Studying at an advanced age is often only possible if it can be individually adapted to the family and professional situation and no age guillotine mercilessly strikes.

The following interviews show that professional studies in midlife fall on very fertile ground thanks to a mature philosophy of life, life experience and expectations.

The "lifelong learning" megatrend is probably the most obvious consequence of the fact that we are getting older in a healthier way and can use our free time not primarily for recreation, but for pleasure, travel or further education. It is therefore not surprising that many people still want to change careers at the age of 30, 40 or even 50 and turn their vocation into a career.

The specific cases of Isabelle Schmied (42) and Dr. Andrea Schmidinger (51), who is now a practising specialist in neurosurgery, show that professional studies are also possible at an advanced age. Both decided to complete a Bachelor of Arts in Music at Kalaidos because they can tailor their studies to their personal circumstances here more than at other universities.

Michael Bühler talked to them.

What made you decide to go back to school and study music?

Isabelle Schmied: Even though my love of music has accompanied me since early childhood, I only discovered classical singing at the age of 21. The desire to study singing lay dormant in me for a long time, but it was only when I found my teacher in my early 30s, who finally taught me the right technique for free and natural singing, that I decided to make this long-cherished dream come true. Another ten years had to pass before life circumstances
had fitted.

Andrea Schmidinger: I always wanted to study the violin, but then decided to go into medicine. After my studies, specialist training and family challenges, I have been taking time for professional lessons for a few years now. Last year, I had the opportunity to perform Wieniawski's 2nd Violin Concerto as a soloist with the amateur orchestra I play in. In this context, I realized that now was the right time to study music.

What requirements had to be met for you to be able to combine your studies with your job or your private situation?

IS: For me, flexibility in terms of location and time was key in order to reconcile my various commitments as director of 3 choirs, my simultaneous training as a yodel choir conductor and my part-time employment with the Swiss Choral Association. The opportunity to complete part of my studies with online lessons is therefore very important to me.

AS: The most important thing for me is, on the one hand, being able to design the course in modules; on the other hand, very good time management is certainly important, a room where you can practise at any time and, last but not least, a very tolerant partner.

How did your private environment react to your decision?

IS: Without exception, my family and friends were delighted with my decision, as they know that I will be able to fulfill a long-cherished dream.

AS: The feedback from my closest family and friends was consistently supportive and positive.

Is your decision to enter a high-performance profession taken seriously or ridiculed by other musicians?

IS: So far, I've actually only received positive feedback. And what others think about my decision plays a subordinate role for me, because I know how to assess my career opportunities and have realistic expectations.

AS: The musicians I'm friends with think it's good in principle, even if they don't quite understand it because I already have a great job.

It has been 30 years since the Orchestrina Chur was founded in the summer of 1994 by a small group of musicians together with conductor Heinz Girschweiler. Since then, the Orchestrina has grown and the association now consists of around 25 amateur string players. Ruth Michael has been concertmaster since the orchestra was founded and has played a key role in shaping the orchestra. 

Until 1999, the choir worked closely with the St. Martin choir in Chur. Even then, the activities for the parish were supplemented by its own concerts. Since the Orchestrina separated from the church, two to three concert programs have been performed each year. In 2013, cellist Anita Jehli took over the direction of the Orchestrina. She was already known to some of the orchestra's musicians and was therefore approached without further ado. She originally agreed to a project and has fortunately remained with the ensemble to this day. As a cellist, she can always give the right tips and practical solutions to "typical string" difficulties.

Haydn, C. P. E. Bach and world premieres
In 2016, she conducted the orchestra from the cello for the first time in a cello concerto by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. An experiment that was repeated in February 2023, to mark her tenth anniversary as conductor of the Orchestrina: there with the Cello Concerto by Camille Saint-Saëns, which was played in an arrangement for string orchestra and solo cello. A very special concert that will be remembered by everyone involved! Just like the project Four seasons from June 2023, in which the Orchestrina, together with the Tanzerina, a ballet school from Chur, will perform Vivaldi's Seasons performed.

Special programs have also been put together for many anniversary concerts. In 2014, for example, concertmaster Ruth Michael played a violin concerto by Joseph Haydn to mark the 20th anniversary. In 2019, Mario Giovanoli composed the work for the 25th anniversary of the Orchestrina Fire, earth, air and silver. The Orchestrina also celebrated its 30th anniversary with a work composed especially for it: Bernina Expresscomposed by Robert Grossmann. At the beginning of February, the Orchestrina performed Gassmann's new work in three anniversary concerts in various Graubünden municipalities.

It is very important to Orchestrina Chur to promote soloists and composers from the canton of Graubünden and to offer them a platform. Thanks to Anita Jehli's many program ideas, exciting and varied programs will continue to be heard in the future, which both listeners and players can look forward to!

www.orchestrina.ch

Wolfgang Clausnitzer, Member of the Board, talks to our President Tomas Dratva.

