Tour de France with bow

For the sixth time in its history, the Tour de France will start in the Netherlands: on Saturday 4 July, the cyclists will start their three-week war of attrition under the Dom in Utrecht . A day earlier, the Britten Youth String Orchestra completed its own Tour de France, in location Zwolle. In one week, the young musicians perform seven concerts in La douce France, from the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris to the Eglise St Césaire in Arles. Four questions to chief conductor Loes Visser.

When and why did the plan for a Tour de France with The British arise?

Originally we wanted to travel to Suffolk in England, where our namesake Benjamin Britten was born, but this plan foundered due to too little progress. We therefore sought contact with the organisation Accademia San Felice, which had invited us to a successful tour of Tuscany three years ago. They suggested a tour programme via France to Barcelona. In the end, we chose to travel as far as southern France because we were also offered two concerts in Valence and Léoncel.

Our main inspiration for this tour is the performance of Britten's song cycle Les Illuminations, on texts by Arthur Rimbaud. The great thing is that French people understand effortlessly what our soloist Bernadeta Astari sings. One link to the real Tour de France is composer Tonny Eyk, who sings from France every day for The Telegraph reports from the Tour. We will play his specially composed Theme and Variations.

Along the way, we stay with, among others, a Dutch couple who have taken charge of the Abbey in the idyllic town of Léoncel. They also organised a concert in Valence, where we spend two days with the nuns next to the Cathédrale Saint-Appolinaire. In Auxois, we will stay in a country house; otherwise, we will stay in hotels in Paris and Nîmes. Part of the costs will be covered by the musicians themselves, another part we have financed through Voordekunst and the remaining five thousand euros we hope to raise through direct donations.

What does such a tour mean for the young musicians?

The annual concert tour is a highlight of the season. Last year was extra special because we won first prize at the Summa Cum Laude Youth Orchestra Festival in Vienna then, in which twenty-five orchestras took part. This brought us into contact with young musicians from all over the world. The tour to Italy in 2012 was also unforgettable, because of the wonderful concerts in fantastic locations in places like Florence, Assisi and Montecatini. Always audiences and sunshine!

This year, we are giving a concert every day, so we all have to be top fit, but in between we also make time for the beach and soak up culture in Avignon, Pont du Gard and Paris. The parents are also super excited. Two of them travel with us for the whole tour, one for half the tour, and along the way some fans also visit our concerts; one cellist comes later because of his grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. We did not yet have contact with the organisers of the real Tour de France, but that is being worked on.

Indonesian-Dutch soprano Bernadeta Astari sings Britten's cycle. Why her?

Bernadeta Astari sings beautifully and very expressively; she is a great match for Britten. The orchestra carries her on their hands because of her engaging, positive, warm personality. This is my first time working with her. I heard her at the Nederlandse Reisopera in the role of Despina, which was really super. After that, I listened to recordings of her with French repertoire. I also listened to many other sopranos, but she seemed the most suitable. That turned out to be a hit.

In the 1990s, you travelled to Italy annually with the Adamello Ensemble, which you also founded, was that similar to The Britten?

The Adamello Ensemble consisted entirely of conservatoire students and was put together ad hoc each time. During the tours, the orchestra members drove themselves in Mercedes vans. Those tours too were unforgettable, but the members of the Britten Youth String Orchestra are generally younger, from twelve to twenty-two. There are eight fourteen-fifteen-year-olds in it, for example, but there are also a few musicians of Adamello's age playing. That mix works very positively.

Another difference is that with The Britten, we perform all year round. As a result, the musicians are well attuned to each other, even though new members join every year. We do play partly the same repertoire, but the nice thing is that we now also play the compositions on CD putting. I also have an important coaching role at Het Britten. The importance of such a tour is great: the mutual bond grows, even stronger than at the concerts in the Netherlands. Music is a great means of communication.

Moreover, we get to know people from other countries, speak other languages and visit cultural highlights. This broadens the view and provides focus and inspiration, depth and historical awareness. The musicians take all these experiences with them into future performances of music from the countries we visit. Meanwhile, it is important to keep fit, especially for the young soloists and principals. This is how they gain discipline. Only with great confidence and a positive attitude can you do this profession. We are going for it and trust that we will raise the missing amount!

Donations are welcome to NL96 RABO 0138 629 854 tnv Benjamin Britten Orchestra Foundation