Making Music with Refugees

Making Music with Refugees at the Philharmonie de Paris

A Conversation with Emmanuel Hondré

In the past decade, political and economic issues have spurred significant migration within Europe. One of the ways to create ties with refugees and aid their integration is through music. Art and entertainment thus supply the conditions for contact and shared experience. Many projects carried out in France, notably at the Philharmonie de Paris, have allowed us to determine interest for the communities involved, as well as limits. In this talk moderated by Anne-Gaëlle Saliot (Romance Studies), Emmanuel Hondré, a director at the Philharmonie de Paris, discusses his experiences working with refugees.

Free and open to the public. Light lunch served. This event is part of the Arts and Cultural Citizenship Initiative co-sponsored by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, the Center for French and Francophone Studies, the Office of the Dean of Humanities, Romance Studies, the Department of Music, the Forum for Scholars and Publics, and the Franklin Humanities Institute as part of its World Arts series.

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"'How can this music make sense to those who don’t know it at all?' Hondré asked us. At this provocation, attendees like me waited for him to then explain how fun and easy this seemingly daunting problem turned out to be. But Hondré did something unexpected. 'I’m going to tell you about six case studies we tried,' he said. 'And the first three were not successes.' Now he had my attention." —Kelly Alexander, In Gratitude: The Pleasures of Perseverance, Forum Online