Lhe landscape of current music is being completely recomposed in Saintes. A real soap opera. On January 15, 2024, Lorène Segui was ejected from the presidency of the Rock School. He was accused of having maintained against all odds the organization of the Rock Summer Fest, on September 8 and 9, 2023, with Louis Bertignac at the head of the gondola. The festival left a hole of 30,000 euros in the association’s coffers. Members also criticize methods considered too authoritarian.
For Lorène Segui, it was a “life project” that was collapsing. She was even less able to digest collateral damage. Her 5-year-old son was excluded from drum lessons. “He was very disturbed. He was deprived of his first show, that’s all he talked about. » The new president, Sandrine Segues, says she is sorry for the child. “This is the result of the behavior of Ms. Segui, who continued to harass our members,” she says. An alternative solution – moving the boy to the Thénac branch – was unsuccessful.
We won’t go into details. Everyone has their own version, the two camps seeming irreconcilable. Philippe Fléjou has chosen his. In 2017, this guitar teacher co-founded the Rock School, where he has about sixty students. He recruited most of the teachers. Husband of Lorène Segui, he was hurt by the turn of events. He finished the year before packing his bags.
“Not a snub”
Philippe Fléjou offered his services to the Saintais Contemporary Music Workshops (Asma). Nicolas Rusaouen jumped at the chance. The president relaunched an association which came close to disappearing. The arrival of a recognized professional allows it to consolidate the offer. “We welcome Philippe with his students. He’s not a snub at the Rock School, he’s a musician who needs to work. We will also have a new versatile teacher. We will have a beautiful music school, with teachers for all instruments. »
Philippe Ménard/SO
Lorène Segui wanted to express her anger after her son had to stop his classes at the Rock School.
There is a potential of 400 students in Saintes who want to make music. People will be able to choose
Lorène Segui is supporting the transfer, applying the same recipes. “With her, the goal is to get our students playing, to offer them the chance to perform on stage,” says Nicolas Rusaouen. Added to this are Les P’tits rockeurs, an initiation program for children that looks a lot like the Titis rockeurs of the Rock School. Les Asma, who mainly ran collective practice workshops, are getting involved in the Rock School’s field. “There is a potential of 400 students in Saintes who want to make music. People will be able to choose,” says the president.
Philippe Ménard/SOUTH WEST
Philippe Lutti and Sandrine Segues affirm that the Rock School has regained serenity.
Sandrine Segues does not comment, preferring to concentrate on her association. “The Rock School is doing well. We are continuing our course of action. Since the change of presidency, we have more members, we are almost 300. This has brought the team together, which can assert itself more than before. And at the start of the school year, we have a musical awareness workshop, from three years old, which will finally see the light of day.”
Departure in December
What if all these people found themselves under the same roof? The hypothesis is plausible. The Mission Locale is going to move into the premises occupied by the Rock School, in the former Saint-Exupéry school. The association must leave the premises at the end of December. It is studying several avenues for a rebound. One leads to the Saint-Eutrope site. On paper, this makes sense, since it already houses the municipal department in charge of contemporary music and the premises of… Asma.
Philippe Ménard/SO
The Asma have built their history on collective practice workshops.
“The idea is not bad. But we are not too keen on finding ourselves next to them. It is a source of trouble. And then the premises are not clean, the walls are sieves, we cannot make music there”, considers the treasurer of the Rock School, Philippe Lutti. “It is humanly uncomfortable. We have projects but we do not want to talk about them”, says Sandrine Segues, who has not however “put Saint-Eutrope aside”.
Philippe Ménard/SOUTH WEST
The Rock School ensures that it is in great shape, like the group Empty Brain during the Balance ton groupe evening, on February 2, 2024 in the Camélia room.
“On the relocation, nothing has been determined,” comments Véronique Cambon, the deputy mayor who is following the case. The municipality is keeping its distance. “We are a partner, a facilitator, a guardian of compliance with the law. After that, it’s internal management. If there are conflicts, we only deal with the board of directors. There may be room for both. Let’s let things evolve.”
Lorène Segui has not given up playing her own part. She founded two associations: ADN music, which runs courses in Thénac and co-organizes Les P’tits rockeurs with Asma; and RS events, “intended to organize cultural events”. Lorène Segui dreams of a Guitar Show, in Saintes, in May 2025, but comes up against a lack of partners. The soap opera is not over.
