Horns, cornets, trumpets, tubas, trombones, percussion… The 22 students in the CM1 class at the Saint-Exupéry school, in Sablé-sur-Sarthe, presented their instruments in front of their parents, Friday November 15, 2024, time of a small improvised concert under the courtyard of the playground. A ceremony initiated by François Zerna, the director of the intercommunal conservatory of Pays Sabolien, to highlight the Orchestra at school system.
This operation has existed for around ten years already across the community of municipalities, where it runs every three years. But “it’s a great project and it’s important”, wanted to highlight François Zerna. “I am very happy that your children are enjoying it,” he told the families.
“They don’t have access to that culture”
Many of them came to immortalize this moment with their phones. Jean-Louis Lemarié, intercommunal councilor responsible for culture, and Esther Lebouleux, deputy mayor of Sablé-sur-Sarthe in charge of school affairs, were also present.
The children test the instruments themselves before choosing which one they will play with over the coming months. They practice two hours a week with teachers from the Hélène-Affichard conservatory. “They don’t have access to that culture. It’s a real discovery for them,” appreciates Anne-Sophie Delhommais, the director of the Saint-Exupéry school, located in the heart of the priority district of the same name. In this establishment, a CM2 class also benefits from the system, around the clarinet and current music.
At the community level, other classes offer it: CM1 and CM2 of Gai-Levant in Sablé-sur-Sarthe (brass) as well as CE2 of the Vion (strings) and Précigné (wood) schools. . Official award ceremonies like in Saint-Exupéry will also be organized there in the coming days.
Read also: “We are convinced of the potential”: Précigné invests in its school despite class closures
For the Sabolian country, this represents a total investment of €65,000 per year, including two full-time teaching equivalents. Each municipality also participates with a cost of €150 per year per child for participation in educational costs and part of the maintenance of the instruments.
