The solution to these problems may lie in making a virtue of necessity and finding teaching formats in which students spend more time at the music school without requiring teachers to work longer hours—which is not feasible for cost reasons. We would therefore have to move away from viewing private lessons as the only valid form of instruction. Ensemble lessons are certainly a good complement to private lessons, but they only make sense if the ensemble members already possess a certain level of skill. And in group lessons, there is a risk that individual students will be either overstimulated or underchallenged. So how can we create, without incurring additional costs, a learning environment with more time spent at the school—one in which students can fully develop their potential, learn in a sustainable way, and be encouraged to practice efficiently?

I interview music teachers who were ahead of their time, having already pioneered new approaches to music education years ago.

Multidimensional Instrumental Instruction

Gerhard Wolters is certainly known to many because they have already completed continuing education in MDU with him^® have visited. And even though not everyone thinks his method can be implemented at their music school, I’d like to see for myself, so I’m meeting with him for a conversation at his Academy for Musical Innovation in Langnau in the Emmental.

MW: Dear Gerhard, thank you very much for taking the time to explain your method to me. What is MDU?

Gerhard Wolters: The MDU is about student-oriented instruction, though this should not be confused with student-centered instruction. In student-oriented teaching, the teacher is always attentive to the student’s needs, but does not let the student determine everything—since the teacher has a head start in knowledge and experience—instead offering advice that ensures the desired goal can be achieved. It is important that the student is taught by the teacher only when he or she truly needs it—that is, when learning something new or when seeking clarification on a question. Once this point is reached, the student simply needs to practice what he or she has understood. He or she does not need a teacher for this. They only need the teacher again when a question arises or when practicing a specific example. We use a traffic-light system for this: Red means the student needs input from the teacher; Yellow means the student has understood; and Green means the student has mastered the piece or a sequence of it, and the teacher can simply listen and enjoy. It’s important that, when the light is yellow, the student can practice undisturbed, without the teacher standing nearby and commenting. We’ve even coined a term for how the teacher feels when the light is yellow: «EUGAZE»—emotionally impossible to bear being present when the light is yellow.

Is that why you need multiple classrooms for this type of instruction?

Certainly not for the first step—at that stage, the focus is on teachers «practicing» student-centered instruction using clear methods. Later on, a more extensive organizational framework becomes a great advantage, ideally when more people join in: students of different ages and skill levels, and even other teachers. The advanced students learn by showing the beginners how to do something. Or they realize that a piece that’s actually a level below their current ability isn’t so easy to play without practicing it again. In doing so, they reinforce what they’ve recently learned. The younger students sometimes prefer to learn from the older ones rather than from the teacher, but they can also help the older students by, for example, distracting them during a recital, which allows the older students to practice their ability to concentrate for the recital—and everyone has a blast doing it! When several teachers work together in a team-teaching setting, they can deliberately draw on their individual strengths for specific tasks.

So what does the dimension of time look like here?

At MDU, we regularly observe that our students spend much more time at the music school. Within a set time frame, they have one-on-one lessons, practice on their own or with others, teach the younger students what they’ve already learned, and learn from the older students. Musical games and theory lessons are also part of the schedule.

How do you handle payment for these lessons?

In a fixed group of four children, for example, each child pays for 30 minutes, and everyone can stay for two hours. However, you can also increase the flexibility to the point where students can come to the music school every day—say, between 2:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.—whenever they want. Those who pay for 60 minutes can do so every day. Those who pay for 40 minutes can do so on two flexible days, and those who pay for 30 minutes can do so on one day. Of course, there are peak times when lots of children are there, practicing together, playing games, and performing pieces. Many children enjoy interacting with the others and are incredibly motivated to practice and play as a result. And if they get stuck on something, the teacher is there to help. Quieter students and especially talented ones come during off-peak hours; this works out on its own. They quickly realize that the teacher then has plenty of time for them. In this respect, there’s no need for a separate gifted program in this system. It happens quite naturally.

Even when working in fixed groups, it makes sense to introduce so-called “chaos weeks”—or at least “chaos days”—during which classes are held using this highly flexible model. For this to work, good communication with the students and, above all, with the parents is essential. With well-reasoned arguments, we’re usually able to convince almost all parents to let their child try something new—for example, for six weeks—once they realize that their child will benefit more this way and can get much more learning time for the same cost. And on top of that, they’ll have a lot of fun! Experience shows that parents are then more willing to drive their child to a somewhat more distant classroom location or arrange for transportation. After all, decentralized instruction isn’t really feasible here.

You lead seminars and also train people to become MDU-certified teachers. Will these teachers be able to implement the principle of simultaneous instruction, even if their music school is located in a region with many mountain valleys, where decentralized instruction is the norm?

Yes, absolutely! Take Sami Lörtscher, for example, who enthusiastically plays the trumpet at the Interlaken Ost Music School according to the MDU method.^® taught. Suitable classroom space was also made available at this music school. During the “Chaos Weeks,” two 8-year-old girls from Grindelwald spent most of their time at the music school. Three days a week after school, they boarded the train to Interlaken to go to the music school.

Sami Lörtscher and Sämi Seiler are having a lot of fun in their trumpet lessons based on the MDU method^{®
Photo by Gerhard Wolters}

Or take drum teacher Andreas Aeppli, who invested in a dedicated space with built-in practice booths in Winterthur and holds his music school classes there—to name just two examples.

Thank you very much for the interview!

For more information and videos, visit: www.mdu.ch

Talent development

The approximately 2% music students who are particularly talented need special support. Today, there are established support programs, talent cards, and federal grants.
In 2017, two dedicated colleagues at the Bantiger Music School established a regional talent development program, and in the process, they gained insights that may be of interest to anyone working in talent development today.

I’m speaking with Valentina Zürcher, a flutist, mental coach, and former school principal, and with violinist and composer Gabrielle Brunner, who, as a violin teacher, has successfully prepared countless students for competitions and college admissions.

MW: How did the Talent Development Project come about?

Valentina Zürcher (VZ): As the director of the Wohlen AG Music School, I was familiar with other cantonal support programs, and as the mother of a daughter on her way to becoming a top athlete, I’ve seen firsthand how support is organized in that context: Training takes place several times a week—in a team setting right from the start. There is a wide range of support and opportunities to participate in regional, cantonal, and national events and receive feedback.
That’s what inspired me to start something similar at the music school. I asked the faculty if anyone would like to help—and Gabrielle volunteered right away.

Gabrielle Brunner (GB): I had long realized that gifted students and those with above-average curiosity were not being sufficiently supported by the programs available at the time, so I was happy to get involved.

How did you go about it?

VZ: Twenty-four participants (ages 7–15) had registered for the kickoff event. We offered the program free of charge during the first year so we could discuss with the participants what their needs were and what schedule would work best for them. Above all, they wanted to meet with like-minded people, make music, share ideas, and perform concerts. From then on, we met every two weeks.

Was everyone able to participate, or did you select certain people?

GB: Everyone! It’s always a wonder to see how children blossom—in their personal and artistic development—whatever path that may lead to. Even a highly gifted child doesn’t have to become a professional musician; perhaps he’ll become a fantastic doctor, and his musical education will have given him a great deal in terms of his personal development as a person, helping him on that path.

