Societe Generale and Gautier Capuçon reveal the route for the second un été en france festival

Created in 2020 to address the cultural vacuum caused by the health crisis, the travelling festival Un Été en France (“A summer in France”) is an initiative imagined by Gautier Capuçon to ensure that as many people as possible have access to classical music.

The latest edition, co-produced with Societe Generale, will be held from 15 July to 4 August 2021. Twelve French cities will welcome 27 young artists, musicians and dancers, and six orchestras of pupils from the Orchestre à l’École initiative (“Orchestra at school”), for the first part of the concerts organised by Gautier Capuçon. These concerts will be completely free for the public.

This latest edition of the Un Été en France travelling festival is a unique cultural initiative, created by Gautier Capuçon and Societe Generale to be a springboard for young artists. It is also an opportunity for different generations to come together in the enjoyment of music thanks to the Orchestre à l’École association: six school orchestras, made up of pupils aged from around 10 to 14 years old, will perform on six exceptional dates during the tour.

Gautier Capuçon, cellist, says: “This travelling festival was an extraordinary personal and musical adventure for me in 2020, enabling us to reach an audience that doesn’t always have access to music. At the auditions this year we discovered very talented young artists, excited to finally return to the stage and meet with an audience! Our company will play to all types of audiences in six French regions and offer a varied repertoire of free concerts made up of classical works, opera arias, film music, well-known French songs, etc. – with the prospect of fantastic musical experiences, after being deprived of culture for so long.”

“For more than 30 years, Societe Generale has supported the practice and promotion of classical music to all audiences, especially the youngest, throughout France. We have continued to support culture throughout this terrible time. In view of the continuing health crisis, it seemed natural to us to support this tour in order to revive culture in French towns and villages. We wanted to offer opportunities to young professional artists who have been particularly badly affected for over a year. We are also very happy to welcome the children of the Orchestre à l’École association, of which we are a major and dedicated sponsor,” explains Caroline Guillaumin, Director of Human Resources and Communications at Societe Generale group.

Twelve cities will host concerts during the Un Été en France tour: Chateaugiron, Le Conquet, Calais, Estaires, Avioth, Creutzwald, Saint-Priest La Roche, Fareins, La Ciotat, Arles, Caussade and Mazères.

A panel of judges comprising recognised artists, along with Societe Generale, chose 27 artists – 16 musicians and 11 dancers – following three days of auditions. The musicians will participate in a three-day master class with Gautier Capuçon on 26 April and 12 and 13 July. The dancers will meet from 26 to 31 July to work on a choreography created by Sébastien Bertaud (dancer and choreographer) especially for the performance in Arles on 1 August. Manola Alba (former dancer, Gyrotonic & Gyrokinesis instructor) will also co-host the master class dedicated to dance.

During the six concerts, orchestras from the Orchestre à l’École association – of which Societe Generale is the main sponsor and Gautier Capuçon the ambassador – will also perform on stage. The association enables 40,000 primary and secondary pupils from all backgrounds to discover instruments and play in an orchestra during school time. A genuinely cultural, educational and socially responsible project, the Orchestre à l’École initiative enables children to share an experience of personal and collective fulfilment, to develop personally and academically and to integrate better into society. The project’s six orchestras, which will play as part of Un Été en France will benefit from three days of preparation funded by the “Cultural and Learning Holidays” via the French Ministry of Culture.

Judges for the music auditions

• Hugues Borsarello, violinist
• Gautier Capuçon, cellist
• Shani Diluka, pianist
• Caroline Guillaumin, Human Resources and Communications Director, Societe Generale
• Emmanuel Hondré, Concerts Department Director, Paris Philharmonic 

With the exceptional participation at the auditions of Natalie Dessay.

Judges for the dance auditions

• Manola Alba, dancer and Gyrotonic instructor
• Sébastien Bertaud, dancer and choreographer
• Gautier Capuçon, cellist
• Dorothée Gilbert, principal dancer
• Hafida Guenfoud Duval, Brand and Cultural Patronage Director, Societe Generale
• Ulrich Mohrle, Director of Mécénat Musical, Societe Generale’s cultural patronage association

The 16 winning musicians

• Kim Bernard, piano 
• Emile Carlioz, horn 
• Lucie Fayolle, trombone 
• Mélanie Laurent, harp 
• Vincent Martinet/Lilian Lefebvre, clarinet & piano 
• Julie Nguyen, piano 
• Rachel Sintzel, violin 
• Lisa Strauss/Théo Ould, cello & accordion 
• Sao Soulez Larivière, viola 
• Arthur Viramoutou, oboe 
• Yu Yuan, flute 
• Trio Zarathoustra (Thomas Briant – violin, Eliott Leridon – cello, Théotime Gillot – piano) 

The 11 winning dancers (only in Arles) 

• Younès Attoum
• Alexia Barré
• Léa Fouillé
• Aurélien Hoguet
• Aurélien Jeandot
• Mathis Joubert
• Sofia Lacava
• Clara Polaniok
• Thalys Poncione
• Léa Pougheon
• Morgane Thomas

Press Contacts : 
Amandine Grison +33 1 41 45 92 40 amandine.grison@socgen.com 
Marianne Gaussiat +33 6 62 49 35 30 mgaussiat@sequenza-comprod.com