Tomas, the EPTA has been around in Switzerland for 40 years, what is the EPTA and what are its benefits?

The EPTA (European Piano Teachers' Association) was founded in the UK in the 1970s. National EPTA foundations soon followed in many European countries - in Switzerland in 1984. The most important concerns of the EPTA include professional exchange, networking and further training among pianists. This takes place primarily in the form of international and national conferences and meetings.  

The international conference is coming up soon, how often does that happen?

The "46th International EPTA Conference 2024" in Lucerne is part of a long series of conferences that are held in a different country every year, most recently in Rome, Guimarães and Madrid. These conferences are the largest piano-related congresses in Europe.

What do you think of the international conference in Lucerne?

We offer a very varied program with 50 speakers from all over the world, who will give lectures, lecture recitals and workshops on both artistic and piano pedagogical topics.

Was it difficult to find so many speakers and to attract female speakers?

We consider ourselves fortunate to have found a strong and attractive cooperation partner in the Lucerne School of Music and its students and researchers. Our "Call for Proposals" last summer on the topic of "CHANGES - Visions & Evolutions in Piano Music" was answered by many pianists and researchers. This made it rather easy for us to offer our congress content. 

We look forward to educational and eventful piano days and encourage the Swiss professional audience to visit us. Rarely does a top-class piano congress take place so close to our doorstep. Registrations for listeners are possible until February 15, 2024.

The Arosa Culture Association has been offering the Arosa Music Course Weeks for 38 years. Every summer and fall, around 1400 participants find their way to the magnificent mountain world of Arosa. Around 200 experienced instructors from Switzerland and abroad are involved. The courses, most of which last 6 days, are aimed at amateur musicians as well as professional musicians and students.

Not only music courses on offer

Around 80 instrumental courses are offered for a wide variety of string, wind, keyboard and percussion instruments. A varied program awaits participants in the various choir and singing weeks. 

But Arosa Kultur doesn't just offer music courses. The program also includes painting courses, various dance courses, a course for speech training and an instrument making course. Once again, there are also various beginners' courses and special courses for children and young people.

New in the program

The following courses will be offered for the first time in 2024: Beginners' course for zither with Hedi and Hans Eggimann- Chamber music for guitar/strings/flute with Nicolas Corti, Han Jonkers and Hieronymus Schädler - Flamenco guitar with Alexander Gil - Gospel week with Susan Wipf and Herbert Sahli - Innovative Strings with Michèle Walther - Film music for piano with Laura Valkovsky - Master class for piccolo with Nolwenn Bargin - Renaissance dance and music with Véronique Daniels and Claire Foltzer and Baroque violin with Claire Foltzer and Andreas Westermann.

Arosa Music Academy and master classes 

The Arosa Music Course Weeks are also an international player in the field of top-level promotion. 15 different master classes and two Arosa Music Academies will take place in Arosa in summer and fall 2024. Several prizes from the Hans Schaeuble Foundation will be awarded to participants. 

Information and registration

All information about the courses and registration can be found
on the Internet at www.musikkurswochen.ch or www.meisterkursearosa.ch. The printed course program can be obtained from
Arosa Kultur office (see contact). There is a 40 franc discount for early bookers until the end of February.

With Leslie Leon (Head of Master's in Education), Jens Bracher (Head of Master's in Performance) and Luise Tophoff (Head of Administration), we have found competent and committed employees. Leslie is a singer and university lecturer in speech training and communication, Jens is a trumpeter and previously head of a university career center, Luise has experience as a team leader in an international company and a private educational institute. All three proved to be our preferred candidates in an application process and show great enthusiasm for leading the University of Music. After many fulfilling
years at Kalaidos, the now former team is looking forward to being able to observe their commitment from afar.

Why did you apply to the Kalaidos University of Music?

Luise Tophoff (LT) I'm looking forward to working in an innovative environment that moves with the times, in a university of applied sciences that adapts to students' life situations. 

Leslie Leon (LL) I am delighted to be able to contribute my expertise in music practice and university didactics to the Kalaidos University of Music.
set.

Jens Bracher (JB)  After my experience at a music college in northern Germany, I can now work close to where I live and where my children live!

What is important to you in the further development of the university?

JB As a private university, Kalaidos can and must operate differently from public institutions. This means taking a more direct look at the current musical landscape,
must be foreseen in order to
to tailor offers more quickly to the needs of students.

LT Stronger networking with other departments could offer us the opportunity to benefit from and inspire each other. I am also particularly interested in goal-oriented, cooperative teamwork, the continuous deepening of specialist knowledge and high-quality support for students.

How will the conservatoire landscape change? In which areas should conservatoires change in order to meet the requirements of new professional fields, technical developments and generations of students?

LL If we look at global education trends, we can see that the future of learning will be more digital. We will be dealing with topics such as mobile learning, the use of adaptive learning algorithms, personalized learning processes and individual learning journeys, as well as the gamification of learning processes. Nevertheless, I also expect a counter-trend, and this is what makes studying at a music university like Kalaidos so valuable: direct, personal, analog communication, the personal experience of music.

