According to a press release issued by the City of Lucerne, the task of providing compulsory instrumental and vocal lessons for students at grammar schools and technical secondary schools was transferred to the municipal music schools as part of the Canton of Lucerne's Task and Finance Reform 18 (AFR18). In this context, the cantonal legal basis was also amended with regard to personnel legislation. Since then, only the cantonal employment and salary regulations have applied to music school teachers. The partial revision of the municipal music school regulations now brings them into line with the cantonal requirements.

The music school of the city of Lucerne has already put into practice the fulfillment of the task of teaching high school and technical secondary school students and has concluded a service agreement with the canton of Lucerne in this regard. This also includes the cantonal contributions in favor of the City of Lucerne, which cover the additional tasks. The City Council proposes that the Grand City Council approve the amendment to the regulations for the Music School of the City of Lucerne dated June 25, 2009 with effect from October 1, 2025. The City Council is expected to discuss this report and proposal on June 26, 2025. No special credit is required for the project described therein.

The French cellist and composer Hortense Airault, the Italian percussionist Antonio Gaggiano and the Chinese percussionist Hedi Yang will each receive prize money of CHF 10,000. In addition, the Foundation will enable the three to take part in the Lucerne Festival Academy 2025, also worth CHF 10,000 each.

Hortense Airault, born in Paris in 1999, completed her musical training in Paris and Geneva and is currently studying for a Master's degree in Music Composition at the Bern University of the Arts under Job Ter Haar, among others. Antonio Gaggiano, born in Italy in 1999, studied percussion and composition in Foggia, Ghent and at the Hochschule für Musik Basel, where he completed a master's degree in music performance with Christian Dierstein. He is currently deepening his education in the Master's program in Music Pedagogy. Hedi Yang was born in China in 2003. At the age of 16, she became the youngest ever admitted bachelor's student to major in percussion at the Zurich University of the Arts, where she studied with Klaus Schwärzler, Raphael Christen and Benjamin Forster. She is currently completing her master's degree in Zurich.

The Fritz Gerber Award is aimed at talents up to the age of 28 who either have Swiss citizenship or have lived in Switzerland for at least three years. A jury consisting of Michael Haefliger, Director of the Lucerne Festival, Mark Sattler, dramaturge of the Lucerne Festival, and the composer and conductor Heinz Holliger decided on the award.

The Fritz Gerber Foundation for Gifted Young People has been supporting talented young people in the fields of culture, crafts and sport since 1999. Over the past 26 years, around 2830 young people have been supported with more than 35 million francs. The award has been presented in collaboration with Lucerne Festival since 2015.

We humans share a crucial building block of musicality with chimpanzees: rhythmic drumming. A team from the University of Vienna, the University of St. Andrews and the Sapienza University of Rome has shown that chimpanzees also follow a rhythm when drumming and that individual groups even use different rhythms.

From July 1, 2025, the management of the HMTM Ballet Academy will thus consist of a dual leadership: according to the HMTM press release, the Artistic Director of the Academy, Jan Broeckx, and the new Managing Director will be jointly responsible for the entire study and business operations of the Ballet Academy in close cooperation with the Board of Directors. In addition to her teaching position at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), Bosshard is currently project manager for the promotion of young talent at the professional association Danse Suisse.

Michaela Bosshard performed in New York as a dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company, among others. In Switzerland, she worked for the Swiss professional association for dance Danse Suisse, where she played a key role in talent development projects under the direction of Gianni Malfer and Liliana Heldner Neil. From 2016, Michaela Bosshard took over the project management for the professional association's entire promotion of young talent, namely the talent scouting days and summerdance, a promotion project for talented dancers in pre-professional training. She is also responsible for further education programs at Danse Suisse.

When asked about stress, 51% of respondents complained that insufficient consideration is given to their mental well-being and work-life balance. The network is therefore calling for solutions to this shortcoming. Approaches would lie "in recognizing the individual potential and techniques of mediating practice not only in relation to the audience, but also with a view to institutional transformation processes".

A total of 422 people responded to the online survey, 271 of whom completed the questionnaire in full. Due to this high response rate, it is possible to speak of valid results for Germany, and the number of respondents in Switzerland and Austria also allows a good assessment of the situation in these countries, writes the network.

The complete results can be found here:
https://www.jungeohren.de/umfrageergebnisse-arbeitsbedingungen-musikvermittlung-2025/

In March 2024, the Federal Council commissioned a group of experts headed by Serge Gaillard, the former Director of the Federal Finance Administration, to carry out a review of tasks and subsidies. It was tasked with proposing measures to reduce the federal budget by at least 3 billion from 2027 and by at least 4 billion from 2030. The task force writes that the debate on the relief package 27 represents a directional decision: instead of cuts, targeted investments in social resilience, cultural diversity and democratic innovation are needed.