What was the program like?

VZ: The most important components of the program were discussions in the plenary session, chamber music, and accompaniment. In guided settings, the participants learned to reflect specifically on what they wanted to experience musically. We formed groups accordingly, often bringing together participants of different age groups.

GB: And we brought stacks of sheet music so they could figure out what they liked. And, of course, some of the major-subject teachers were there to help us with their literature recommendations.

Were the main subject teachers involved in other ways as well?

VZ: Of course, some of them helped teach or were there during talent development sessions and at concerts.

GB: The program didn’t just consist of chamber music, recitals, and discussions about them; it also included working with accompanists, guided practice sessions, mini-masterclasses, theory and music history lessons, improvisation, and workshops on specific topics. We always brought in colleagues for that.

And would that be on a volunteer basis, at least at first?
GB: I didn't see it as volunteer work but as part of my educational mission, and over time we did receive some compensation.

VZ: Yes, to a large extent. But it was worth it in every way.

What were your main areas of focus in this project, and what have you taken away from this experience?

VZ: In addition to the overall organization, my focus was on mental training and fostering a culture of feedback. It was fascinating to observe how the children and teenagers increasingly took responsibility for their own artistic learning processes. As an auditory learner, one engages with both internal and external listening and strives—with unwavering dedication—to refine cognitive, motor, and instrumental skills. One learns very early on that this gives rise to new questions and challenges. Bringing music to life with like-minded people and exploring how it might be shaped or experienced in new ways is incredibly motivating.

GB: When a student shows passion, it’s my duty to do everything I can to ensure that their endeavor succeeds. I’m quite strict and demand a lot from my students in terms of tone, technique, and musicality. Making good music requires a holistic use of body tension, a desire to express something, a strong presence in the moment, and technical skill. In the classes, we were able to explore this in depth and try it out in recital situations. Through collaboration with others, they’ve made progress in thinking for themselves, recognizing their feelings, and accurately translating their emotions into their playing. And the recitals we organized naturally motivated them to practice much more. «Put the music first» was our motto.

 

Have you also had experience with methods and projects that encourage children and teens to spend more time or attend music schools more often, and that motivate them to enjoy practicing? If so, I’d love to write about it in an upcoming issue. Please write toShe said to me: marianne.waelchli@smpv.ch                        

 

Since 2023, the income statement of the Canton of Thurgau has closed with an expense surplus.
Despite this, the cantonal parliament rejected a tax increase in 2024, but at the same time major investments are necessary. In April 2025, the cantonal government of Thurgau therefore decided to initiate a task and reduction plan (AVP 2025-2027) with the aim of saving CHF 40 million in 2027 and at least CHF 80 million per year from 2028. It mandated the Institute of Public Administration Management ZHAW and publicXdata AG to critically examine all tasks and services of the cantonal administration, compare them with other cantons and draw up a consultancy report.
The external consultants propose 50 measures: for example, the cantonal parliament should only have 100 seats instead of 130, savings should be made in public transport, care, schools, the promotion of renewable energies and even agriculture, and of course the cultural sector should not be spared: here they propose waiving the payment of the cultural burden equalization to the canton of St.Gallen, i.e. no longer supporting the St.Gallen municipal theater and reducing the contribution to music schools from 50% to 33%. The 17% saved by the canton on the salary and operating costs of the music schools could be borne by the parents.

The SMPV Thurgau, together with the Thurgau Music Schools Association VMTG and the Swiss Music Schools Association VMS, are fighting against this. The three associations have each submitted a consultation response, and the SMPV Thurgau has launched a petition to the cantonal government and collected 1862 signatures in support of its concerns in a short space of time.

The authors of the advisory report base their proposal to cut cantonal contributions to music schools on the VMS's 2025 statistical report on music schools in Switzerland. They write verbatim: „The background to this is that current cantonal funding is on the generous side compared to other cantons.“ In doing so, they have completely ignored the fact that the models for the extent to which cantons, municipalities and elementary school contribute to the financing of music school costs vary greatly from canton to canton. In the canton of Thurgau, the municipalities are free to make a contribution to music school lessons or not. This means that only 8% of the costs are covered by the municipalities. A careful examination of the VMS statistics shows that the other cantons, in which the communes bear less than 10% of the music school costs, bear 60 - 69% of the costs themselves. They are therefore considerably more generous than the canton of Thurgau.

If we look at the current burden on parents in the canton of Thurgau, we can see from the statistics that only parents in the cantons of Ticino, Schwyz, Aargau and Schaffhausen have to pay more in percentage terms than those in Thurgau. If they now had to pay an additional 17% of the music school costs, i.e. parental contributions would increase by an average of 35% or more, the canton of Thurgau would be the canton with the highest average parental contributions.

Statistics can of course be viewed from all angles, but for parents the decisive factor is how much their children's music school bill is in francs and centimes and whether they can afford to send their children to music school. In the canton of Thurgau, if you are lucky enough to live in a municipality that does make a small contribution, you currently pay between CHF 450 (Aadorf) and CHF 640 (Weinfelden) for 18 times 30 minutes of individual lessons and between CHF 600 and CHF 820 for 40 minutes of lessons.
By way of comparison, the semester fee at the Zurich Conservatory of Music costs CHF 640 for 30 minutes of lessons and CHF 850 for 40 minutes. However, the salary level in the canton of Zurich is clearly higher than in the canton of Thurgau. This means that the burden of music school fees for parents in the canton of Thurgau is already higher than in Zurich. If we compare the tariffs with those in the canton of St.Gallen, we see that Niederhelfenschwil (CHF 400.-), Uzwil (CHF 410.-) and Rorschach-Rorschacherberg (CHF 420.-) have music schools with lower tariffs.

Politically, of course, one could argue that music lessons are not that important and that children could play football instead if music lessons are too expensive, were it not for Article 67a of the Federal Constitution and Article 12a of the Federal Act on the Promotion of Culture (KFG). Article 67a states that the Confederation and the cantons shall promote music education, particularly for children and young people, and Article 12a of the KFG states that music schools supported by the cantons and/or municipalities must offer all children and young people up to upper secondary level tariffs that are significantly lower than adult tariffs and that they must take the economic situation of parents into account when setting these tariffs.
We know how important music lessons are for brain development, for fine motor skills, language development and the ability of children and young people to concentrate, and how they positively influence their social behavior, which is why it is very important to us that children from lower-income families can also benefit from these lessons. And of course, as a professional association, we don't want our colleagues in Thurgau, who already have to accept lower salaries than music teachers in the neighboring cantons of Zurich and St. Gallen, to suffer a reduction in their workload because high music school fees are deterring more and more parents from sending their children to music school.

In its petition to the cantonal government, the SMPV Thurgau makes two proposals as to how the canton could save some of the subsidies without having to increase parental contributions so massively. Firstly, it proposes that the canton and the municipalities divide the 17% to be saved between them, whereby the municipalities would now be obliged to make a fixed contribution. And secondly, he suggests thinking about income-based music school fees.

