European inventory of
societal values of culture

Pereira – L’Échonova: Music as a strategy for the dynamisation of cultural and associative life

Pereira, L.P. (2023). L’Échonova: Music as a strategy for the dynamisation of cultural and associative life

L’Echonova is a public concert hall for ‘current music’ [musiques actuelles], located in Saint-Avé, a town in the urban area of Vannes in Brittany, France. Beyond the production of events related to a multitude of musical expressions, allowing the interaction of very diverse audiences, it is also a meeting place for amateur musicians who come to rehearse in one of their studios. Therefore, it is also an important support for local amateur musicians in the process of becoming professionals, as well as for local professional musicians who wish to improve their performance (in terms of recording and staging). Since its inauguration in 2010, the range of activities conducted by L’Échonova has increased and grown beyond the green walls that surround it. Many partnerships with schools, city halls, chapels, hospitals, prisons, etc. allow music performances in spaces other than concert halls. Thus, they are able to reach audiences that, for different reasons, otherwise could not be in front of the stage. The study shows the importance of a public facility capable of interacting with a multiplicity of actors and integrating different forms of professional and amateur practices in its environment. This promotes the diversity of cultural expressions available in the territory and takes into account the challenge of making them accessible to different social groups.