Since it was founded in 2014, the Académie Musicale de Liesse has been the subject of many articles and reports. The press has covered it: Le Figaro, Aleteia, Pèlerin, Famille chrétienne, France Catholique, franceinfo, Ouest-France, Le Maine Libre, Actu.fr and L'Union. On television, France 2 has run reports on the school and CNews has broadcast live services with the students; on radio, RCF and Radio Notre Dame have interviewed them or aired their concerts. This page brings these sources together, with a short summary of each (all in French).
Aleteia profiles five boarding schools that aim at an all-round education, including the Académie Musicale de Liesse. Its entry describes a choir school of 120 boys, from CM1 to the final year, where each student does two to three hours of music a day. It notes that spiritual formation draws on Saint John Bosco.
Read the article (in French) →The article describes a new generation of schools combining academic rigour with the education of the whole person, starting with the Académie Musicale de Liesse. Vianney Châtillon, head since the school was founded, says it receives 50 to 70 applications a year for about 25 places. The piece then looks at the Academy Saint-Louis de Chalès and the Pontlevoy school.
Read the article (in French) →Le Figaro Magazine report from Précigné, a year after the Academy moved into the former buildings of the Marianite Sisters of Holy Cross. The opening of the article traces the history of the site (convent, school, sanatorium, care home) and the renovation of 3,700 m² for the school. The rest is for subscribers only.
Read the article (in French) →Pèlerin previews the show “Il était une fois Notre-Dame”, performed on 4 December at the abbey of Thiron-Gardais with Stéphane Bern and 38 singers from the Academy. Written by historian Christophe Dickès at Grégory Turpin's initiative, it tells the history of Paris cathedral through sacred music. Proceeds went to restoring the abbey church.
Report on the open evening of Thursday 15 September 2022, shortly after the Academy moved to Précigné: more than two hundred visitors, shown round by Vianney Châtillon and by the students. The article describes the 118 students from all over France, the two hours of singing a day and Vespers sung Monday to Thursday, open to local residents. It notes that €350,000 of the €4.5 million building works still had to be raised.
The article describes a school that has outgrown its 96 boarders and has to turn down many applications each year. It will move in September 2022 to Précigné, near Solesmes Abbey. The piece stresses the all-round education (academic, musical, spiritual) inspired by Don Bosco and the family spirit between students and parents.
Read the article (in French) →Aleteia reports that the Academy is leaving the Aisne for Précigné, in the Sarthe, in September 2022. The school had just received 110 applications for 30 places and aims eventually for 140 students. The 3,700 m² buildings were donated in 2016 by the Marianite Sisters of Holy Cross, and €3.2 million of the €4 million needed for the works had already been raised.
Read the article (in French) →The article confirms the Academy's move to Précigné for September 2022, on the former site of the Basile Moreau health centre, where building work had just begun. With 96 students, the school is leaving Liesse-Notre-Dame, which had become too small, and plans to take half as many students again. It quotes the Academy's thanks to its partners in the Aisne and the Sarthe.
Read the article (in French) →For the first Sunday of Advent 2020, Famille chrétienne shares a video of the students singing “Préparez, à travers le désert”. The video was made entirely by the students and their teachers.
Read the article (in French) →The town of Précigné considers buying part of the former Basile Moreau buildings to help the Academy, then based in the Aisne, fund its move. Vianney Châtillon presents the school to local councillors: 73 students from CM1 to the final year, from all over France, and a 100% pass rate at the brevet and baccalauréat. The article also describes a supported-housing project for older people next to the Academy.
Read the article (in French) →As the Academy, founded in 2014, releases its first CD, Famille chrétienne publishes an exclusive excerpt: a hymn to the Virgin Mary.
Read the article (in French) →Article on the Marian shrine of Liesse-Notre-Dame in the Aisne. It opens with the Academy's students singing four-part Vespers in the basilica every weekday evening, and links the school's motto, borrowed from Don Bosco, to the name of the place. The rest is for subscribers only.
Read the article (in French) →In its “Musique de chambre” series on musicians in lockdown, L'Union features Donatien Tierny, a Year 11 student at the Academy, then in Liesse-Notre-Dame. While schools were closed in spring 2020, he recorded a cover of the Beatles' “Help!” on his own, track by track, then edited the video. The article notes that lessons, music included, carried on remotely.
Profile of the Academy, founded in 2014 in the Aisne and inspired by Don Bosco's approach to education, combining music, liturgical singing and schooling from CM1 to the final year. The article highlights the quality of the concerts, a 100% baccalauréat pass rate at the time and an education in service and discipline. It also announces the open days for the 2020 intake and the role of donations in keeping the school accessible.
Read the article (in French) →Interview with Jules Gardey de Soos, head of pastoral care for the middle school, about the theme of the year chosen by the students: Tolkien's world. He explains how the books feed outdoor games, costume dinners, musical projects and character education. For him, Tolkien teaches boys to fight for what is good without waiting to be sure of winning.
Read the article (in French) →Only the opening of the article appears in the capture. It discusses the school uniform, adopted by the Academy from its opening in Liesse-Notre-Dame, and shows students for whom their first uniform marks their arrival at the school.
A France 3 Culturebox report, republished by franceinfo, two years after the Academy opened in Liesse-Notre-Dame in the Aisne. It follows boys aged 10 to 18 through a full school curriculum with several hours of music on top. The director of studies presents the Academy first and foremost as a school, and an educational choice.
Read the article (in French) →▶ Live TV
🎙 AudioHervé Rolland et Florence Le Roux reçoivent : Clarisse Voutier, directrice des études de l’Académie musicale de Liesse Joseph et Gabriel, lycéen à l’Académie musicale Thème : « La belle aventure de l’Académie musicale de Liesse »
Listen (in French) →▶ Live TV▶ Live TV
🎙 AudioRadio Notre Dame broadcasts a Christmas concert by the Academy's students on 17 December 2021 at 8:30 pm. The original page no longer exists: the link leads to its archived copy.
Listen (in French) →
🎙 Audio
▶ VideoReport by France 2's Catholic programme from the Academy's boarding school, then in Liesse-Notre-Dame with 42 students. Students and teachers describe a school that trains boys from CM1 to the final year in every aspect of music, within a Christian education. The original page no longer exists: the link leads to its archived copy.
Watch the video (in French) →▶ VideoA segment on the Academy in “La résurrection des cathos”, a report in France 2's 1:15 pm news magazine. The video is published on the Academy's YouTube channel.
Watch the video (in French) →Two RCF radio programmes handed the microphone to our students. They talk about their music and their life at the Academy in their own words (in French). Choose an episode from the list.
Gregorian chant, motets, jazz, choral and orchestral conducting: each month, one part of the musical training.
Les vêpres à l'Académie musicale de Liesse
Apprendre la direction de chœur à l'Académie musicale de Liesse
La direction d'orchestre à l'Académie de Liesse
Le chant grégorien : un répertoire vivant à l'Académie de Liesse
Être soliste à l'Académie musicale de Liesse
Jazz and blues, à l'Académie musicale de Liesse
Les motets, un répertoire musical apprécié des élèves de l'Académie de Liesse
Don Bosco, the upper school, social diversity, who our students are: school life as the boys tell it.
Students, former students, parents, teachers, concert audiences: read what they say about the Academy.
Read the testimonials →