And dear politicians in the canton of Thurgau, when you think about whether to cut back on music schools, don't think about the neighbor's child who once disturbed you with his first attempts at the violin or recorder with still crooked notes, but about the many music students who, thanks to their music school lessons, later strengthen the amateur orchestra, sing in the mixed choir at the village festival or serenade the 90-year-old jubilarian with the brass band. And don't forget the talented individuals who will go on to study music, give great concerts and train the next generation of musicians of the day after tomorrow.

If you are an SMPV member, read our e-mails and newsletters and occasionally visit our homepage smpv.ch you probably won't find much new information in this article. Or will you?

Who is an SMPV member and who can become an SMPV member?

It happens again and again that non-members want advice from the SMPV or want to benefit from the favorable training rates reserved for members because they are convinced that they are SMPV members. „But I work at a music school, surely I'm a member,“ they say.
If you want to belong to the SMPV and benefit from its services, you must explicitly join and pay a membership fee each year. Membership is open to anyone with a Master's degree in music education or a teaching diploma under the old law.
For employed music teachers, the most important services from which members can benefit are union representation in difficult situations at the workplace by the national operational team or the section presidents, initial advice from the association's lawyer and the political work of the SMPV, which campaigns for improved working conditions at music schools, fair wages and social insurance solutions adapted to the profession. Like the self-employed, they also benefit from the association's two platforms, rent-a-musician.ch, where they can advertise their concert activities and my-music-lessons.ch, where they can advertise their private music lessons. For self-employed people, the SMPV's tariff recommendations are very important, as are the model contracts for private lessons and the possibility of insuring their income with the Music and Education Pension Fund.

Both groups benefit from discounted, practice-oriented further training, from section-specific offers such as music lessons and teacher concerts and, last but not least, from the SMPV network.
On the initiative of a teachers' convention, the SMPV Bern created the possibility at its last AGM of accepting teachers' conventions of Bernese music schools as collective members. The individual teachers are then not SMPV members if they do not join the association themselves, but the management of the convent receives advice and support, and (cultural) political concerns of the convent can be taken up by the board in politics, and they are included in the political and trade union work of the association.

Questions about (un)possible private music studies

It happens time and again that someone calls because he or she wants to study music at the SMPV or wants to train a particularly talented student through the SMPV.

Unfortunately, this training opportunity no longer exists.
In 2005, the SMPV decided that it would have to outsource or abandon vocational training. There were two reasons for this: Although the SMPV diplomas were de facto recognized and music schools often equated them with teaching diplomas from cantonal conservatories, they were not recognized by the state. This became a real problem with the Bologna reform. It was foreseeable that SMPV diplomas issued after the first bachelor's and master's degrees in music had been awarded would become noticeably less valuable. Secondly, the SMPV had to realize that it could no longer finance professional studies. In 2007, responsibility for private music studies was transferred to the Swiss Academy of Music and Music Education Foundation (SAMP), which found ideal cooperation partners in Jakob Limacher and the Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences. In 2009, SAMP and Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences jointly founded the SAMP AG School of Music, which became Kalaidos University of Music once the Bachelor's and Master's degree programs had been accredited. During a transitional period, SMPV students were still able to complete their studies and take their SMPV teaching diploma or concert diploma examinations. In return, the SMPV supported the young conservatory with an annual basic contribution, and the „Förderkreis der privaten musikalischen Berufsausbildung in der Schweiz“ (Circle for the Promotion of Private Professional Musical Education in Switzerland), founded by five SMPV members, collected small donations to support the conservatory.
In 2019, the Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences was sold to the Klett Group. The latter decided to close the Kalaidos University of Music in summer 2027. This means that the history of private music studies in Switzerland will come to an end next summer after one hundred and fourteen years.

I admit that when I hear about the shortage of specialists at music schools, I sometimes quietly mourn this private training opportunity. But no, I don't see any way of bringing it back to life.

By the time they complete their Master's degree in Pedagogy, teachers have acquired sufficient knowledge and skills in the artistic and pedagogical fields to be well equipped for their profession as music teachers. Internships in particular are an important part of the training. In this respect, it is worth following the HKB's pilot project with the Oberemmental music school, which will start in fall 2026: students will teach three to five children at the Oberemmental music school throughout their Master's degree. They will be accompanied by didactics lecturers from the HKB and internship teachers from the music school. They receive a salary in accordance with cantonal salary regulations and the music students can be offered these lessons at a reduced rate. It is quite possible that such a project will increase the attractiveness of a Master's degree in pedagogy. Because we see a problem here: far too many Master's performance students are being trained today, none of whom will ever have a viable career, while the shortage of music teachers (especially guitar and piano) is already a reality. Teachers from the fields of rock/pop and jazz also repeatedly point out that music universities offer far too few places in this area and that these courses should be more open to stylistic diversity, which could ultimately also benefit students on the Master's in Classical Music Education, who often have to teach pop/jazz in their day-to-day work at music schools.

Everyday working life

Young music teachers are not prepared for the fact that it is virtually impossible to work 100% as a music teacher if you don't work at a grammar school or a teacher training college. Not even if you teach a popular instrument like piano.
Curriculum 21 stipulates block periods and the number of lessons per week has been increased. Even though in the canton of Bern, for example, it is possible under certain conditions for parents to request that their children be excused from a school lesson so that they can attend music school lessons during this time, it is unfortunately a reality that music school teachers are often only able to start teaching later in the afternoon. They may then teach from 3.30 pm to 9 pm, ideally without breaks, so that they can teach as many pupils as possible. Depending on the canton, a full teaching load consists of 37 weekly lessons of 40 minutes each up to 58 lessons of 30 minutes each, as is the case in the canton of Graubünden, for example. This is aggravated by the fact that the teacher often has to travel from place to place in this tight time slot for lessons.
The first chapter of the recipe for good music lessons describes what an ideal music teacher should achieve, and then I ask myself whether the „alert eye and analytical ear“ don't get tired if they only hear and see 10-11 pupils in a row for half an hour each day without a short break in between to allow them to briefly process their impressions. Hats off to the music teachers who manage to make music lessons fun most of the time: in the 30 minutes of the lesson, the pupil has to arrive first, unpack their instrument, perhaps tell something very quickly or yawn a lot because the day has already been long and busy. Then you have to ask questions, explain something, introduce a new piece, play a duet and improvise. All this in 30 minutes and always in a good mood, while you always respond individually to each pupil and carefully ensure that you don't under or overtax them.
The situation is sometimes somewhat alleviated if you also teach a few adult pupils who like to take lessons in the morning or at lunchtime. Or you still work as a music teacher at elementary school, where the lessons are integrated into the timetable. Perhaps you perform as a solo musician or in an orchestra. Rehearsals for concerts can then be scheduled for the mornings, but the concerts, if they don't take place at the weekend, fall back into the precious time when you could actually be teaching. It is also difficult to organize family life with children when you work virtually every evening and at weekends.
Fortunately, musicians are creative and resilient and usually find a way to organize their complicated lives with the most beautiful profession in the world.