JB The question of the relevance of the music profession will become even more important. Here we will increasingly encourage students to reflect on their
The aim of the program is to invite young people to enter this professional field and to promote an examination of how artists see themselves in society. This goes hand in hand with the mediation and connection of art and an entrepreneurial mindset, which is not a contradiction in terms.
represents.

There has been a lot of talk recently that there are too many music students who don't stand a chance on the job market. Does today's world need fewer artists?

JB I wouldn't say that we are letting too many people go without opportunities, but that  many music students are trained for too few professional fields. We can't educate enough people musically! But we need additional, non-specialist key qualifications that give musicians the opportunity to open up a broader 'market' for themselves.

LL In line with the growing appreciation of the direct and analog, we need more artists who do not remain in the ivory tower of art, but instead make their art tangible.
for a wide variety of people: young and old, with little or a lot of previous education, in different contexts. Art must come to the people - this is how we can make a contribution and increase our fields of activity and thus the demand for art.

What do you think are the biggest challenges for 2024? What are you looking forward to?

JB I am particularly pleased to be able to work in a small team. I'm also looking forward to the contact with students and lecturers. 

LT Meeting the growing demands for greater flexibility and individualization of educational pathways and preparing graduates for social challenges will remain an important topic. I am looking forward to taking on this task and working with the team to help ensure that students can organize their studies with the greatest possible flexibility.

We are very happy that you are now working in the management of the Kalaidos University of Music, that you enable students to study with great flexibility and practical relevance, and we wish you all the best and much success!

"Music is not a thing but an activity, something that people do." This is how the American musicologist and composer Christopher Small explained the meaning of his neologism Musicking 25 years ago. This community-building dimension of music is at the heart of the Opera mediatrix research project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. It deals with contemporary music theater in Switzerland. 

Emphasis on the collective

The combination of musicking with stories and scenic representation predestines the genre of music theater for the aesthetic encoding of we-identities. A comparison of concise local productions therefore seems particularly suitable for working out country-specific characteristics with regard to the relationship between music theater and collective identity formation. And indeed, the project team from Bern University of the Arts, consisting of Leo Dick, Katelyn King and Noémie Favennec, has been able to identify some constant patterns in the history of the genre here.

Contrary to the dramaturgical conventions of classical opera, Swiss music theater in the 20th and 21st centuries does not focus on the acting individual, but rather on the - usually passively suffering - collective. The genre is thus fundamentally in line with similar tendencies in neighboring artistic disciplines. However, while a critical tradition of relentless analysis of failed collective action has become established in Swiss literature and the visual arts, for example, music theater (as well as Swiss film) still tends to implicitly idealize a "united nation of brothers" (and sisters). In this way, the genre subliminally participates in the construction of a harmonizing self-image of Switzerland, which has been propagated by a political elite under the label of Helvetia mediatrix since the beginning of the 20th century. This also applies to pieces by progressive music theater makers who are unsuspicious of any reactionary Swissness.

Music-theatrical mother-child symbioses

Whether in the musical theater of Christoph Marthaler or Thom Luz, whether in chamber operas by Mela Meierhans or Helena Winkelman: the singing and musical collective is always sent on a symbolic search for a lost mother-child symbiosis in the local repertoire. 

Schiller's future-oriented pathos of freedom in the Rütli Oath is replaced by restrained, melancholy retrospection and a longing for the past. The finale of Xavier Dayer's Alzheim, for example, in which a group of dementia patients remember the Wehrliknaben's song from their own childhood shortly before they mentally fade away, is emblematic of this. In contrast to the country's epic and dramatic literature, such as Jeremias Gotthelf's The Black Spider or Friedrich Dürrenmatt's The Visit of the Old Lady, the punishing or cruel mother hardly ever enters the Swiss musical theater stage. Within the genre, the metaphorical field is largely left to the evocation of the ideal image of a protective and nurturing mother (Helvetia).

Art research at the interface between cultural and political education

On the one hand, the research project is to be understood as a contribution to historiography in a field of repertoire that is still neglected by musicology. On the other hand, the research team also aims to carry out educational work in the transitional area between cultural, aesthetic and political education. Publications of comparative play analyses, for example in the anthology Musicking Collective, which will soon be published by Argus, aim to impart narrative competence. In this case, this refers to knowledge about the ways in which political narratives are overtly or covertly inscribed in (music-theatrical) works of art. Ideally, this results in a sensitization to the manipulative mechanisms of political storytelling in artistic packaging. After all, like any form of theater, music theater is made for a playful examination of society and questions of identity and meaning.

As always, the Annual General Meeting was accompanied by an additional program. First, members were invited to visit the newly opened "Ligeti Labyrinth" exhibition at the Basel Music Museum. Heidy Zimmermann, curator of the exhibition and the Ligeti Collection at the Paul Sacher Foundation, gave an interesting introduction to the life and work of György Ligeti, for whose 100th birthday the exhibition was conceived. The impressive selection of music manuscripts, sound recordings and other documents from Ligeti's life provided plenty to talk about among the members.

