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Through the voice, an instrument that everyone possesses, vocal art is essentially the art of sharing and mutual listening. At the heart of the choral plan, national vocal art centers must become the pillars of this universal artistic practice.
Minister of Culture in 2019, during the announcement of the creation of the national program for vocal arts centers
In 2019, as part of its national program to promote vocal art, the Ministry of Culture designated Les Éléments as the Vocal Art Center for the Occitanie region, giving new impetus to its regional presence and enabling it to network nationally across six regions with the other Vocal Art Centers, Accentus, Musicatreize, Spirito, the Radio France Choir, and the Cité de la Voix de Vézelay.
This project encompasses not only the choir's production and dissemination, artistic and cultural education initiatives, the promotion of amateur practice, and the sharing of its musicological resources. It also opens new doors for teaching, training, and collaboration with regional organizations.
Becoming a Vocal Arts Center has prompted Les Éléments to develop a genuine policy of promoting and sharing vocal arts with all audiences and across all regions, and to pursue their artistic and cultural project along the following lines:
- Promoting vocal art in all its forms by supporting creation, production, dissemination, and recording through commissions for new works, but also by promoting the repertoire of past centuries.
- Working to raise the profile of vocal art by developing artistic partnerships at the regional, national, and international levels.
- Accompanying and supporting an ambitious artistic and cultural education and transmission program for school audiences, singers in initial and continuing training, and amateur singers.
- Sharing all of its musical, musicological, and educational resources
Six centres for vocal arts in France
Accentus is a leading name in the world of vocal music. Founded 26 years ago by Laurence Equilbey, this chamber choir is deeply committed to the a cappella repertoire, contemporary works, oratorio, and opera. Accentus performs in the most prestigious concert halls and festivals in France and abroad, including the Philharmonie de Paris, La Seine Musicale, Le Grand Théâtre de Provence, the Royal Opera and Royal Chapel of Versailles, the Salzburg Festival, and the Barbican in London.
Musicatreize was founded in 1987 by Roland Hayrabedian. Since then, the ensemble has championed the 20th-century repertoire, expanding and diversifying it with new works, bringing together different eras and aesthetics, and establishing itself as a leading force in musical creation in the south of France.
A professional chamber choir with variable geometry, the Spirito choir ranges from chamber music to intimate performances to large a cappella choirs, which it strongly favors.
The Cité de la Voix Vézelay / Bourgogne Franche-Comté is rolling out its project across the entire region, based in Dijon and Besançon. Its headquarters are located in the heart of the village of Vézelay.
Founded in 1947, the Radio France Choir is currently the only permanent symphonic choir in France. Composed of professional artists, it has a dual mission. On the one hand, it is the privileged partner of Radio France's two orchestras – the Orchestre National de France and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France – and collaborates regularly with the Maîtrise de Radio France. As such, its interpretation of the great works of the symphonic and operatic repertoire is recognized worldwide.
Since its creation in 1997 in Toulouse, the chamber choir Les Éléments has been pursuing a demanding musical project, ranging from early music to contemporary works, under the leadership of its founder Joël Suhubiette.
Training
Academy
Les centres nationaux d’art vocal se sont réunis autour de l’organisation d’académies de direction de chœur à destination des jeunes chefs de chœur français et européens. L'objectif est que les stagiaires puissent approfondir l’étude d’un répertoire spécifique avec chaque ensemble et chaque chef. Après une première édition en 2023, une nouvelle académie aura lieu de juin 2025 à juin 2026.
Masterclasse de direction de choeur - Joël Suhubiette et Les Eléments
Le partage des ressources
Cen, a resource platform dedicated to choral art.
Created by accentus, Cen provides the entire choral art community with information, insights, and working tools. The aim is to provide access to a range of resources, such as translations, recordings, pronunciations and even some scores of new works. When the national program of vocal arts centers was created, Les Éléments, Musicatreize and Spirito joined the project, enriching it with their own resources.