(Photo ©: pax musica)

What if music could do more than move us — what if it could rebuild lives?

That’s the vision behind Pax Musica, a bold initiative launched by Hélène Daccord to support displaced musicians in France through mentorship, performance, and cultural exchange. From a random encounter with a young Syrian violinist in Lyon to sold-out concerts at the Conservatoire de Paris, Hélène Daccord has shaped a compelling vision of music as both a refuge and a political act.

In this interview, she shares the story behind Pax Musica, her fight to make refugee musicians visible, and her dream of creating a “Refugee Music Team” that could rival the Olympic model — not with medals, but with music!

OperaWire: Pax Musica in a few words? Why did you launch such an initiative?

Hélène Daccord: Pax Musica was born out of encounters. A year ago, I met a young Syrian violinist who had fled the war to settle in Lyon. Her story echoes that of a young Ukrainian pianist, and of so many musicians from Afghanistan, Russia, Venezuela, or Sudan — uprooted and deprived of the possibility to practice their art safely in their home countries.

Through Pax Musica, we aim to open new spaces for dialogue between these displaced talents and the vibrant artistic and cultural life of our regions in France.

Pax Musica dares to believe in giving these artists a fair chance, by allowing them to be guided in their careers by a renowned mentor. Together, we wish to bring to life a musical and humanistic adventure; together, we aspire to build a ‘Refugee Music Team,’ just like at the Olympic Games!

This project is not only musical — it is profoundly humanistic. Its ambition is to make these uprooted artists the new faces of French cultural creation, and to turn them into ambassadors of our collective ability to welcome, pass on, and engage in dialogue through art.

OW: The projects led by Pax Musica range from fieldwork in conflict-affected regions to collaborations with major institutions. Which initiative are you most proud of to date, and why?

HD: The most memorable moment was our inaugural concert on April 1st, 2025, at the Conservatoire de Paris.

The hall was sold out, with over 330 people gathered, and the evening was presented by Émilie Munera from France Musique. But beyond the public success, this concert held a very personal resonance for me.

It was on this very stage that, 70 years ago, one of my grandmothers sat her harp exams. My other grandmother used to come here regularly to find teachers for the municipal music school she founded in her town of Limours (Essonne, Île-de-France). To stand there in turn, helping a new generation of exiled musicians to flourish, felt like closing a circle — while opening a new horizon.

Since that concert, we have received more than 70 applications from 24 countries. A first cohort of 11 laureates has been selected, and they will benefit from mentoring until June 2026, alongside artists such as Eva Zavaro, Raphaël Sévère, Dana Ciocarlie, Yona Zekri, Julie Sevilla-Fraysse, Nikita Mndoyants, Artyom Minasyan, Oussama Mhanna, Georges Wanis, Guillaume Berceau — covering classical, traditional, and jazz music.

On June 20th, for World Refugee Day and the Fête de la Musique, these laureates will finally be introduced to the public in the prestigious auditorium of the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris. It is a tremendous source of pride to see how this project, born from an intuition, has brought together and inspired so many people.

OW: Your work often bridges the gap between artists and policymakers. How does Pax Musica facilitate that dialogue, and what challenges have you encountered when trying to bring those worlds together?

HD: This dialogue lies at the very heart of Pax Musica’s mission.

On one side, we have refugee artists — often rendered invisible — who carry powerful stories and a musical heritage of immense richness. On the other, we have institutions, foundations, and cultural establishments that shape integration and cultural policies. Pax Musica acts as a bridge between these two spheres.

We foster this connection through hybrid formats: testimonial concerts, roundtable discussions, school workshops, and private gatherings. Each event becomes a space for speaking and listening, where exiled musicians are recognized not merely as beneficiaries but as full-fledged contributors to our artistic and civic life.

The main challenge lies in the time it takes to shift mindsets, and in the need to create formats accessible to both worlds. Yet this work is beginning to bear fruit: the BNP Paribas and Orange foundations support us; public figures such as Mercedes Erra, Louis Gallois, Jacques Attali, Jack Lang, Paolo Artini, and Constance Rivière amplify our mission; and we have been invited by Jack Lang to present our laureates at the Institut du Monde Arabe on June 20th.

Such recognition proves that art can truly serve as a lever for public policy, and that the musicians of Pax Musica can become ambassadors of the French cultural exception.

OW: What’s next for Pax Musica? Are there any upcoming programs, performances, or partnerships that you’re particularly excited about?

HD: The launch of our first cohort of laureate musicians in September 2025 marks a decisive turning point for Pax Musica.

Starting this autumn, our laureates will embark on an inspiring journey that weaves together elite artistic mentoring, professional development, and a deep commitment to cultural transmission.

Together with pioneering schools, our musicians will step into classrooms to share their life stories and offer musical moments that blend pedagogy, culture, and dialogue. Beyond schools, concerts in collaboration with the Alliance Française, alongside Franck Desroches, will introduce our musicians to new audiences both in France and abroad.

Crucially, we also aim to open our concerts to those who too often remain on the margins: beneficiaries of organisations like EMMAÜS Solidarité and JRS Welcome, with whom we already work closely. We firmly believe that access to music and art is a fundamental right — and a powerful lever for reintegration and dignity.