After the exhibition, a short walk through Basel's old town led to the Münsterhügel, where the Annual General Meeting took place in the hall of the Allgemeine Lesegesellschaft. 

SMG Annual General Meeting 

Cristina Urchueguía, Central President of the SMG, chaired the 104th Annual General Meeting of the Central Society and reported on the past year. Following the difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic, all events were able to run smoothly again. Three projects in the SMG's diverse program in 2023 were particularly highlighted: 

On November 17-18, the conference "Taking the necessary steps." Karl Nef (1873-1935) and Musicology - Workshop to Celebrate 100 Years of Full Professorship at the University of Basel" was held at the Basel Musicology Department. The conference highlighted the importance of the infrastructure to which Karl Nef had made a significant contribution and for which he had lobbied, such as the music department of the University Library Basel and the instrument collection of the Historical Museum
Basel. 

From November 23-25, the conference "Music in Switzerland in the past and present: The Swiss music lexicon for the 21st century" and a related workshop took place at the University of Bern. The conference was an important step in the direction of a new, modern and networked music lexicon.  

In the course of 2023, the archive holdings of the Bern, Lucerne and Zurich sections and the head office were transferred to the Basel University Library. The historical documents of the Basel section, which date back to a predecessor society founded in 1899, were already held there. The archives of the Ticino sections are already stored in public archives (Bellinzona, Geneva). Thanks to the voluntary work of students, SMG members, the Central President and the Managing Director of the SMG, it was possible to prepare the material for the archive in advance and pack it appropriately, so that cataloging and provision is already underway. 

As is customary for all associations, the annual accounts were also presented to the SMG members and put to the vote. Following the report by Treasurer Christoph Ballmer, the Board of Directors was unanimously discharged. The assembled members thanked Christoph Ballmer for his excellent work. 

Amendments to the Articles of Association 

Last year, the Board of Directors discussed the Articles of Association in order to update them where necessary. This resulted in two proposed changes to the statutes. Firstly, the term "local groups" should be changed to "sections", as local ties are no longer the main reason for membership, and secondly, the Executive Board (Central Society) should be referred to as the Central Board to avoid confusion between the Central Board and the section boards. The proposed amendments to the Articles of Association were approved by the members. In addition, the proposal to dissolve the Dissertation Fund in favor of the Editions Fund was unanimously approved.

Further messages  

Cristina Urchueguía informed the members of the death of Angelika Salge, Head of the Music Department of the Zurich Central Library and member of the SMG Editorial Commission, and paid tribute to her as a highly esteemed colleague. Cristina Urchueguía expressed her heartfelt condolences to her family and colleagues on behalf of the SMG. The members stood for a minute's silence in memory of Angelika Salge.

After three terms as Central President of the SMG-SSM, Cristina Urchueguía will be standing down from her position at the next Annual General Meeting. If no one comes forward for the presidency, she will continue in office. 

The next Annual General Meeting will take place in fall 2024. 

Saturday evening, November 4, 2023, ballroom of Muri Abbey AG: The musicians of the Siggenthal Youth Orchestra (SJO) take the stage, followed by pianist Oliver Schnyder and long-time musical director Marc Urech. Marc is the reason why I'm here. I've been asked to write an article to mark his departure from the orchestra, in which I myself played some 20 years ago as a young adult.

A woodwind chord sounds, string pizzicati, Oliver Schnyder conjures up a pastoral in the room: the Fifth, "Egyptian" Piano Concerto by Camille Saint-Saëns. From the first note, I am right in the middle of it, the energy of the orchestra immediately infects me. Marc is bursting with emotion, as always. Nevertheless, he seems almost cool, serene by his standards, and I imagine a smile or two, although I can't see any of it sitting behind him. After the interval: Antonín Dvorák's Ninth Symphony. I myself played the piece for the first time in the SJO. Some things sound different than before: more daring, freer. The arc is stretched to immeasurable proportions - and it holds until the final tutti. The applause is huge. In keeping with an old SJO tradition, Marc addresses a few words to the audience, welcomes new orchestra members and bids farewell to older ones, begins in a whisper and leads into a huge crescendo. Full of impressions, memories and emotions, I make my way home.

Sustainable promotion

A few days later, I meet Marc for a chat at the Musikwerkstatt Windisch-Brugg, the SJO's longstanding rehearsal venue. "It was always important to me to create an environment where you can let yourself go - because you know that you won't be dropped. If this trust is there, the young people are prepared to leave their own comfort zone, to challenge themselves and to be challenged. And that's what I demand in every rehearsal. That's how promotion happens in a completely different sustainable way." Fundamental words are spoken early on. Marc is not one for the superficial; it's always about the core, the essentials. And about more than just music. 

