Help out at our classical music festival that runs every Summer in Burgundy, France

  • Favourited 247 times
  • Last activity: 28 Nov 2023

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: at least 3 weeks

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    We’re a classical music festival that runs in August every year in Burgundy, France. The Festival started 21 years ago with just a youth choir and has now expanded to include the Camerata Bohemia Orchestra of Prague, the Frivolités Parisiennes and other international and French musicians. 150 musicians (50 of them children from the youth choir), 15 concerts, 1 opera and an audience of 4,000 people : we have one month to put the festival together and make it a success !

    People of all ages take part in the festival: from 10 years old onwards, all united by their passion for classical music. We (the organising committee in charge of the association, composed by 20 women and men between 20 and 50) are looking for people who share our love of classical music to come help us out for a month, starting as early as possible in August (5th) and finishing on August 30th. The major part of your work will be making stage decor, advertising for concerts, helping to build stages in churches and a plenty things more ! Of course you could assist at every concerts.

    Don't worry, you will have resting times too, swiming moments or visiting monument day if you prefer. We can host as many as six people this summer, so if you’re looking to improve your French and make new friends, we’d be happy to welcome you ! Speaking french would be a bonus, even if the most of us speaks english, but all we really need is a can-do attitude. There’s not much left to do in terms of communication, it’ll really be on set that we’ll need help, during the festival itself.

    Music and fun are our communication tools :)

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Art Projects
    Language practice
    DIY and building projects
    General Maintenance
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    You will live three entire weeks with musicians days and nights, and you will assist any concert you want :)

  • Help

    Help

    The work you’ll be asked to help with will be extremely varied. It’ll range from helping put up posters and flyer the whole region to helping set up the light and sound system as well as the stage before each concert. It can be tiring work sometimes as the set can be heavy, but we all work together and get to enjoy free classical music concerts twice a day in exchange. The sets can sometimes be quite big: the closing concert for example takes place in one of the local churches with nearly 120 people on stage. We need to make sure the stage is secure and the sound and recording systems have been set up right. We’ll need help before concerts as well as after to bring the equipment back to the boarding school. All of the volunteers generally help out a little on the day of a concert to make sure everything runs smoothly, so if you like team-work as much as we do, you’ll love it here with us!

  • Languages spoken

    English: Fluent
    French: Fluent
    Czech: Intermediate
    German: Intermediate

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    All of the volunteers and artists (musicians and singers alike) sleep in a local boarding school in the village. It's usually two people per room, (generally with someone who has the same kind of schedule and needs to get up at the same time). It’s nothing fancy, and the living conditions and food are pretty basic, but there’s never a dull moment living in a community like ours. If you have your own sleeping bag, great! If not, we’ll provide one as well as clean linen and pillows. The boarding school has a big dining hall where we all have breakfast in the morning and party in the evenings. We have lunch and dinner all together in a local elementary school's lunchroom and if you're still hungry or want to buy some more drinks or food, there's a local supermarket. So we can’t promise you a four-star hotel, but we can promise you’ll never get bored! Most importantly: you'll have free beers at your disposal ^^

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    The festival is set in the heart of the stunning historical region of Puisaye-Forterre. Art and nature, castles, pottery and mural paintings: if any of this sounds appealing, the Puisaye-Forterre region has got it all covered! Sights in the region include the Saint-Fargeau Castle for instance, an imposing red brick castle from the fifteenth century. The amazing tour of the castle’s roof structure follows the visit of the furnished apartments. A “Sound and Light” pageant completes the sightseeing tour. Another incredible sight is the Ratilly Castle. Built in the thirteenth century, the Ratilly Castle was remodelled and enhanced during the Renaissance, in particular with the addition of a beautiful pigeon loft. This charming fortress surrounded by moats has accommodated a pottery workshop since 1951 and regularly hosts high quality cultural events. If you prefer nature to culture, unspoilt and flourishing nature is part of the charm of our countryside: arch-shaped vegetation canopies, natural ponds, well-maintained trails, panoramic views. You can also watch animals in the wild at the wildlife park in Boutissaint. Finally, if you ever find yourself missing city life, Auxerre is just a stone’s throw away. Auxerre is the capital of the Yonne department, and the fourth largest city in Burgundy. It’s famous for its production of Burgundy wine, including some wines you may have heard about such as Chablis, and is home to one of the most stunning Gothic cathedrals in France: the Saint-Etienne Cathedral. Burgundy is also well known for its gastronomy which you'll discover at the Toucy market.
    The Festival will open this year on August 18th with the first performance of the Opera "La Princesse de Trébizonde" by Offenbach. We will be quite busy from then on as the festival boasts one to two concerts a day. The first week however (from the 6th to 15th) is a lot more relaxed and you can expect some downtime to go explore the region. You'll need a car to get around as there aren't a lot of buses, but the festival works very closely with local residents who will be more than happy to help you decide what to visit and how to get there. If any of us are free at the time, we would love to take you around the area ourselves! It’s true our work can mean going to bed late and waking up early, but we always make sure we have time for card games, films and other group activities with other volunteers. If you have any more questions on what to do and how to get there, just send us an email and we'll happily provide you with more information!

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    More than two

  • ...

    Hours expected

    25 hours maximum

Host ref number: 698438321722

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