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Démos
Equal opportunities through music
EducationÎle-de-France
With 60 €,
Démos finances:
1 violin bow(s) for a child from the Démos project
483 €15,000 €
14 Captains
Challenge
Today in France, access to musical practice is not egalitarian. This is particularly true in the so-called "urban policy" priority neighborhoods, as well as in rural areas far from cultural venues. And yet, musical activity is recognized as having highly beneficial effects for those who practice it, especially children, and practicing it as part of a group helps to strengthen "living together" within our society.
Solution
Faced with this observation, the Philharmonie de Paris is committed to offering every child, whatever their social situation, the chance to blossom in music. This is the aim of the Demos children's orchestra project, a genuine school for living together.
Today, there are more than 50 Demos orchestras throughout France. These orchestras bring together more than 5,000 children from working-class or isolated neighborhoods, who learn to play a musical instrument over a 3-year period.
The benefits for these children are immense: improved self-confidence, better concentration and attention span, enhanced listening skills and respect for others...
Recent result
Thanks to the support of donors through the "Donate to Démos" campaign, the Philharmonie de Paris has been able to equip children joining a newly created Démos orchestra with musical instruments every year for the past 8 years.
The money will be used for
The money raised will be used to equip the youngsters joining a Démos orchestra in 2023 with musical instruments, and to ensure the maintenance of the instrumental park, i.e. the upkeep of the instruments already in the hands of the children taking part in the project. With €40,000, a full Demos orchestra (i.e. 105 children) can be equipped with musical instruments (violins, cellos, trumpets, flutes, oboes...).
Goal
Thanks to this project, more than 105 children participating in a new Démos orchestra will be able to receive their first musical instrument, and discover music within a symphony orchestra.
They will participate for 3 years in the project with 4h of weekly rehearsal, a big rehearsal once a month, and a big end-of-year concert in an emblematic venue in their area.
At the end of Démos, 50% of children continue music at the conservatory or a partner music school.
At the end of Démos, 50% of children continue music at the conservatory or a partner music school.
221 avenue Jean Jaurès, 75019 Paris, France
Taking your place in the orchestra and in life
Démos offers free musical and orchestral training over a 3-year period. It is aimed at children aged 7 to 12 living in priority neighborhoods or in rural revitalization zones that are distant, for social, cultural, economic or geographical reasons, from existing practice venues.
Each orchestra is made up of 105 children from the same département. It is led by a project manager, a pedagogical referent, a social development officer and an orchestra conductor. The children in each orchestra are divided into 7 groups of 15 children each, with two musicians and a social worker. Each child takes four hours of group lessons a week at his or her social center. The children rehearse together once a month. Each year, a major concert is organized at a local landmark.
There are now 50 Démos orchestras throughout France, including the French Overseas Departments and Territories.
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Since its creation, the Démos project has been the subject of impact studies to assess its social utility. You can consult them here: https://demos.philharmoniedeparis.fr/l-evaluation.aspx.
More generally, since 2016, the Cité de la musique - Philharmonie de Paris has been committed to the AFNOR certification process through the "equality between women and men" and "diversity" labels as part of a policy initiated by the Ministry of Culture and Communication for central administrations and all public establishments under its supervision. The establishment was awarded these two labels in 2018, following a demanding audit, for a period of 4 years, and is determined to pursue its efforts as part of a continuous improvement process.
Each orchestra is made up of 105 children from the same département. It is led by a project manager, a pedagogical referent, a social development officer and an orchestra conductor. The children in each orchestra are divided into 7 groups of 15 children each, with two musicians and a social worker. Each child takes four hours of group lessons a week at his or her social center. The children rehearse together once a month. Each year, a major concert is organized at a local landmark.
There are now 50 Démos orchestras throughout France, including the French Overseas Departments and Territories.
---------
Since its creation, the Démos project has been the subject of impact studies to assess its social utility. You can consult them here: https://demos.philharmoniedeparis.fr/l-evaluation.aspx.
More generally, since 2016, the Cité de la musique - Philharmonie de Paris has been committed to the AFNOR certification process through the "equality between women and men" and "diversity" labels as part of a policy initiated by the Ministry of Culture and Communication for central administrations and all public establishments under its supervision. The establishment was awarded these two labels in 2018, following a demanding audit, for a period of 4 years, and is determined to pursue its efforts as part of a continuous improvement process.
