Discover the Cite de la musique

A pioneer and exemplary educational and documentary sector

Drawing some 100,000 people each year, this sector is comprised of a media library and an educational programme designed for both adults and children.

The wealth of its reference resources and its educational offering makes the Cité de la musique a pioneering location in terms of music education.

Another one of its distinctive features is the importance it places on non-Western cultures : hands-on music workshops for children and adults touch on such topics as the Javanese gamelan, Arabic music, the music of India, the Caribbean and Black Africa, while the Media Library covers every conceivable genre of music.

The 700-sq.m Media Library is a unique digital resource centre for music (commented scores; reference files on composers, works and instruments; systematic archiving of all concerts at the Cité de la musique and the Salle Pleyel, etc.).

More generally, it houses all of the Cité’s reference resources and includes a space for youth and children.

It provides free access to multimedia files, musical films and guided listening programmes.

It also contains information on music professions, amateur practices, etc.

This collection of digital resources, available by remote access, is currently being rolled out via extranet in a number of cities in France (schools and/or libraries) and will gradually be extended to cities abroad. The Cité de la musique has also acquired experience in digitizing sound holdings, making it the leader for national projects in partnership with other institutions like orchestras or musical documentation centres.

The Cité de la musique has also become a national and European reference for music learning issues, amateur practice and subjects relating to professionalization (young musicians, trainers, music information services).

In addition to the documentary resources available, the Cité de la musique also develops a vast adult education programme : pre-concert conferences, half-year or annual courses on a musical movement or genre, master classes for pre-professional musicians with major guest artists, etc. These modules very quickly reached an attendance rate that is now at its maximum.

Hands-on music workshops are offered for young audiences age three and up. Particular focus is placed on non-Western musical traditions and “popular” music styles: workshops on the Javanese gamelan, Brazilian percussion, African drums, Arabic, Indian and Persian instruments, as well as jazz and electronic music workshops, to name a few, each year drawing more than 30,000 children. All of the workshops can also be transposed to a school environment.

In addition to the workshops, educational concerts are held once a month (the number was increased due to the expansion of the Salle Pleyel). Open to all styles of music (symphony, big band jazz, traditional ensembles), the educational concerts use a presenter (also a musician) to mediate between the orchestra and the hall. Their aim is to promote an intelligent listening of the work through sound cues played by the orchestra.

Lastly, the Cité de la musique has developed a diverse editorial activity, publishing and distributing each year twenty or so specialized works aimed at music lovers and amateur musicians. A special children’s collection has been compiled over the past few years.