Opportunities for improvement

It is very important for music schools and elementary school to work well together, so that individual music lessons are not perceived as disruptive competition to primary school lessons, but as an important addition that must be integrated. When children engage in a complex activity such as instrumental or solo singing lessons once a week - preferably not after a whole day at school when they are already tired - this promotes their creativity, their ability to concentrate and their self-confidence, which has a positive effect on their behavior and their ability to learn in school lessons.
Politicians should increase the budget for subventions for music lessons instead of cutting it, so that as many children as possible from low-income families can take music lessons and that the lesson lengths are such that meaningful lessons are also possible. Music lessons must not degenerate into assembly line work.
We are looking forward to the canton of Aargau, where the message on the first reading of the revision of instrumental teaching will go to the Grand Council in the fall.
Just how much damage saving on music lessons can do can be seen in the city of Chur, where the primary music school used to take place in the morning during block times in half-class lessons. All children went voluntarily because otherwise they would have had to be looked after privately during the block times. Today, lessons take place in the afternoons and children have to register for them, which families with little education often do not do. This saves Chur 40,000 francs, but many children miss out on basic support, while the primary music teachers no longer have a living wage.

The ideal music school management supports the employed music teachers in their daily work, communicates transparently when it has to allocate additional work and ensures that the teachers can understand the allocation of workloads. It senses when someone feels disadvantaged and then seeks a discussion with the teacher concerned.
The music school management is aware that most teachers do not have a permanent position at their school, so they have to take on several jobs, whether as a music teacher, as a musician or in a completely different subject area. She therefore understands that the teacher cannot always be available for all school tasks outside of actual teaching, as this can otherwise lead to scheduling conflicts with commitments for other jobs. She takes into account that someone with a very small workload cannot take on as many additional tasks (meetings, presenting instruments, conventions, parent-teacher conferences) as someone with a large workload.
The music school management provides pleasant classrooms with natural light and tuned pianos in the music school, but also in external classrooms such as rooms in the elementary school, as well as an appropriate infrastructure in general.
She facilitates various forms of student performances, creates the basis for ensemble lessons and ensemble performances and attends as many student concerts as possible. Her feedback is benevolent and constructive so that the teacher can accept the criticism she receives because she feels valued.
The music school management thinks strategically, is imaginative in creating new additional teaching areas, and also takes up creative ideas from teachers and checks whether they can be implemented. For adult lessons in particular, it provides flexible subscription offers that could attract additional students.

The music school management is well networked and tries to improve the working situation of its employees in cooperation with the music school associations by campaigning for music lessons to be possible during normal school hours and for the planning of new school models to take into account that there must be space for music lessons in terms of time and location. In general, she advocates in politics that music lessons should not be seen as an unimportant hobby but as an important part of a comprehensive education.
It works together with other music schools, music school associations and professional associations for music teachers to create a legal basis for sufficiently high subsidies for the widest possible range of lessons.

Politics

This brings us to politics and the question of how it can support good music lessons: Politicians who support music education understand that a favorable environment for music education does not come cheap. They resist the temptation to cut funding for music lessons because they know that various studies have shown that music lessons are extremely beneficial for brain development, even if the first attempts on an instrument still sound awry. They understand that music lessons are therefore an important investment in the future. And they recognize that children and young people who receive musical training are more likely to join a music club or choir later on, i.e. clubs that later enrich the cultural life of the community. They therefore provide a reasonable budget for music lessons, and in education policy they are also committed to ensuring that space for music lessons is not forgotten when planning compulsory school lessons. In higher education policy, they are committed to ensuring that enough music teachers are trained in all classical and pop/jazz subjects, and they provide the financial resources for these courses.

Many thanks to the colleagues who responded so numerously to my first survey at the beginning of November and the second at the beginning of January. The great interest in the „recipe for good music lessons“ and the quality of the responses show what great potential there is in the SMPV, and that music teachers do not just teach as the layman might imagine, but that they plan their music education work carefully, put their heart and soul into it and regularly reflect on their attitude to it and that of others involved.
If I quote an SMPV member, their name appears in brackets.

The pupils

The ideal music teacher would have two to three handfuls of different pupils of different ages. Ideally, they are all curious about music and the instrument, and they have chosen it consciously and not just because their parents wanted them to. They are open-minded and respond to what the teacher tells them, but they don't blindly trust the teacher either, they are able to sense what is right for them and what is not. Adult pupils in particular should respect their teachers but not „guruize“ them. „They are honest with the teacher and tell them whether they have practiced or not. Then the teacher can adapt to the situation.“ (Nadia Minder)
It is an advantage if they are talented and musical. It doesn't matter whether they were born with this talent or whether they develop a sense for heavy and light tones, phrasing and the agogics and dynamics appropriate to a particular style by listening to a wide variety of music in different styles and working with the music teacher.

They have musical aspirations and goals and a certain ambition to achieve these goals, which gives them the motivation to practise without developing an unhealthy doggedness. Depending on their age, they learn to work independently and to ask the teacher for help when they reach their limits. „Pupils contribute to the quality of teaching through their active engagement, their ability to work independently and their willingness to engage in a challenging, sometimes uncomfortable process.“ (Hekmat Homsi)
They have the courage to try out different things, to improvise and to always interpret individual passages slightly differently in order to find out which interpretation feels most harmonious and when - all within the framework of their current technical capabilities. They understand that without a healthy dose of diligence, their technical skills will not improve, but that if they expand them, they will have many more tools at their disposal to create the desired colors and sounds.
They enjoy making music - alone but also in collaboration with others, be it in orchestras and choirs or in smaller formations. Ideally, they enjoy or develop more pleasure in singing or auditioning than they are afraid of, and they have the courage to let go of sheet music and sing and play from memory.

They are patient if something doesn't work straight away and try again and again.
„I would like parents and students to develop a greater understanding that learning is not an instant download like a ChatGPT prompt, but a process that requires patience, perseverance and repeated practice.“ (Kateryna Timokhina)

Music lessons are particularly successful when they are eager to play, a little cheeky, headstrong, but also sensitive and passionate, and when they can not only play but also listen to themselves and others.

 

The parents

Season with parents who support their children in their musical endeavors without putting them under pressure with unnecessarily high goals.
However, they can demand a certain amount of perseverance from their children when practicing.
„I was impressed by what the cyclist Marlen Reusser told me: she really wanted to learn the violin as a child. Her parents told her she could if she stuck with it for two years and practiced for 20 minutes every day. So she did, practiced even more and joined the music class. She later decided to go cycling, but music remains a resource.“ (Ursula Krummen Schönholzer)

It is motivating for the pupils when their parents listen to them - at home but also at auditions. Honest praise is good, and if something really goes wrong, benevolent criticism and words of encouragement can also help. It is beneficial if music lessons and practicing have a fixed place in the child's weekly schedule that is not touched and if the parents show the child that they respect their music teacher.
To be continued

The last few years have been dedicated to restructuring the association, in which the SMPV has redefined itself as a purely professional association after outsourcing its tried-and-tested private professional musical training. Now, with this confirmation of membership of the SGB, a further milestone has been set that will have a lasting impact on the SMPV's new image. The SMPV is now young, active, combative and full of ideas.
The first fruits are already evident: for example, the SMPV was invited to the hearings on the 2029 - 2032 cultural message - something that would have been unimaginable a few years ago! The SMPV has developed into an active, reliable, communicative and strong partner in the cultural sector and has definitely left its introspection behind.

