Montbéliard (France) (AFP)

He was to play in front of 1,200 people, he finds himself in high schools: forced by the pandemic to cancel all his concerts, the Victor Hugo Franche-Comté orchestra (OVHFC) is investing new places to continue performing, while demanding a schedule of recovery to find the "magic" of the scene.

The melodies of Wagner, Bach or Mozart reason between the shelves of school books arranged by category, "natural sciences", "mathematics" or "geography".

At the CDI of the Lycée Germaine Tillon de Montbéliard on Thursday, they are eleven musicians, installed in a circle, in the center of which come to sit, in groups of six, students and teachers, to listen to them.

The device, minimalist, was designed to respect the sanitary instructions, but it allows the spectator to be as close as possible to the instruments.

"It's great, we are immersed in the heart of music, we can feel all the sensations we want if we manage to concentrate", enthuses Morgane, 15, in professional second.

"The percussion, I felt it was the beating of my heart."

"It's a real chance for our students, who for the vast majority of them have never heard classical music live", abounds Katia Faedo, professor of literature, who says she is "disappointed not to be able to take (his) students to the theater in the current context ".

- "Maintain a maximum of activity" -

According to its programming, the orchestra should instead have performed at the Ledoux theater, national stage in Besançon, under the direction of Dina Gilbert, renowned Canadian conductor.

The demonstration was obviously canceled because of the Covid-19 epidemic.

"We adapt to the situation, with the concern of maintaining a maximum of activity", explains Vincent Adami, administrator of the OVHFC.

"As soon as a cancellation occurs, we try to bounce back, to set up another project".

Thus, thanks to the maintenance of the subsidies, the management succeeded in finding alternatives to each of the concerts canceled since October, by setting up recordings for the radio or television, or by going to meet the inhabitants with this device, entitled "At the heart of the orchestra".

This is available in eight schools in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, after having passed through other public places.

"It's bad for good," concedes Vincent Adami.

"In the end, we will reach more people, almost 1,400 students with this formula, than if we had been in the auditorium", he rejoices, believing that this type of proposal meets the "public service mission" assigned to the orchestra, to which he is very attached.

- "It was vital" -

One year after the imposition of the first restrictions and closures in the cultural sector, all the staff of the OVHFC applaud this continuation of the activity despite the constraints.

"It was vital. If we had not been able to meet for a year, it is obvious that it would be the death of the orchestra", judges the general delegate, David Olivera.

"And given the context, it's a chance to work", abounds Cyril Vouriot, technician with the status of intermittent.

“Compared to some friends who have had nothing for six months or more, it offers more security and serenity,” he says, even if the rights of intermittent workers are guaranteed until August 31.

"It lets you see it coming, at least a little bit."

The orchestra nevertheless associates itself with the demands expressed by the representative bodies of the sector, gathered Thursday in some twenty cities in France to demand a "realistic timetable" for the reopening of cultural places and guarantees in terms of employment.

"If I had not had to be here (in high school), I would have been at the mobilization of Besançon", assures the technician.

"The times mean that we are looking for different ways of working, we must continue to play together in order to exist", concludes violinist Isabelle Debever, co-soloist in the orchestra.

"But we need the magical side of the stage".

© 2021 AFP