Fête de la Musique 2019: united in diversity!

All audiences

Among the many events scheduled for the 38th annual Fête de la Musique (Festival of Music) on the June 21 solstice, Europeans were encouraged to play—at 8 pm—the “Ode to Joy” from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. It was a shared moment, and a moment of sharing, designed to express in music European’s common currency: “unity in diversity.”

Free and open to all since its founding in France in 1982, the Fête de la Musique has become a major international event celebrated in more than a hundred countries. According to the Ministry of Culture, which oversees the festival in France, the event sends a vital message: “in music, more than in any other form of art, difference unites.”

And that diversity is amply expressed in the program that appears on the official site of the festival, where the motto this year, as in past years, was “Make music!” June 21 is the special day for every form of musical expression, amateur and professional, in every genre and style, and at every conceivable site: in town squares and city streets, at monuments and parks, in schools and on the university quad. Visit the site to find out “where it’s happening”!

In France, most postsecondary musical training takes place in conservatories (national, regional, departmental, and local) and in clusters of art education institutions (partnerships of universities, conservatories, and specialized training centers). To learn more about the system and find a program geared to your interests and level of previous training, consult Campus France’s comprehensive review of music training programs in France.