During his time as conductor of the SJO, Marc regularly included large, technically difficult works on the concert programs. Saint-Saëns and Dvorák, symphonies by Tchaikovsky or Brahms: "Works that you don't already have in your fingers as a child or teenager. That's only possible because we can spend four to five months getting to grips with them in depth and the younger ones are carried away by the energy of the older ones." In fact, the age range of the orchestra members is unusually wide: the youngest are 12, the oldest 26. There is no entrance audition. "The 12-year-old sits next to someone who has been in the orchestra for eight years and has played 16 programs. Sitting opposite him is someone who is studying violin at the conservatory. That's normal for us. It's a give and take. The younger members benefit from the older ones, and as older members they give back later. The young people are in the orchestra for an average of seven years, that's a third of their lives. During this time, they develop more than ever before. When they are in this protected workshop, they make impressions that are incredibly deep and indelible - like a tattoo."

Enduring the balancing act

When asked about the reasons for his resignation, Marc hesitates. "The SJO has been my family home since I started playing in the orchestra myself at the age of ten. In all those years, I never canceled a rehearsal, even during the pandemic we rehearsed whenever possible, even if that meant triple the work due to the division of the orchestra. There was never a but, only all-in. Even as a child and teenager, I really appreciated this commitment, and even later there was never anything that stopped me from rehearsing with the boys. But this commitment is also draining. As a result, my environment, my family, had to take a back seat too often."

The SJO will be led by clarinettist and conductor Roman Blum, himself a former member of the orchestra and Marc's student. He is also the son of theologian Walter Blum, who founded the SJO in 1979. "As a youth worker - and that's what you are in this job - you have a responsibility to listen and look closely: What contributes to sustainable support? I sincerely hope that Roman can find this out for himself, that he can find the balance, that he can manage the balancing act between the needs of the young people and the demands from outside. Because there is no recipe for this. And I hope that the SJO will always have people around it who are willing to walk the tightrope, because in the end it's always about the young people. In this way, the SJO will be able to preserve the values that make it unique: openness, tolerance, empathy, the desire to be different, and thus come together in orchestral playing."

The promotion of musical talent is of crucial importance for the development and realization of individual potential. A decisive factor for the success of this is the qualified management team.

This not only brings with it a sound education in the field of music education, but also a passion for accordion playing and the individual support of each participant. 

The experience of taking part not only boosts young people's self-confidence, but also encourages a competitive spirit and the further development of musical skills.

Why you should be there: 

Experience the power of music: learn from an inspiring conductor and develop your full musical potential. 

Discover different styles: the accordion offers endless possibilities for musical development. 

Become part of our community: make friends in a supportive environment and share the joy of making music with friends.

What are you waiting for?

Sign up now and start your musical adventure! Share this opportunity with friends and motivate them to join you. Be there when we conquer the stage and enchant the world with our music! Sign up now and experience the fascination of the accordion.

Registration: 

Contact us with an email at info@accordeon.ch 

You can find detailed information at www.accordeon.ch

Dear teacher, motivate your students to register. (accordion, drums or piano)

The annual scholarship competition of the Kalaidos University of Music took place on November 13, 2023. This year, the prizes of the annual Istvan Kertész Competition were awarded at the same time. The two funding instruments recognize outstanding young artists and complement the services of the Kalaidos Scholarship Fund, which supports students in difficult financial situations.

Students from all degree programs at Kalaidos University of Music were invited to give an approximately twenty-minute performance of pieces in various styles in order to qualify for the scholarships and prizes. From current pop compositions to organ music, a wide variety of pieces, interpretations and very personal styles could be heard on this concert day. 

Students from the jazz and pop department performed in a band with vocals, piano, drums and bass; students from the classical department played violin, cello, piano, organ, flute and guitar. Experts were invited for each instrument to judge the performances of the individual students. Of course, it was not easy for the jury to award the scholarships and prizes - they had to  We were able to compare many excellent performances of different styles and instrument groups and to highlight some of them.

The scholarships from the Kalaidos University of Music went to the following young artists:

• Alexander Argirov, who has just completed his teacher training and started further training in classical singing at the Kalaidos University of Music, impressed the jury with his warm, sonorous voice and expressive text presentation;
• Zhang Zhixin, who will soon be completing his bachelor's degree in violin performance, impressed the audience with his diverse tonal colors and virtuoso ease in compositions by Gabriel Fauré and Henryk Wienawski;
• and the not yet twenty-year-old Inessa Kulmer, who is studying for a Master's degree in Performance Violin and performed compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach, Camille Saint-Saëns and Claude Debussy with a great variety of colors, exhausting the possibilities of her instrument from the softest breath to fireworks of chords. 
• A sponsorship award went to the singer Katharina Deierlein, the pianist Riccardo Venanzi and the percussionist Wenbiao Yuan, who sang about lovesickness in a small, fine concert program ranging from 1920s swing to lively original compositions.
• In addition to the scholarships, the prizes of the Kértesz competition were also awarded:

First prize went to pianist Zeyu Zhao, who is studying for a Master's degree and impressed the jury with his virtuoso ease in his interpretation of a work by Chopin. The second prize was shared by cellist Selin Demirel, who performed compositions by Ahmed Adnan Saygun and Edouard Lalo with a wonderful sound and wide-ranging phrasing, and pianist Ruben Russo, who interpreted a composition by Brahms with a great variety of dynamic and agogic shaping. The organist Marie Königsbeck, who presented a clear polyphony and a varied registration, was awarded third prize. The Swiss prize went to violinist Elisabeth Kulmer, who shone with great virtuosity and technical precision.

