‘Le musicien intervenant’ is a concept that has been developed in France especially to increase the scope of musical education, particularly in the elementary and pre-elementary schools. The ‘intervenants’ are not substitute teachers but are trained to work with school teachers as part of a team, offering children a high quality introduction to music. Intervenants also help to develop other musical activities in the localities where they work. Nine institutions throughout France (Centres de Formation de Musiciens Intervenant – CFMI) offer diploma courses. The author of this article is Director of the Centre at Lyon. He outlines his philosophy of music education, and describes some important aspects of his work – notably the commissioning of compositions that exploit contemporary musical ideas but are easily accessible for all children.