The Directors

The Easter Festival turned 10 in 2023
For us, this milestone was not just the chance to give ourselves a pat on the back. It was the realisation that, with the support of a private partner, it is indeed possible, in France, outside Paris, to establish a memorable festival that rivals anything on a European level in terms of excellence. We could be content, in tandem with the CIC, to show that we can continue to bring the best in classical music to the Aix-en-Provence region at Easter time by merely reproducing this annual get-together.
However, we would like to take things up a notch. The classical music world does not function in an isolated bubble reserved for the happy few.
Every year, the Festival must attain excellence but it must also be able to invent new forms of solidarity so that more and more people can access classical music.
The Easter Festival is a festival of excellence and solidarity.It remains a place where the most talented musicians in the world come together, be they soloists or orchestras, up-and-coming performers or more established ones.It is a place where music of the highest level is shared with the audience. However, it is also an event based on real solidarity that we, along with the CIC, have chosen to frame around three specific themes:

Above all, the Easter Festival is a festival of excellence
This year, we celebrate two major figures from the French music scene: Gérard Caussé and Jean-Claude Casadesus, we will be treated to an exceptional series of works by Bach, Handel and Beethoven, performances by international orchestras and we will get to discover the young talents of tomorrow.

The second main aim is solidarity
With the help of the ASSAMI, a local non-profit that makes culture more accessible to all, we will continue to perform in hospitals, palliative care centres and retirement homes for audiences that cannot come to see us due to old age or illness.
We will continue to broadcast concerts live, and in doing so we will attempt to touch the segments of the population who feel that they “don’t have the right” to access music when in fact, classical music is open to all. It allows audiences to feel emotions as one, to truly be together… We feel that classical music belongs to everyone and as such, it is essential for the festival to focus on solidarity.
The festival’s dedication to transmission is also in line with this focus on solidarity, with many programmes for children, most often free of charge, aimed at teaching them how to understand and approach classical music from every angle.

The third main theme is linked to the local region
Here again, with the support the festival receives from the regional authorities, from the city of Aix-en-Provence, from our patron Aline Foriel-Destezet and, of course from the CIC, we intend, in tandem with the ASSAMI, to continue providing access to remote audiences in every department of the ‘Région Sud’. This means we will be present in all of the villages and small towns where people do not necessarily have access to classical music of this calibre. In conclusion, we are very happy to welcome you, yet again, to the Easter Festival.

Today, the Festival forms a tight-knit community around a team, backed obviously by our founding partner and biggest supporter the CIC, but also by our great patron Aline Foriel-Destezet, by the Région Sud and by the city of Aix en Provence that is now partnering with the Festival on our children’s project, as well as a certain num-ber of individual patrons who show their support and affection year after year.
We wish to thank them all.

We hope that everyone enjoys the exceptional 2024 edition of the Easter Festival.
We look forward to seeing you there.

Dominique Bluzet, directeur exécutif
Renaud Capuçon, directeur artistique