After this day, we program directors are proud to be able to accompany all of these extraordinary artists in their careers. We know from our own experience what great commitment, perseverance and creative energy musicians need to learn a musical instrument from an early age, to spend countless hours perfecting technique and musical interpretation and to persevere through all obstacles, not least financial ones, to be enthusiastic about music and to share this enthusiasm with an audience. Our love of music sometimes makes us forget the great effort that goes into doing everything for a profession.
which in most cases is associated with precarious working conditions.

We are delighted to be able to financially support the work of these young artists and hope that our work will help these young musicians to continue to develop in their own individual style and to continue to infect their audiences with their enthusiasm for music and enchant them with their richness of expression - after all, we have learned in recent years that, especially in moments of uncertainty and fear of the future, deeply felt artistic expression and the commitment of a young generation can give us strength and hope to face the future more optimistically and perhaps turn it into something positive. 

At Arosa Sounds at the beginning of February, young talent from Graubünden is a central part of the program. Under the motto "Bündner Sounds", three Grisons singers will perform with the same backing band on each of two evenings. Original compositions are rearranged and rehearsed together in advance. The mixture of young and established musicians is a challenge, but enriching for everyone. The new interpretations bring new facets to the songs and inspire the audience. Marco Todisco, Chiara Jacomet and Julie Fox  will showcase their qualities as singer-songwriters on Thursday evening, while Friday will be rockier and more energetic with Dario Hess, Sarah Mark and Gianni Tschenett. Concerts with musicians from outside the canton of Graubünden round off the festival program. This year, the Bernese saxophonist Sha and Elvis cover versions accompanied by a band and string quartet can be heard.

The Arosa Classical Music Festival includes twelve concerts, seven of which will be performed by winners of the Hans Schaeuble Award. A total of twelve prizewinners will be performing in Arosa: three accordionists, four saxophonists, three violinists, a violist and a cellist. They all attended the Arosa Music Academy master class in Arosa in the fall and were awarded the Hans Schaeuble Award for their exceptional musical performances. In two groups, they will each develop a concert program in Arosa and perform it in Arosa, Chur and Zurich. They will be guests at the Klibühni - Das Theater in Chur and in Zurich as part of the Mittagsmusik concert series in the Predigerchor of the Zentralbibliothek Zurich and in the Johanneskirche Zurich. With the Duo Recantores, consisting of Kristina Bistriha, soprano / Anton Savchuk, piano and the Duo Christoph Croisé, cello / Alexander Panfilov, piano, established international artists can be heard in Arosa. The jazz quartet "Erwin Füchslin - Laurent Girard - Thise Meyer - Madlaina Küng", which plays improvised music at the interface between folk music, jazz and classical music, deserves a special mention. Bergkirchli concerts with Jasmine Vollmer, harp, Edmauro de Oliveira, guitar and Franco Mettler, clarinet complete the festival program. 

Arosa Sounds

February 1-3, 2024
Program
Sha solo / Bündner Sounds with Marco Todisco, Chiara Jacomet, Julie Fox, Dario Hess, Sarah Mark and Gianni Tschenett / Julie Fox solo / Gianni Tschenett solo / Aloha from Hawaii
All information at www.arosasounds.ch

Arosa Classical Music Festival

March 12 - 30, 2024
7 concerts with winners of the Hans Schaeuble Award / Jazz Quartet "Erwin Füchslin/Laurent Girard/Thise Meyer/Madlaina Küng" / Christoph Croisé and Alexander Panfilov / Duo Recantores / Edmauro de Oliveira and Franco Mettler / Jasmine Vollmer
All information at www.arosaklassik.ch

In its anniversary year, EPTA Switzerland is delighted to be hosting the 46th International EPTA Conference from February 29 - March 3, 2024 in partnership with the Lucerne School of Music. At Europe's largest annual conference on the piano, over 50 speakers from all over the world will present lectures, lecture recitals and workshops on the topic of "Changes - Visions & Evolutions in Piano Music".

For decades, the International EPTA Conference has provided a unique artistic and piano pedagogical forum for pianists. Piano playing, interpretation and piano pedagogy come alive - the latest research is shared and discussed. 