Photo credit: Maximilien MarieStrengthening Démos in medium-sized towns and rural communities
First set up mainly in urban policy districts in Île-de-France and regional metropolises, Démos orchestras have gradually been established in medium-sized towns and rural areas.
This is now one of the major orientations guiding the deployment of the Démos project throughout France. Interview with Gilles Delebarre, Delegate Director of the Démos project.
This is now one of the major orientations guiding the deployment of the Démos project throughout France. Interview with Gilles Delebarre, Delegate Director of the Démos project.
What led to this choice, and what are the objectives?
We wanted to pay particular attention to medium-sized towns and rural areas, so that the Démos project addresses the whole territory, beyond the major metropolises. As early as 2017, Démos was established in Kreiz Breizh and Thouarsais, which were followed by other territories afterwards... Today, therefore, we want to amplify a deployment dynamic that began several years ago.
Rural areas are faced with a certain geographical isolation, a lack of local facilities (be they musical or cultural institutions or social structures), a feeling of exclusion... By creating Démos orchestras in rural areas, medium-sized towns or small communes, the aim is to strengthen access to cultural offerings in these areas, create links between players and develop local artistic and cultural education policies, boost the appeal of the local authorities concerned and their facilities, and even ease any social and political tensions that may exist. Demos is thus positioned as a project for territorial cohesion, federating existing resources and giving impetus to a strong dynamic.
What levers do you rely on to achieve this?
The establishment of a Demos orchestra in a rural environment does not require the same resources or respond to the same constraints as an orchestra in an urban area. We work in close collaboration with the local authorities involved, to adapt the system to the specificities and problems encountered. This often involves setting up means of transport that guarantee children's participation, rethinking the pedagogical organization, and adapting partner structures so that they can accommodate a full orchestra...
In addition to the resources mobilized locally, we also benefit from the patronage of the Fonds Jeunes et innovants, which specifically supports Demos orchestras deployed in rural areas. The unique alliance of private resources, the financial commitment of local authorities, and the support of the State and CAFs: this is what enables us to build the Démos project in each of these rural territories.
What are the Démos orchestras established in rural territories today?
There are two possible orchestra models. On the one hand, there are 100% rural orchestras, where children are no longer recruited on a neighborhood basis, but on a much larger scale of medium-sized villages or towns, to form each group of 15 musicians. The aim of these orchestras is not only to multiply exchanges between different housing areas, but also to offer a project that gets the children out of their homes. Examples include the Démos Kreiz Breizh, Thouarsais and Aisne Thiérache du Centre.
On the other hand, there are hybrid orchestras made up of groups of children from urban environments and groups from rural or sub-peripheral areas. The aim here is to bridge the divide between the inhabitants of these two types of areas, to combat the idea that some territories are better endowed than others, and to promote better living together. In this category, we find the Démos Val de Sambre, en Beauvaisis, Metz Moselle Est and Metz Moselle Nord, Grand Verdun, Toulouse Métropole Département de la Haute-Garonne, Bordeaux Métropole Gironde. The latter four have just completed their 3rd year of Demos, and will be launching a new edition of their orchestra next autumn, again involving urban communes and medium-sized towns or rural communes. In Bordeaux, this will be the first time that a greater number of areas outside the Bordeaux metropolis will participate in the scheme: four rural areas out of the seven groups making up the orchestra. At the start of the 2023 school year, the Orchestre Démos Grand Saint-Dizier will also join these hybrid orchestras, formed on the scale of the very rural agglomeration of Saint-Dizier, Der & Blaise. Vouillers, a commune of 258 inhabitants, will be the smallest commune in France to host the project.
Photo credit: Pierre MorelThe end-of-year concert season is in full swing!
Since May 3, Orchestres Démos have been performing throughout France at their end-of-season concerts.
The culmination of these performances will take place on June 23, 24 and 25 at the Philharmonie de Paris: a total of 15 orchestras will play in 6 concerts between the Salle des Concerts at the Cité de la Musique and the Grande Salle Pierre Boulez at the Philharmonie de Paris.
This year, the young musicians of Démos are exploring a wide range of repertoires: from classical pieces familiar to all, to traditional music from the four corners of the globe!