Every summer, Pax Musica’s laureates will find a second home in artist residencies hosted by families in magnificent heritage sites across France. From Eure-et-Loir to Burgundy, Savoie, and Bouches-du-Rhône, several exceptional locations have already pledged to open their doors.

A highlight of our season will be the major concert at the Palais de la Porte Dorée on December 18th, 2025, supported by Constance Rivière, to mark International Migrants Day. This highly anticipated evening will stand as both an artistic culmination and a profound symbolic gesture.

Finally, Pax Musica is taking its first steps onto the international stage. We have been invited to perform next year in Geneva, alongside high-level summits dedicated to peace and intercultural dialogue. Abroad, our musicians embody the best of the French cultural spirit — playing not just for applause, but to carry humanistic values and to shine a light on what it means to welcome, uplift, and connect through music.

OW: How could someone help your association ?

HD: Today, our priority is to secure the necessary funding to support our first cohort of refugee musicians with dignity and ambition.

Thanks to the generosity of our initial private donors and supportive foundations — including the BNP Paribas Foundation — we have already raised 50 percent of our first-year budget. But to fully bring this programme to life, we need new partners who, like us, believe that music has the power to change the world.

Supporting Pax Musica also means opening your stages to us: we are actively seeking institutions, festivals, local authorities, and independent venues ready to host our concerts. Programming a Pax Musica concert means contributing directly and visibly to the professional integration of these talented musicians.

You can also help by hosting musicians in residence, offering workshops, or simply by attending our concerts and spreading the word about our mission. We deeply believe in the power of human alliances and in each person’s ability to contribute, in their own way, to this artistic and social adventure.

OW: Your recently published book explores the intersection of music and geopolitics. Tell us more about it?

HD: My book, “Quand la musique fait l’histoire,” ed. Passés Composés, 2024 (“When Music Makes History”), was born from a deeply held conviction: music is never detached from the world around it.

I wanted to show how notes — without words — can speak of war, soothe the pain of exile, and carry a dream of reconciliation.

Across its 15 chapters, readers follow events like the unprecedented tour of the New York Philharmonic in Pyongyang in 2008 — an unexpected gesture of peace in one of the world’s most closed geopolitical contexts. Or the story of Arab music, which cannot be told without highlighting the formative influence of French thinkers and educators — notably the decisive role played by Baron d’Erlanger at the Cairo Congress.

This book reveals how the musical stage can be a subtle instrument of soft power, a theater of power, but also, at times, a springboard for hope. Music exposes our fractures — but when wisely guided, it can also harmonize peoples.

OW: What’s your personal relationship with opera? Is there a particular work that speaks to you and why?

HD: Opera moves me deeply because, as Wagner envisioned, it embodies a total art form — a space where music, theater, voice, architecture, and history merge to create an immersive, almost political experience.

I am also fascinated by its extraordinary ability to transcend centuries, regimes, and ideologies, while remaining a universal language of human emotion.

Among all works, Puccini’s “Turandot” holds a singular place in my imagination. Its plot unfolds in a dreamlike imperial China, but its stage destiny is very real: on September 28, 1998, the opera was performed inside Beijing’s Forbidden City, staged by Zhang Yimou and conducted by Zubin Mehta. This was not merely an artistic event — it was a profound act of cultural diplomacy, a way for China to claim a masterpiece of Western opera and weave it into its own imperial narrative.

That moment left a lasting mark on me, for it perfectly illustrates the link I explore in my book between artistic power and geopolitical projection. From 1998 to 2015, 364 theaters were built across China — more than 100 of them grand venues inspired by Western models. It was a clear demonstration that the finest expressions of music are not only art — they are also tools of prestige and soft power, projecting the cultural aura of cities and nations onto the global stage.

OW: And finally, if you could invite one composer / musician — living or deceased — to a Pax Musica roundtable, who would it be, and what would you want to ask them?

HD: I would not invite a composer, but rather Jules Antoine Lissajous, a 19th-century French physicist and pioneer. He attempted to establish a national musical standard: setting the ‘A’ at 435 Hz by scientific decree. In Western music, the ‘A’ is the reference note used to tune instruments. Behind this act lay a powerful message: music is also political. A single frequency can embody a political vision and a cultural ideal.

But history chose a different path. The 20th century saw Europe adopt the ‘A’ at 440 Hz, an American standard imposed by industry, not by musicians. This shift, inaudible to the ear, in fact revealed a broader shift in economic and technological power.

Today, a new revolution is unfolding: artificial intelligence in music. Generative models ‘recycle’ existing works, often without permission. They already influence what we hear, what gets promoted, what is monetized. AI raises critical questions for the entire cultural value chain. The risk is that an entire creative economy could be bypassed.

These issues are fascinating: they show how musical standards (or the lack of them) reflect our relationship to the world. We need public tools, ethical regulation, but also a shared vision of what music should mean in our digital societies.

This is why I would ask Lissajous today, ‘In this new turning point, what must we protect? What standards, what sovereignty, what shared vision do we wish to uphold through music?’

Because cultural sovereignty is never a given. It is something we build. It rests on political, technical, and artistic choices. And more than ever, it is urgent to tune our pitch pipes together…