Many trade unions come together in the SGB and discuss common goals without losing sight of their individual objectives. It is like an orchestra in which every single instrument counts individually, but only the totality of all of them produces the enjoyable overall sound. This togetherness creates a strength that goes far beyond what individual trade unions and professional associations can achieve. That's why membership is worthwhile, because our issues, which are unimportant to most Swiss people, are given a weight by this body that the SMPV could never give them on its own.
Membership is even worthwhile when topics are dealt with that do not directly affect us music teachers. They affect us because our neighbor might get better working conditions, be happier and greet us more friendly. Or they affect us because we can follow suit with our concerns in a second step.

We are a community and we are all only as well off as the poorest and weakest among us are. It is also like an orchestra, which is only as good as its weakest member. Strengthening the weak means strengthening the community and therefore everyone.

In our age of individualization, community is a very valuable counterbalance that needs to be cultivated, even if it is not in. It is solidarity with others, compassion, that makes the community strong and creates a sense of togetherness. And that is probably the best remedy against the envy, hatred and loneliness that we unfortunately encounter all too often today.
This is a very important reason to be a member of an association: it unites people with similar or even the same interests, creates a network, a feeling of togetherness, of being held and supported, which counteracts collective isolation. It may be „uncool“ these days to be organized in an association or even to do voluntary and unpaid board work there, but that is exactly what is needed nowadays. We are social beings who need to be together in order to be happy.

The SMPV lives this community, it maintains its network and it is open to all professional music teachers who wish to participate. Because only together we are strong.

With this in mind, the SMPV wishes you a successful and happy new year! Together with the other associations in the music industry and the SGB, it will continue to stand up for the interests of music teachers! May we all be strong together!

Let's start with the parents:
Zoltan Kodaly already noted that musical education begins 9 months before the mother gives birth.
But mothers who have not had the benefit of prenatal musical support can also break the chain. It's important that parents, grandparents and other dedicated places sing and make music with the children a lot. Therefore, in addition to the early music programs offered by music schools, it is also important that there is a lot of music-making at home. This does not have to be at a high level; rhythmic games with a spoon and fork can have a big impact.

And of course sing, sing, sing. They don't have to be composed songs. Why not just spontaneously sing puns instead of speaking them?
Small children generally like to move and sing along spontaneously. You just have to let them do it and hope for tolerant neighbors.

When the children grow up, it turns out that very few children are gifted everywhere and that the parents have to decide together with the child in which area the child should receive special support. This should correspond to the child's inclinations and abilities. It is difficult, but not impossible, if both music and sport are to be promoted, because both areas can only really be successfully cultivated with a high level of commitment. Good time management and setting priorities are required here. To date, the theory has been that support in as many areas as possible is desirable. However, most children are very overloaded with such challenges. In addition, they often have to spend two to three hours a day dealing with electronic media. Is it any wonder that child psychologists are so fully booked?

When the time comes for a child to learn an instrument, it is extremely important that their environment praises their musical activity and motivates them to improve more and more in this activity. Sports clubs have long understood this and offer training sessions several times a week. It goes without saying that parents are expected to fully support their children's activities. If the music schools broaden their horizons to include sports clubs, it becomes absolutely clear that a 30-minute one-to-one lesson per week will not suffice anywhere. Individual solutions are required. One pupil will be motivated if she can play in an ensemble; a good piano pupil would be better supported with a second or even third weekly piano lesson. It should not be forgotten, however, that the goals of training in a sports club can usually be better achieved in music with targeted practice at home, provided that the student actually practices. It is important that daily goals (including time frames) are achieved both when practicing and when doing homework at school. Time off school should be planned as often as possible. This should also include windows of idle time or outdoor play.

As the five-day week at school is usually strictly timetabled, and various leisure activities should also have their place, it certainly makes sense not to cram the weekends in as well.

Back to musical activities: The benefits of Curriculum 21 are debatable. However, one of the focal points of this curriculum is that pupils (SuS) do not primarily acquire knowledge, but that they develop skills. Applied to music, this means that pupils develop as experts in the field of music. In other words, they do not learn to play a piece to a certain extent, but rather they learn - ideally from guided self-awareness - why they play the piece they have worked on in precisely this way. This helps the intrinsic motivation to expand their musical abilities. It goes without saying that the teacher should be rather cautious with actual corrections. Instead, they should discuss why a passage might sound better this way than the other way.

As their progress on the instrument increases, the music schools, but also the parents (and obligated persons!) should give the pupils the opportunity to perform in various concerts. Joining an orchestra or wind band is a great advantage.

With Yvonne Naef's passing, we have lost an extraordinary artist and educator whose work had a lasting impact on many people.

Yvonne Naef spent a large part of her life on stage. An internationally active mezzo-soprano, she sang at major opera houses and festivals, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, La Scala in Milan, the Zurich Opera House, the Opéra Bastille, and the Bayreuth Festival. On stage, her artistic presence unfolded with distinctive authority and clarity. Roles such as Fricka (Die Walküre), Brangäne (Tristan und Isolde), Didon (Les Troyens), and Eboli (Don Carlos) were never mere demonstrations of skill for her, but came to life through her exceptional musicality and creative power. However, her influence extended far beyond the stage and was equally evident in her artistic thinking, her pedagogical work, and her human impact.

Music itself was always at the heart of her musical understanding. For her, singing was not merely an interpretative act, but a conscious engagement with the work, the text, and the moment. She possessed a high level of technical mastery, but never saw this as something that should take center stage. What was crucial for her was the attitude of opening up space for the music and allowing it to take effect. This gave rise to the depth and presence that many found unmistakable.

Yvonne Naef was a figure of authority. Her presence was clear, impressive, and remarkably intense. She didn't need to assert anything or add anything. Her relationship with art was characterized by humility, not in the sense of self-effacement, but as a serious relationship with something greater than oneself.

This attitude also shaped her teaching. Yvonne Naef worked with the whole person, always showing warm affection that was both demanding and supportive, and in which her subtle humor also had its place. For her, sound, language, body, and posture formed an inseparable unity. She knew how to guide the body in such a way that the voice becomes free, and how technique can become a reliable foundation that makes dedication possible in the first place. Her teaching was not aimed at effects, but at authenticity and empowerment.

As a teacher, she set high standards, driven by her respect for art and for the people who entrusted themselves to her. She had a keen eye for development and accompanied many young singers through crucial phases of their artistic and personal development.

Yvonne Naef leaves her mark on voices and lives, and she has inspired many to develop a deep understanding of what it means to devote oneself to music with dedication and sincerity. For many, she became a guiding figure who enabled development and fostered confidence in their own path.

We will miss her as an artist, as a teacher, and as an extraordinary person. We are grateful for everything she has given us.

 

The SMPV mourns the loss of Yvonne Naef, who was a loyal member of the association for many years and who herself once obtained her teaching diploma from the SMPV.

On March 29, the delegates decided to withdraw the SMPV from the trade union federation because the SGB contributions were simply too much of a burden on the budget. Some delegates complained that they saw no concrete benefit in membership. However, the delegates also gave the Central Board a mandate to negotiate better conditions with the SGB.
The result of these negotiations was presented at the DM on November 8:

The SMPV can switch to associate status. In concrete terms, this means that membership fees will be reduced by around 50%, but the association representative will lose her voting rights at SGB Board meetings.

