Pass'Musiques Festival

The Pass'Musiques Festival: A Celebration of Amateur Music in Saint-Étienne

The Pass'Musiques Festival was born in 1998 on the initiative of the Office Musical de Saint-Étienne, an association founded in 1995 that brings together amateur music practice ensembles from Saint-Étienne Métropole: choirs, vocal ensembles, symphony orchestras, instrumental ensembles, wind bands, brass bands, and big bands. Each year, this spring event offers the inhabitants of the Loire region the opportunity to hear and discover these groups in quality concerts at affordable prices.

A Traveling Festival in Three Saint-Étienne Venues

The festival concerts take place in three venues located throughout Saint-Étienne:

• Le Théâtre de la Grille Verte (2 rue Alfred Colombet, 42100 Saint-Étienne): An associative theater founded in 1973, a historic venue for the festival offering an intimate setting.
• L'église Sainte-Barbe du Soleil (place Garibaldi, 42000 Saint-Étienne): A church in the Soleil district with acoustics ideally suited for vocal ensembles and chamber music.
• La Comète (7 avenue du Président Émile Loubet, 42000 Saint-Étienne): A center for artistic creation inaugurated in 2021, featuring two halls — the Panassa (650 seats) and L'Usine (120 seats) — which hosts the festival's closing concerts.

The Office Musical de Saint-Étienne Métropole

The Office Musical de Saint-Étienne (OMSE) is a non-profit association (law of 1901) created on April 3, 1995. Its mission is to unite amateur music practice associations in the city of Saint-Étienne and the Saint-Étienne Métropole territory, and to encourage, assist, support, and promote their activities. In addition to the Pass'Musiques Festival, the Office Musical organizes or co-organizes other events such as FestyVocal, the Rencontres Musicales de la Loire (RML), and Passion Baroque.

An Eclectic and Participatory Program

The festival showcases the diversity of repertoires practiced by amateur ensembles in the Saint-Étienne area: classical music, contemporary music, choral singing, musical theater, French and foreign folklore, jazz, and popular music. Each evening brings together two or three different groups, offering the public a vibrant and evolving panorama of amateur musical creation. The last two concerts are traditionally entrusted as a "carte blanche" to renowned ensembles, such as the Ensemble Telemann or the Orchestre Massenet.