It is a kind of high-flying music school, in a revitalizing environment where students learn to coexist musically and socially. They are expected to have prepared their parts individually before playing together such difficult works as the 3rd Symphony of Mahler or the 9th Symphony de Bruckner.
There are three levels of orchestra and three levels of training. The youngest, aged between 15 and 18, are part of the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra (VFJO) conducted by James Gaffigan. They learn to play symphonic pieces, accompany soloists in concertos and the singers of the Academy’s Atelier lyrique in concert versions of operas, such as Falstaff by Verdi scheduled for this summer. The public is often amazed to see to what extent these very young musicians – who are taking their first steps in the collective work of an orchestra – manage to form a united ensemble in works from the great repertoire.
Often considered the best youth orchestra in the world, the Verbier Festival Orchestra (VFO) – which brings together 99 musicians aged 18 to 28 – focuses on the symphonic side, sometimes on lyrical works. The repertoire is demanding: this year, the VFO will play the Symphonies no 3 et no 5 by Mahler, the 9th Symphony by Bruckner, and will accompany pianist Alexandre Kantorow in the 2nd Concert Brahms, then cellist Alisa Weilerstein and violist Michael Barenboim in Don Quixote Strauss.
The Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra (VFCO) is a chamber orchestra formed by former members of the great orchestra, who have become professionals here and there, and who return each year to give magnificent concerts under the baton of their musical director Gábor Takács-Nagy. Not only do they perform in Verbier, but they also play internationally. Next August, the VFCO will give concerts with Gábor Takács-Nagy and three solo pianists at the La Roque d’Anthéron Festival and in Menton. They have just completed a tour in China last spring. Other tours are planned in the United States and South Korea. They are therefore an ambassador for the festival on an international scale.
Nothing is more enriching than this in vivo experience, where musicians learn to solve interpretation problems in a professional situation. They must react quickly, adapt to the requests of guest conductors whose gestures and working methods sometimes vary considerably. Rest times are limited and must be used to recover between the six concert programs over a period of seventeen days. The concerts are filmed live by medici.tv to be posted online for several weeks.
In most of the world’s major orchestras, you will find musicians who have gone through training programs in Verbier. The Spaniard Roberto Gonzalez-Monjas was “Konzertmeister” (first concertmaster) at the VFO and the VFCO before being hired as concertmaster at the National Academy of Saint Cecilia in Rome, then being appointed musical director of Musikkollegium Winterthur. Roric Cunningham, American cellist, has just landed a position with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The Genevan Gabriel Esteban was named “cello co-soloist” at the Orchester de la Suisse Romande in 2023. Arthur Traelnes, son of a luthier in Lausanne, played for the first time in the junior group in 2016; Last summer he had the privilege of being “Konzertmeister” within the VFO. The Ukrainian violinist Rimma Bergeron-Langlois also studied orchestras in Verbier. The principal oboes, clarinet and bassoon of the Metropolitan Opera in New York have also all gone through the VFO training program.
“We try to give the musicians as many tools as possible,” explains Samuel Goldscheider, head of the orchestras. In addition to rehearsals and concerts, the students benefit from posture classes given by Christoph Bacher, who teaches the Alexander Technique. They spend a lot of time in the gym at the Verbier-la Comba School, where rehearsals take place. It is a formative life experience that will leave them with memories and friends for the rest of their lives.