During the negotiations, however, the Central Committee focused not only on the price but also on the question of what concrete benefits the SMPV would derive from continued membership of the SGB. Together with the SGB, he drew up a work program for the coming years: "Of course, the union's work must primarily be carried out by the SMPV and especially by the Central Board itself. It must identify and analyze the most pressing problems and gather the necessary material. However, the SGB must support it with advice on which approach is most promising in which case. It must inform them when the time is ideal for an initiative on this or that issue and which are the best contact points for this. And they must provide them with direct contacts to politicians who make decisions on this issue.

What points does the work program contain?

The main aim is to enhance the status of the profession of music teacher. The Central Committee therefore believes it is very important that title protection is achieved for this profession. Particularly because a large number of music school teachers will be retiring in the next few years, it is essential that the profession is regulated and that poorly trained teachers or teachers with only artistic but no pedagogical training do not take over these positions. This should prevent the quality of teaching at music schools from declining. However, it is also a measure against lower wages. Poorly trained teachers earn less and the cantons, municipalities and sponsoring associations could get used to this.

In this sense, it is also important that there are more Master of Arts training places in music education for those instruments in which there is an impending or already existing shortage of specialists. At the same time, there must be new, meaningful training courses for musicians with purely artistic training, enabling them to obtain a comprehensive post-qualification for music education work without having to study their main instrument again in a normal Master's degree course in pedagogy, in which they have long been qualified. The KMHS and the VMS are already looking for concrete solutions here, but the support of the SMPV and the political support of the SGB certainly can't hurt either.

For the SMPV and all other associations representing cultural professionals who teach music, dance, drama or visual arts, it is important for two reasons that they are recognized throughout Switzerland as "organizations of professional cultural professionals". Firstly, this would allow them to have a say in the future, for example when a new cultural message is negotiated, and secondly, they should be taken into account when awarding KUOR funding. The second point in particular is the reason why we are always told "You are education, not culture". This is where we need the SGB to establish contacts in politics.

These are the three major tasks that are difficult to solve and take time.

The program also includes smaller but equally important tasks such as guaranteeing that private music schools of all kinds also pay social security contributions and that there is no bogus self-employment. The problem of chain employment contracts must be tackled, i.e. universities should not permanently employ lecturers who have been teaching the same courses for years with a workload of less than 10%. Furthermore, the entry threshold for self-employed people to join the Music and Education Pension Fund is to be lowered. And music teaching is to become a focus sector in order to be able to take action against wage dumping in peripheral regions with many cross-border commuters.

We have not forgotten the important problem of the creeping reduction in staffing levels at music schools, which we will only be able to tackle in a meaningful way when the next revision of the Unemployment Insurance Act is due.

"That would be a paradise for music teachers in Switzerland!" said Wolfgang Pailer, who campaigned against the SMPV remaining part of the SGB because he doubts that the SMPV really receives this support from the SGB.

The Board of Directors undertakes to tackle the aforementioned tasks vigorously and to hold the SGB accountable for providing it with the negotiated support.
And he calls on you, dear qualified music teachers in Switzerland, who unfortunately do not yet belong to the association, to join the SMPV, because every time you join, the weight of the SMPV's initiatives on behalf of employed and self-employed music teachers in Switzerland increases, so that one day "paradisiacal conditions" really will prevail.

Around seventy very different texts were received in response to this survey in the short period of just ten days. This wonderful wealth of responses shows just how much music education knowledge and expertise comes together in our association, and how many individual priorities the individual members set.
The SMPV members agree that the teacher must have a good command of their instrument, that they should also perform themselves as often as possible and that they must know subtle stylistic differences. They are expected to enjoy teaching. More than half of the responses state that music lessons should be fun.

The members disagree as to whether the responsibility for good music lessons lies solely with the teacher, or how much the pupils have to contribute, how important good framework conditions provided by the music school are, and whether the attitude and cooperation of the parents also have a significant influence on the quality of the lessons for children and young people.

The qualities that individual teachers consider particularly important depend heavily on their own situation, whether they teach school-age children at a music school or whether their class consists almost exclusively of adults, or whether their focus is on early music education. Those who only know individual lessons have a different focus than those who give group lessons and teach chamber music. The instrument someone teaches also influences the focus they set; a pianist finds a good, well-tuned instrument particularly important, while good acoustics in the classroom are more important to a singer.

I will now try to puzzle together the many points of view into a recipe for the ideal music lesson, whereby it should not go unmentioned that a good music teacher constantly rethinks and sometimes changes their point of view.

If I quote colleagues, their names are in brackets.

Recipe for good music lessons

Part 1 The music teacher

For good music lessons, you need a music teacher who is well trained on their instrument and who is passionate about music, their instrument and teaching.
She is very technically proficient on her instrument and is able to teach this technique to a wide variety of students in a way that is individually tailored to them. She has a "magic box" from which she can always pull out tricks on how to solve supposedly very difficult technical problems with ease. Thanks to her analytical ear and alert eyes, she recognizes technical problems right from the start and then builds bridges over the dangerous spots together with the students. She is stylistically confident and is good at conveying stylistic subtleties, allowing students to experience for themselves which accents, dynamics and agogics are best for getting into the flow in a particular style. "Music lessons that open the ears to different musical styles enable musicians to discover their preferences. It is important to offer as wide a range of music as possible in music lessons." (Susanna Fröhlich-Baumann)
The music teacher is empathetic, benevolent, patient and humorous and treats the pupils as equals, always giving them the feeling that she respects and appreciates them, and that when she criticizes something, she always means the thing and not the person. It is important to her "that her students feel comfortable in class. That's why she addresses tensions and then advises them to change teachers or instruments." (Elisabeth Buess) "She packs everything into small and tiny steps so that there is a sense of achievement for the pupils." (Agathe Jerie) "She helps the students to overcome blockages that prevent them from expressing the music they feel deep inside." (Irene Abrigo) She guides the students to repeatedly detach themselves from the musical text and improvise, and she teaches them to listen carefully. She prepares her lessons carefully, but is able to deviate from the concept if the situation requires it. Her lessons are individually adapted to each pupil and she makes sure "that the pupils do not copy her, but that they find their own personal way of playing." (Barbara Wappmann)

She moves confidently between under- and overstraining the students and consistently pays attention to breathing, posture and relaxation and teaches techniques to improve these. She remains curious and arouses the students' curiosity about the music. She communicates her expectations of the students transparently, showing them what she expects of them and giving them confidence. "Together with the pupils, she regularly discusses what they have already achieved, what they want to work on next and what the next goal could be." (André Lottaz) She also gives them clear, realistic tasks to practise. In the case of children, she also involves their parents where possible. She encourages her pupils to make music with others and also shows them that auditioning is not a test where you have to get everything right, but that it is an opportunity to share your music with others and that it is fun.

End of the first part of the recipe for good music lessons. To be continued!

