Hundreds of Musicians Gather for the 150th Anniversary of Harmonie Républicaine
Hundreds, even thousands, of musicians who have brought the stands of Harmonie Républicaine to life must be proud of the splendor that surrounded the 150th anniversary of this musical association last weekend. Proud also of the journey taken and to see that their passion and dedication, passed down as a legacy, continue to thrive and allow for the writing of new beautiful pages. Programmed for this century and a half of music: the musical tale Marco Polo, Harmonie Day, Coursan harmonizes with the interventions of the Company Corps et voix and its narrator Thierry Visentin, the Harmonie Orchestra of Narbonne, the music school of Coursan, the Fanfare du Patio des arts of Grand Narbonne, and the Harmony of Sète. All paid a beautiful tribute to music in general and to the cherished association, particularly to President Jean Boyer. Also applauded were the dean of musicians, Gilbert Pla, the former presidents, the late Jean Embry, Joseph Lignon, Louis Nouguès, Georges Genet, Claude Duvilla, Simon Thibaut, Raymond Gianet, Alfred Font, Henri Huillet, Germain Jalabert, but also more recent and still active members Michel Vilotte, Loïc Mazé and Jean Boyer, the choir conductors including the essential Christelle Thiel, the supervising professors Jean Imbert and Philippe Castel (trumpet), Michel Vilotte (saxophone), Sophie Artaud (flute), Jean Mazé (clarinet), Hervé Barthe (basses), Loïc Mazé (percussion). These festivities were supported and accompanied by the City, its mayor Edouard Rocher and its elected officials, and a large audience. The season is not over for the Harmony, which will perform on May 30 with a concert in Quillan, on June 5 in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse (to benefit the victims of the major fire in the Corbières this summer), on July 10 in Armissan, and on July 12 in Coursan for the start of the national holiday festivities. Then it’s time for a well-deserved summer break.
Valuable Support from the Department
The vice-presidents of the departmental council, Valérie Dumontet and Séverine Mateille, attended the celebration of the 150 years of Harmonie Républicaine. On this occasion, they were warmly thanked for their support provided through the citizen budget implemented by the Department, which allocated a grant of €19,950 to the Harmony to promote music in Aude. This 3rd citizen budget involved 30,000 votes from the people of Aude, 415 participating municipalities out of the 430 in the department, 38 projects selected out of the 137 submitted for voting, and a total budget of one million euros. The grant received by the Harmony will be used, in particular, for the purchase of equipment.
