Festival d'O

A festival born from a violinist's passion

The Festival d'O was born in 2010 from the initiative of concert violinist Geneviève Laurenceau, a native of Obernai. Driven by the desire to bring classical music to life in her childhood town, she launched this adventure with a group of passionate friends. “There was no festival in Obernai at the time,” she recalls. “I wanted to create an event in my image: classical music without borders, which can also accompany dance, tap dancing, literature, jazz, and world music.”

A week of concerts in exceptional venues

Every summer, for one week in July, the Festival d'O offers a dozen concerts in heritage sites in and around Obernai. The Saints-Pierre-et-Paul church, with its remarkable acoustics and luminous stained glass, hosts the main concerts. Other spaces — the Town Hall courtyard, chapels, historic halls — offer intimate and surprising settings that renew the classical concert experience.

A borderless program

What sets the Festival d'O apart is its bold and generous programming. Under the artistic direction of Geneviève Laurenceau, each edition is built around a unifying theme — “Odyssées” in 2025, “Amour ! Liebe ! Love !” or “Invitation to Travel” in previous editions. Around thirty artists, high-level classical musicians, perform in various formats: recitals, chamber music, commented concerts, shows combining music and dance, or readings.

A human-sized festival

The Festival d'O cultivates a spirit of proximity and conviviality. With deliberately limited capacity, each concert becomes a privileged moment of sharing between artists and the audience. The 4,000 loyal spectators who attend the festival each year appreciate this warm atmosphere, far from large, impersonal festivals. Encounters with artists after concerts are an integral part of the experience.