The SMPV as a professional association of music teachers, is the association of employees and the self-employed, while the VMS represents the cantonal associations and their music schools, i.e. the employers. Both associations are committed to high quality music education in Switzerland, both know that this quality comes at a cost and are therefore politically committed to providing sufficient financial resources for music education at all levels.
I talk to Philippe Krüttli, President of the VMS, about the relationship between our two associations, how our cooperation has developed and where he still sees room for improvement in this collaboration:

Dear Philippe, congratulations on your anniversary and thank you for taking the time to talk to us during this hectic anniversary period! How do you see the relationship between our two associations?
Philippe Krüttli: We mostly pursue the same goals with regard to good framework conditions for music teaching, which are enshrined in the music school laws, cultural ordinances and their amendments. Both associations are fighting against wage dumping in the field of music education; however, we have to admit that the wage structure still varies greatly from canton to canton. And we are campaigning for better recognition of our profession at all levels of society.
Of course, some of your members also compete with our music schools with their private lessons. However, if these activities are regulated and monitored, this is not all negative. Competition stimulates business.

It's true, our private tuition platform, my-music-lessons.chworks quite well, but it's mainly adults who are looking for lessons there. Apart from in the canton of Schaffhausen, we can't offer subsidized lessons. And I think private lessons are interesting if you want lessons with a specific teacher or if, for example, you don't want to plan your vacation around the school vacations. Private lessons allow more flexibility.
That's exactly what I mean: your offer (as well as the entire social development, by the way) is forcing music schools to rethink their offer and become more flexible. Today, music schools also offer flexible subscriptions, chamber music courses for adults, other forms of ensemble playing and the like. And at least, unlike other platform operators, you have the same quality standards as we do: your teachers are trained as music teachers, and with the SMPV tariffs you are also setting an example against wage dumping.

Where is our collaboration already working well?
For example, we are both founding members of the Pension fund Music and education and we accompany the programs in partnership Youth and music and Young talents in music. For example, we met SMPV member Markus Hochuli on an expert commission commissioned by the federal government to develop assessment criteria for talented students, and I also remember that SMPV Co-President Annette Dannecker was involved in the development of the VMS professional profile "inspire - accompany - empower". We also work closely together when it comes to maintaining the Schweizer Musikzeitung.

In which areas do we have differences of opinion in view of our tasks as an employers' and employees' association?
I don't see any major differences of opinion. You play your trade union role and we make sure that the interests of our music schools and their employees are safeguarded within our contractual limits. I don't think that as President of the SMPV Bern you have often had to intervene in serious conflicts in our music schools, have you?

Just recently, but you're right, there are usually only individual problems from individual members with their music school management, which can usually be easily resolved.
What do you think about the CLA? Negotiating a CLA is a lot of work, but it would create a greater understanding between school management and teaching staff of each other's position and solve problems such as the lack of an ombudsman's office.
This is discussed time and again. The canton of Vaud has negotiated a CLA with the music school teaching staff over the course of two years. But in cantons where the music school laws are well thought out and the staff regulations of the music schools precisely define the rights of their employees, a CLA is not necessarily an option.

I know that the shortage of specialists at music schools is an issue at the VMS, which also worries us. How can we counteract this?
The various surveys we have conducted and the feedback we have received from numerous music schools show a worrying situation, especially for subjects such as piano or guitar. We are in contact with the KMHS to find solutions: Further training as a supplement to basic training, the question of how people without a Master's degree in pedagogy can acquire specific qualifications or working on internship modules that facilitate the transition from studying to working are our next starting points to improve the situation.

Philippe Krüttli, President of the VMS ©️VMS

On 7 September at 5 p.m., almost thirty listeners await the concert organized by the SMPV Schaffhausen in the magnificent Louis XVI-style guild hall of the Sorell Hotel Rüden in Schaffhausen full of excitement and anticipation. Perhaps it is the fact that it is possibly the last beautiful, warm weekend of the year, perhaps it is also the fact that the two young singers, Albina Asadullina, soprano, and Elena Dietrich, mezzo-soprano, are still unknown in Schaffhausen, but both the musicians and the audience are so committed that the initial brief disappointment at the small audience disappears almost immediately.

The president of the Schaffhausen chapter of the SMPV begins by briefly informing the audience that the two singers have won a special prize at this year's Elvirissima singing competition and why the concert in honor of singing teacher Elvira Lüthi-Wegmann, which otherwise takes place annually in the monastery church of St. Katharinental near Diessenhofen, is being held this year in the Zunftsaal of the Zunft zum Rüden, but then the musical delicacies begin quickly. The singers show off their skills with Johann Strauss' Fledermaus, brilliantly and sensitively accompanied on the piano by Maja Wüthrich. Works by Schubert, Mendelssohn, Massenet, Bellini, Vaughn Williams and many others follow - sometimes one sings, sometimes the other, sometimes the two very different voices merge in wonderful harmony to form a duet, for example in the famous "Flower Duet" from the opera "Lakmé" by Léo Delibes or in the witty little piece "The Art of Kissing" by Andreas Hammerschmidt. Their flexible voices effortlessly combine high and low notes, captivating pianos are followed in the next moment by hall-filling fortos, and the two dance across the stage, changing from role to role with wit and grace.

One of the highlights of the Siberian-born Tatar Albina Asadullina's performance is the Tatar folk song "To the Mother". The intimacy of the a cappella piece, the lightness of Asadullina's voice in all registers and the tremendous power of her expression leave the audience so spellbound that they could have heard a pin drop. The Swiss mezzo-soprano, Elena Dietrich, also has these moments: In "Tell me the Truth about Love" by Britten or Schönberg's "Der genügsame Liebhaber", the 26-year-old former ETH chemistry student shows what great acting talent she has and that she is able to maneuver her voice effortlessly from Sprechgesang through soft lyrical passages to the highest heights. The third member of the group, pianist and accompanist Maja Wüthrich from the wine-growing village of Wilchingen in Schaffhausen, should by no means go unmentioned. On this evening, she does what makes an excellent accompanist at the piano: she often disappears into the background, shines in the introductions, interludes and final passages, supports the singers, goes along and lives with them, and shows her pianistic skills even in the most challenging passages.

The audience thanked the three musicians with thunderous and long-lasting applause. After two wonderfully witty and virtuoso encores, the concert evening comes to an end. A musical delight that lingers on for a long time and makes you want more.

Martha Gmünder was born on July 4, 1937 in Teufen AR. After a happy childhood in Teufen and Sankt Gallen, she completed her training as a primary school teacher in Rorschach in 1957.
Her desire to study music then led her to the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, where she graduated as a harpsichordist in 1966. It was natural for her to join the corresponding professional association, the SMPV, in the same year and remain an active member until 2016, i.e. for 50 years.
She taught harpsichord and basso continuo at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and at the Zurich Conservatory. She was also a passionate and sought-after chamber musician.

Martha always saw herself as a political woman. The fight for social justice and equal rights shaped her thoughts and actions. As a representative of the teaching staff, she regularly campaigned for improvements to working conditions at the Zurich Conservatory. In Pfäffikon ZH, she was the only SP member of the school council to campaign for high-quality, professional music teaching. For many years, she worked for the SMPV on offering attractive further education courses. She was also a delegate of the Zurich section at the SMPV delegates' meetings.
After her retirement, Martha took over the presidency of the Zurich section of this association from 1999 to 2004.