Registrations for listeners are open until 15.2.2024 (Early Bird discount until 31.12.23). More information can be found at www.epta.ch. EPTA Switzerland is looking forward to meeting all speakers and guests.

Review 2023

In October, EPTA Switzerland held its fall conference in collaboration with the Bern University of the Arts. The two-day congress was dedicated to the topic of "Piano in Motion". The focus was on workshops and lectures on the subject of "Magic Piano" - a central research topic at the HKB. Radio SRF 2 Kultur was a live guest at an EPTA conference for the first time. The program "Diskothek vor Publikum: Welte Mignon - eine pianistische Zeitreise" was recorded in the concert hall under the direction of music editor Eva Oertle with sound engineer Andreas Werner and pianist Tomas Dratva. 

Numerous questions of interpretation regarding text fidelity, improvisation, agogic, articulation and dynamics in a historical context were discussed. The recordings of the piano rolls offered astonishing insights. The program can be listened to at any time at www.srf.ch.

On November 11, 2023, the Salle Grenette in Fribourg became the meeting place for all Swiss people interested in music and health. Experts from music academies, associations, physiotherapists, teachers and researchers gathered to discuss the topic. They presented a differentiated picture of how physical and mental health issues are dealt with in the Swiss music scene. One of the key questions was how individual music-making can be improved without losing motivation. Recent research results currently paint a rather worrying picture. Elena Alessandri, Head of the Competence Center Music Performance Research at the Lucerne School of Music (HSLU-M), presented recent studies, for example, which indicate that music students have to contend with above-average physical and mental deficits right from the start of their studies compared to the population as a whole. 

Carine Tripet-Lièvre, Head of the General Pedagogy program at the Haute école de musique Genève - Neuchâtel, Andreas Cincera, who works at the Scuola Universitaria di Musica della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano (SUM) and at the Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH/HKB), as well as Oliver Margulies, research assistant in the field of music physiology, preventive and musician's medicine in the Department of Music at the ZHdK. If one had to draw a common conclusion from their presentations, it would probably be this: There is still a lot to be done in terms of holistic music education that does not extinguish the inner fire of the students. Cincera illustrated the task with a virtual thick book that would list the countless research projects on the subject that have not yet been tackled.

The keynote speakers were child and adolescent psychiatrist Anke Grell and German musician Antonia Pfeiffer. The former highlighted child and adolescent brain development and its connection to skills and deficits in self-efficacy. Antonia Pfeiffer was connected via video and Zoom due to illness. She explained variations of tapping techniques that can be used to counteract performance anxiety, for example. The techniques are known from kinesiology. Pfeiffer presented further developments by the German physician Michael Bohne.  

Health Day Music for all 

With the Music Health Day, Swissmedmusica offers a networking event that covers all aspects of prevention, pedagogy and musician medicine and provides a practice-oriented information platform for interested parties of all kinds. The campaign also includes a list of health services offered by members of the association on the Swissmedmusica.ch website (under "Services"). Members also benefit from a comprehensive newsletter with information on events, current news from the field of musician's medicine, literature and media references and other interesting content. Membership is open to anyone who sees conscious health work as an opportunity to improve their own music-making and general quality of life.   

The next Music Health Day will take place on November 9, 2024 in Lucerne's Neubad. In close collaboration with the HSLU-M team, the aim is to once again provide an overview of contemporary methods and techniques of music education.  prevention and healthy, inspired music-making.  

Link to the report by Marianne Wälchli

Interested parties had until September 22, 2023 to submit a statement on the Cultural Dispatch 2025-2028. SONART made use of this opportunity and coordinated its statement with the umbrella organizations Suisseculture, Suisseculture Sociale, the Swiss Music Council and the Culture Taskforce.

Some selected points from SONART's statement are explained below.

Social security

It is pleasing that the federal government wants to improve the social security of cultural professionals with various measures. After all, as in any other professional field, working conditions in the cultural sector should allow cultural professionals to pursue their profession under good conditions. This includes appropriate compensation for the work performed as well as adequate social security through the social insurance system.

The consideration of appropriate remuneration in the assessment of funding applications - as provided for in the cultural message - is therefore to be welcomed. The fact that the recommendations of professional associations for salaries and fees are to be used in the assessment of appropriateness is very promising. This consideration of appropriate remuneration must be acknowledged with corresponding additional funding for cultural promotion.

However, the systemic problems cannot be solved through cultural promotion alone; the social security system needs to be adapted for atypical forms of employment in general and for the self-employed. For this reason, it is positive that increased cooperation between the Federal Office of Culture FOC and the Federal Social Insurance Office FSIO is envisaged in certain areas and that selective adjustments to the social insurance system are also being considered. However, in our opinion, the social insurance system should be fundamentally adapted to so-called "atypical employment relationships" - an increasing phenomenon in all sectors.

Consideration of the entire value creation process in cultural promotion

It is very much to be welcomed that the upstream and downstream phases of production are also to be supported as part of the updating of cultural funding. We are convinced that funding the upstream phases (research and development) and improving the funding of the downstream phases (promotion, diffusion and communication) will improve the financial situation of creative artists on the one hand, and that this type of funding is also much more in line with the artistic creative process on the other.

