dudamel on a visit to France. However, this time around the maestro was in town for the sake of visiting Passeurs d’Arts and his visit is yet another sign of the increasing acknowledgement which Jean-Claude’s Sistema-inspired philanthropic orchestras are receiving.
We fully concur with Dudamel in his gesture of support and congratulate Jean-Claude Decalonne and Passeurs d’Art for their hard work and for the success they are starting to enjoy.
To see for yourselves how Passeurs d'Arts are getting on, click on the video below, in which you can watch Passeurs d'Arts orchestras from Garges lès Gonesse (including the Cap Tutti orchestra), Bondy and Brittany and the musicians of Tutti Maestro (formed of teachers & friends of the Passeurs d'Arts orchestras) playing at their Christmas concert in 2017.
A happy gathering for young and old - the Passeurs d'Arts Christmas concert
To see more videos of the Passeurs d’Arts teams in action, visit their YouTube channel by clicking here.