It was a time of great upheaval in the university landscape, especially for conservatories, which were forming new universities together with other art disciplines. When a suggestion from the MUV/VPOD led to the opportunity to conclude the first collective labor agreement (CLA) at a Swiss music school at the Zurich Conservatory, she did not hesitate for a moment. Together with Sybille Schuppli from MuV/VPOD, she concluded this groundbreaking agreement in 2002. A model employment contract and the accompanying salary regulations for music schools also caused quite a stir in the canton of Zurich. Since then, workload guarantees for music teachers have been introduced at many music schools.

Anyone who witnessed Martha's detailed thinking can perhaps imagine how helpless it made her to lose her memory more and more in recent years. She died on August 7, 2025 after suffering a stroke. May her warmth, her commitment, her sense of justice, but also her pioneering work for better working conditions in the field of music education remain in our memories.

Bethli Maurer

When Elvira Lüthi-Wegmann made a generous bequest to the SMPV so that it could set up a foundation to support young singers in Switzerland, she had no idea that a Bologna reform would put an end to SMPV professional studies. She decreed that prizes could only be awarded to students of SMPV teachers. Today, we are at least allowed to admit singers who are already SMPV members themselves. However, this often excludes students on performance courses because fewer and fewer university professors are joining the SMPV, which means they unfortunately cannot send their students to the competition and because you have to have a Master's degree in education to join the SMPV and only students on the Master's degree course in education can be accepted as student members.
Perhaps it is due to this smaller group of people being able to take part in the competition at all that the two juries felt that the standard of the competition was clearly lower than in previous editions. As a result, no first prize was even awarded! However, it may also be due to the fact that, by chance, no outstanding talent such as the great Chelsea Zurflüh (winner 2021) or the highly talented Evan Gray (winner 2023) entered.
A special feature of the 2025 competition was that there were two juries, because the SMPV Schaffhausen section donated a special prize in the form of a concert and Thomas Weiss, President of the SMPV Schaffhausen, together with the pianist, Jean-Charles Reber, and the singer, Daniela David, traveled to Schaffhausen as the second jury.

The main jury, chaired by myself, consisted of the Foundation Board members Dr. Lena-Lisa Wüstendörfer and Dr. Bernhard Hunziker, the Opera Director of the Lucerne Theatre, Dr. Ursula Benzing, and the Deputy Director of the Zurich International Opera Studio, Thomas Barthel.
It is pleasing, but also surprising, that the assessments of both juries largely coincided.
I talk to Thomas Weiss (Thomas) and Thomas Barthel (Tom) about Elvirissima 2025:

Dear Thomas, dear Tom, what are your impressions of Elvirissima 2025?

Tom Barthel: Unfortunately, I wasn't there in 2023, but I can clearly say that the technical level in 2025 was significantly lower than in 2021. Many struggled with intonation problems, the basis of the technique was missing, and the breath control didn't work.

So you felt the same way? I was very disappointed this time. For nine out of seventeen candidates, one of the things I wrote on my evaluation forms was "Intonation is not optional!"

Thomas Weiss: I also found that the technical basics were lacking. However, almost everyone was very committed as actors and covered up the technical deficiencies with show effects - but very charmingly. As a non-participant in the audience, if I hadn't been listening so closely, I would have found many things "quite nice".
Thomas BarthelYes, it was generally a weak vintage. I wonder if this is due to the coronavirus pandemic. These singers started their studies five years ago or were in their first semesters. Maybe that's why they lack the stability of a serious basic education.
Thomas Weiss: I noticed an excessive nervousness and tenseness in many of them, which manifested itself, for example, in auxiliary postures with the hands. And somehow the joy of singing was missing.

Exactly, that's almost what bothered me the most. I asked some candidates during the feedback: "Do you actually like singing?"

Thomas Barthel: The development is wrong. We are reaching an impasse in which showmanship is more important than technical basics, naturalness and artistic spontaneity. This requires clear guidance from the lecturers to lead them out of this impasse!

Tom, you hear a lot of singers from all nations at the auditions for the IOS (International Opera Studio, Zurich Opera House; editor's note). Do you notice this problem mainly among young Swiss singers, or is it an international problem?

Tom Barthel: Unfortunately an international one.

What advice would you give to young singers and their trainers?

Tom Barthel: You need to work on the basics better. We need secure intonation, clear vowels and a clean vocal balance. And then I wish them more patience! Today, everyone wants to be successful and firmly committed by the age of 22 to 24, even if they don't have the basics. This is a very unhealthy development.

What do you think about the choice of program and subject? In the feedback round, I asked some of them about the fact that it is unwise to offer arias from different subjects for a competition, and I noticed that they have an astonishingly poor knowledge of literature and know little about vocal subjects.

Tom Barthel: At a competition or when auditioning for an agency or a house, you present yourself clearly with one subject, even if you are trying out different subjects in your development and training. The decisive factor here is not whether you can manage an aria, but whether your voice comes across the orchestra at the loudest part of the part to which this aria belongs.

Now we have criticized a lot, but it wasn't all bad; we found five winners, and although the qualitative differences between the singers were smaller than in other years, both juries came to very similar decisions independently of each other. Thomas, how did you choose?

Thomas Weiss: It was clear to us that we wanted two different vocal ranges for the concert, otherwise we might have chosen the two mezzi who won second prize in the main competition. Then, of course, expression was very important to us. And the two voices had to go well together.
Tom Barthel: What is there is the basic vocal material and the volume, even if this is often generated by pressure. And the genuine musical expression also determined who we awarded the prizes to, didn't it?

Exactly, musicality and expression were decisive. Thank you for this interview!

And that is our wish for the potential candidates of Elvirissima 2027: work on the technical basics, find out about vocal subjects, listen to lots of fellow professionals, get to know wonderful music and be inspired without copying it. After all, the technical basics are only the means to an end of conveying the musical expression in order to be able to touch the audience (and sometimes a jury) with it.

From left to right: Elena Dietrich, Ambra Biaggi, Aline Brechbühl, Albina Asadullina and Valérie Fleur Ryser
© klangworker.ch   

Winners Elvirissima 2025

Even if the jury was not entirely happy with the standard of Elvirissima 2025 and we did not award a first prize, this should in no way diminish the success of our five winners. They truly deserved the prizes we awarded them:
Ambra Biaggi (mezzo-soprano, 2nd prize ex aequo) impressed the jury with her presence, expressiveness and stylistic confidence, while the jury praised her mezzo-soprano colleague, Elena Dietrich (2nd prize ex aequo), for her energy, courage to achieve great dynamic differentiation and great expressive will. Aline Brechbühl, soprano (3rd prize), impressed the jury with her beautiful, warm timbre, expressiveness and radiant high notes. Valérie Fleur Ryser (soprano, 4th prize ex aequo) scored with her interpretation of Gounod's Juliette aria "Je veux vivre" and with her fervent singing and Albina Asadullina (soprano, 4th prize ex aequo) with her sweet sound and heartfelt expression.
The special prize of the Schaffhausen section in the form of a duo recital in Schaffhausen went to Elena Dietrich and Albina Asadullina.

Congratulations!