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The post-pandemic years have not been easy for Bruand Lutherie-Guitare. General Manager Pier Bergeron is now smiling again, not just for the start of the new school year, but for the longer-term projects that could redefine the training offered at this workshop/school, in partnership with CÉGEP du Vieux Montréal.
“This year, we’re delighted to have had 21 candidates accepted for the Diplôme d’études collégiales en techniques des métiers d’art,” he says. “We’re back at a pace we haven’t seen for nine or ten years. It’s very positive not only for the employees and students, but also for the entire lutherie-guitar community. When you’re part of a larger cohort, a dynamic is created that is very favourable to the running of the school. Our workshop has been enriched by new members of staff. What’s more, we’re supposed to have six candidates next session, which is a record. We may never achieve gender equity, but women who have come through the school in the last 15 years have changed the dynamic of the group for the better. It enhances the quality of all the students’ work, their approach and their rigour, too.”
Bergeron attributes this success to the school’s work outside the studio, such as the violin-making festival in Kinsbury and the international guitar festival in Abitibi. “We go out there to demonstrate what we have to offer to the public and to potential candidates in particular. It’s a passionate profession. I went to France myself last year to take part in a number of events, including the Salon européen de l’Éducation in Paris. As a result, we’re attracting more and more French people. Once again, that raises the bar a little higher and encourages a kind of emulation (among the students).”
Almost all the teachers at the Bruand school are professional luthiers, including Bergeron. “We have a phenomenal wealth of experience here. Every year, our graduates have the chance to show what they have created to professional musicians at conferences and exhibitions, particularly in the United States. A lot of people there have told me that they’ve never seen luthiers at their age with such manual dexterity.”
Only two colleges in the province offer arts and crafts courses: CÉGEP du Vieux Montréal and CÉGEP de Limoilou. For Bergeron, despite all the administrative and governmental pressure, this is a vital preservation issue. Meanwhile, a number of players in the arts-and-crafts community are working hard to create an artisans’ quarter in the heart of Montreal. A presentation to the Commission de l’Office de consultation publique de la Ville de Montréal has already been made by Bergeron himself. “It’s a collective project in which I believe deeply,” he says. “Culture is the digital footprint of communities around the world. It plays a part in how societies identify themselves at a high level.”
Translation by Gianmarco Segato.
This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en:
Francais (French)
