{"id":108413,"date":"2024-10-10T14:35:51","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T18:35:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=108413"},"modified":"2024-10-10T14:35:51","modified_gmt":"2024-10-10T18:35:51","slug":"report-french-exchange-university-toronto-student-maria-eduarda-mendes-martins-talks-academie-francis-poulenc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/10\/10\/report-french-exchange-university-toronto-student-maria-eduarda-mendes-martins-talks-academie-francis-poulenc\/","title":{"rendered":"REPORT | French Exchange: University Of Toronto Student Maria-Eduarda Mendes Martins Talks About The Acad\u00e9mie Francis Poulenc"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"L&R:
L&R: Maria-Eduarda Mendes Martins (Photo: King Street Photo Studio); Middle: Francis Poulenc in 1923, from the collection Diaghilev\u2019s Ballets Russes (Library of Congress\/Public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The University of Toronto\u2019s Canada-France cross-cultural exchange program in music and art history was established in 2022 with support from Fondation DRG. It\u2019s designed to connect student artists and scholars in both countries.<\/p>\n

Participants have the opportunity to study, perform, and collaborate with French institutions, gaining hands-on experience along with valuable connections and partnerships. On the scholarly side, it\u2019s a chance to dive into research by collaborating directly with French academic institutions.<\/p>\n

The goal is to help students build lasting connections, both academic and artistic.<\/p>\n

The UofT in France 2024<\/h2>\n

Maria-Eduarda Mendes Martins, a music composition student at the University of Toronto, spent part of her summer at the Acad\u00e9mie Francis Poulenc in Tours, France. She became one of the first Canadian participants in an inaugural internship program between the UofT and its French counterpart.<\/p>\n

The Acad\u00e9mie works with selected young artists to perfect their interpretation of French melody. Attendance includes concerts, exhibitions, films and other cultural events along with the focus on music practice and scholarship. Both musical and literary aspects of French melody are addressed in the curriculum, and new works as well as historical repertoire are on the menu.<\/p>\n

Maria-Eduarda was selected, in part, because of her background, which has included composing music for vocalist\/pianist duos for about a year.<\/p>\n

Working With Rules<\/h3>\n

She notes the \u201cstrong aesthetic component\u201d of the Academy and its work. \u201cIt was my first time working so closely with it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Maria-Eduarda says that it has influenced her writing in unexpected ways. \u201cIn ways that I haven’t experienced before,\u201d she adds. \u201cI wrote four melodies in total, and I was really fortunate, in that all of the duos made a point of performing the duos that I wrote.\u201d<\/p>\n

As she was writing, she kept the aesthetics of the historical background of the music in mind to guide her. \u201cIt influenced [my] ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students don\u2019t always get the chance to work specifically with voice and piano accompaniment, as she notes, particularly when it comes to contemporary repertoire. The piano provides support and accompaniment in a duo with a vocalist traditionally, creating a different dynamic than when working with an instrumental ensemble.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you work with an ensemble where the tradition is so strong, you feel that,\u201d she says. \u201cIt’s exciting to be creative in a more traditional setting.\u201d<\/p>\n

The traditions of French song and melody created a new and unexplored musical landscape for her to explore. \u201cIt’s a different kind of challenge to be creative when you have a whole tradition behind you […] and you feel like you can’t break from it entirely,\u201d she says. The traditions, however, can also be inspirational. \u201cThese kinds of situations can also bring out creativity,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt focuses your creativity in many ways when there are traditional formats that you are working in.\u201d<\/p>\n

The challenge was an enjoyable one. \u201cI usually like working in different situations compositionally speaking,\u201d Maria-Eduarda says. \u201cI like the challenge of trying to be myself […] in different situations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making Connections<\/h3>\n

While the trip lasted a mere two weeks, it was packed with experiences. \u201cI learned so much when I was there in France,\u201d Maria-Eduarda says. She reports meeting many other artists via workshops and performances that she hopes to stay in touch with.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had many very interesting experiences,\u201d she says. One occurred after a concert of her music. She as talking to a member of the audience, who told her that his own father had been a composer. She Googled the name he\u2019d given later, and had a listen, introducing her to the work of French composer Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur. \u201cIt reminded me of my music,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was like having a connection that I didn\u2019t know I have.\u201d<\/p>\n

The atmosphere was collaborative, with participants eager to work together. \u201cThis was one of the experiences that I had that was really enriching,\u201d she says. Connecting with local artists is part of the experience. \u201cAll of these components are so, so valuable. I think of this experience with nostalgia.\u201d<\/p>\n

In particular, she worked with some talented singers she hopes to be able to perform with again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very lucky to be part of this program. I consider myself very fortunate to have had this experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The University of Toronto\u2019s Canada-France cross-cultural exchange program in music and art history was established in 2022<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":108416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[40967,18,22,4967,29,63],"tags":[9494],"yst_prominent_words":[7765,10386,13801,32331,15387,6616,18925,8295,9960,12533],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/10\/Copy-of-NEWS-67.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-scB","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108413"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108413"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108417,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108413\/revisions\/108417"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108413"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=108413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}