Increased cooperation in cultural policy

Another positive aspect is that the federal government wants to strengthen cooperation in cultural policy with the cantons, cities, municipalities, cultural associations and private cultural promotion institutions. In our opinion, experience during the pandemic, but also in the run-up to the drafting of the cultural message, shows that the exchange between state entities responsible for cultural promotion on the one hand and cultural associations on the other is particularly beneficial.

Music promotion

Some important changes are also planned in the area of music promotion. SONART welcomes, for example, the equalization of the differences in the funding measures for different music genres. It is also right that projects in the fields of pop, rap and electro should receive more support in future, as well as selected festivals and venues.

For Pro Helvetia to successfully implement the measures, however, it needs significantly more funding than has been available for music promotion to date. 

It is pleasing that "the further development of appropriate framework conditions in the digital environment" is also mentioned as a cultural policy objective. In SONART's opinion, this includes measures that encourage the globally oriented large streaming platforms such as Spotify to act more locally. It is crucial that the international streaming platforms have local teams in Switzerland who are familiar with the diverse Swiss music scene and place Swiss music on playlists in Switzerland and abroad to improve its visibility.

Financial framework for federal cultural funding

The funding provided by the federal government for the four-year period is not sufficient. In view of inflation and the general reduction in the culture budget announced by the federal government in 2024 alone, the budget needs to grow faster than planned. The growth of the culture budget in the years 2025-2028 should be at least 2.5 % (instead of the planned average nominal growth of 1.2 %).

"Dear Doctor, you have no idea what you have done with your letter of 8.1.55 - for which I thank you nonetheless [sic!]: to expect a Basel resident to give a lecture in Berne on Carnival Monday! Joking aside: if all else failed, I would even come to Bern on February 28, because I'm really looking forward to it. [...]" This is the first paragraph of Hans Ehinger's reply to Kurt von Fischer, then President of the SMG Bern section, to his invitation to give a lecture. A humorous letter like this is only a small part of the SMG archive, which consists of minutes, membership lists, correspondence, event programs and many other documents. For some years now, the SMG has been asking itself how these documents from the history of the SMG can be stored properly. On the initiative of Central President Cristina Urchueguía, a contract was concluded in December 2022 with the Basel University Library, where the holdings of the Basel chapter are already stored, so that the SMG archives can be transferred to its holdings and made accessible for research. While the holdings of the Svizzera italiana section are already stored in the State Archives of the Canton of Ticino, the remaining holdings were distributed among the various sections in Switzerland. The SMG archive material was mostly stored in folders, boxes and envelopes and had to be sorted and repackaged for archiving. 

Never again Bostitch: the materiality of the archive 

In response to the SMG's call, a spirited five-person archive team came together, consisting of Cristina Urchueguía, Tim Bösiger, Dominic Studer, Gabrielle Favre and Helen Gebhart. In July, the team accepted an invitation from Iris Lindenmann (music specialist) and Lorenz Heiligensetzer (archives collection manager) to the University Library Basel, where they were given an introduction to the art of archiving. To the great delight of the archive team, white lab coats were also provided. It soon became clear that decisions have to be made constantly in archiving work: Which documents need to be archived and which can safely be thrown away? Should an oversized page be packed in a special format or should it be archived folded? What is the best way to pack papers so that the original order can be recognized by researchers? After the workshop, the team set to work sifting through and repackaging the archives of the Basel, Zurich, Bern and Head Office sections. In the weeks that followed, the team battled intensively against rusty staples, glued-together pages and a lot of dust from several centuries. Dominic Studer, who found the work rather monotonous at first, recounts his experiences: "There was hardly anything as tedious as removing thin carbon paper from the sometimes rusty Bostitch staples. It was all the nicer when you found a relatively "metal-free" folder for archiving. The long-term effect of adhesive tape on paper was also quite astonishing. I think these are things that you hardly ever think about when archiving your own files. I haven't used a Bostitch since the internship!". 

Many exciting documents came to light during the archiving process: calligraphically designed membership cards, handwritten letters on a wide variety of paper,  The program of events included a lecture-concert at the Zurich Section by Wanda Landwoska "Harpsichord and Clavichord with J.S. Bach" from 1922. It was particularly exciting to discover which well-known musicologists had already given lectures at the SMG in the past. 

On the trail of the family 

In addition to the history of the SMG, personal traces can also be traced in the SMG archive, as Gabrielle Favre explains: "My parents were both musicologists and members of the SMG; my father was also involved on the board of the Bern section, and my mother worked for several years as an auditor in the same section. Naturally, both of them often took part in the events offered by the SMG, and I often accompanied them. That's where my historical interest in archiving SMG documents came from, and I was particularly pleased during the project work when we in the team came across documents that contained "traces of my parents"."