With more than 500 students and a calendar of performances that is increasing, the municipal music school of Castelsarrasin is about to experience its busiest months. Interviews with its director, Guillaume Gourmaud.
The municipal music school of Castelsarrasin is preparing to experience several intense months. From April to June, the schedule of performances is increasing. Interview with its dedicated director, Guillaume Gourmaud.
You are entering an intense period with many performances. What concerts can we look forward to?
We have a lot of events. For example, the concert of the orchestras of the schools in Castelsarrasin on April 10th. On April 14th, there will be a concert dedicated to the singing class. We can also mention the spring concert on May 22nd, which this year offers a musical journey into the world of Hayao Miyazaki. Of course, there are also dates for our musical comedy “Romeo + Juliette…And Rosaline,” which will be presented several times in May in Castelsarrasin at the Descazeaux space, but also in Saint-Nicolas-de-la-Grave.
How are all these performances organized?
We work all year for the creation of these auditions, and we are reaching the end of the school year, which explains this overload in the coming months. However, we offer events all year round. We have been doing project-oriented pedagogy for years. However, as we are a municipal school, we cannot hold concerts. We exist only for educational purposes. That is why the association La Lyre supports us in managing these events. Legally, they have the capabilities to organize all the shows we propose. La Lyre and the school are really two closely connected structures.
Which students participate in these events?
Technically, all 510 of our students can progress, invest, and improve through all these events. But we have students from 4 to over 80 years old, so some students do not participate. However, we see in all our orchestras or choirs that there are really all ages. It is quite intergenerational, including in our musical comedy! Even if there may be more teenagers and young adults, there are also older performers for specific roles.
Every year, you propose a major creation; how was this new musical comedy developed?
Yes, we would have reached the twentieth musical comedy presented to the people of Castelsarrasin if it hadn’t been for Covid. This year, we took the classic theme of Romeo and Juliet but included Rosaline, who is Romeo’s first love. It is truly a total creation with singing, original arrangements, dance, and comedy. It is under the direction of Marie-Line Gourmaud, with staging by Jean-Louis Delage and choreography by Patricia Gaurand, and I took care of the orchestrations. We are really on a project worthy of professionals. We always try to present something qualitative but above all creative. We prioritize creation in all its forms, whether it is the musical comedy or all of our programs supervised by our 24 teachers.
Are you already thinking about the next season?
Of course! We always plan at least a year in advance, sometimes even two! Most of our auditions are dates that come back every year, which is quite well-known. However, every year, we offer various new creations for our audience.