The task force calls for no cuts to cultural institutions and programs, the protection of cultural diversity as a strategic location feature, the strengthening of cultural education and social participation, especially for children and young people, the preservation of international cultural partnerships as a contribution to hybrid security policy and the anchoring of cultural resilience as a strategic goal of Swiss policy.

More info: 
https://www.suisseculture.ch/?article=kultur_ist_systemrelevant_taskforce_culture_warnt_vor_kurzsichtigkeit_beim_entlastungspaket_27

Victor Aviat studied oboe and piano in Zurich with Louise Pellerin and in Geneva with Maurice Bourgue. As an oboist, he was a member of the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and later became Claudio Abbado's principal oboist in his performances with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and the Orchestra Mozart.

Victor Aviat lived in Berlin and was principal oboist of the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Iván Fischer. He also played regularly in the same position with ensembles such as the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra under Riccardo Chailly.

Elina Duni was born into a family of artists in Tirana in 1981 and began performing for Albanian radio and TV at the age of five. After the fall of the communist regime, she moved to Geneva with her mother, where she studied classical piano before turning to jazz. She perfected her training at the Bern University of the Arts, concentrating on composition and improvisation.

During these years, together with Colin Vallon (piano), Patrice Moret (double bass) and Norbert Pfammatter (drums), she founded the Elina Duni Quartet, a project that fuses jazz with the sounds of Balkan folklore. In 2012, Elina Duni recorded a collaboration with ECM Records.

Established in 2007, the Swiss Jazz Award is presented annually at JazzAscona (June 25 - July 5, 2025). Recent winners include Bruno Spoerri (2017), Franco Ambrosetti (2018), Othella Dallas (2019), Nolan Quinn (2022), Christoph Grab (2023) and the Swiss Jazz Orchestra (2024).

Hope is music director of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and the New Century Chamber Orchestra in San Francisco. He is also President of the Beethoven-Haus Bonn and, from November 2025, Artistic Director of the Gstaad Menuhin Festival.

Wolf Trap is a cross-genre music presenter outside of Washington, D.C., offering year-round programming at three venues: the Filene Center, The Barns at Wolf Trap and the Children's Theatre-in-the-Woods. Performances range from major summer operas and concert productions at the Filene Center to chamber music concerts, operas and recitals at The Barns, which is known for its intimate atmosphere.

Bringuier was Music Director of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich from 2014 to 2018. He has also held conducting positions with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León in Valladolid, the Orchestre de Bretagne and the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris. Bringuier studied cello in Paris and conducting with Zsolt Nagy. In 2005, he won the competition for young conductors in Besançon.

Founded in 1960, the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège (OPRL) is the only professional symphony orchestra in the French-speaking part of Belgium. Since its foundation, it has commissioned numerous Belgian and international composers and has been commissioned to premiere various works. It can look back on more than 130 world premieres.

The International Citation of Merit Award is presented to personalities who "have a decisive influence on the world of the performing arts in the background", writes Lucerne Festival. It honors a lifetime achievement that has enriched the international cultural landscape through excellent work. The prize is regarded as one of the most important awards in the field of international cultural work.

The International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) is a global network of leaders in the performing arts. It was founded in the USA in 1949 and today unites over 500 members from more than 50 countries. Its aim is to promote global exchange, networking and the further development of the cultural scene. The ISPA sees itself as a platform for dialog, innovation and international cooperation.

Coin was born in Caen and studied viola da gamba with Jordi Savall at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis from 1978. Coin has been a teacher of baroque cello and viola da gamba at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris and at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis since 1988.

The École Normale de Musique de Paris "Alfred Cortot" (ENMP) is a music academy in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. It was founded in 1919 by Auguste Mangeot and Alfred Cortot. It is recognized by the Ministry of Culture and is under the patronage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mainz University of Applied Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg University and the publishing house Schott Music have initiated the cooperative doctoral project DigiMuBi (Digital Learning Formats in Music Education from the Perspective of Media Education, Computer Science Didactics and Media Management). The aim is to research the possibilities of digital learning formats in music education. Janna ten Thoren from Mainz University of Applied Sciences is responsible for the research work. Sven Pagel from Mainz University of Applied Sciences and Jasmin Bastian from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz are assisting and advising her.

In addition to researching digital learning media, the three-year project also focuses on analyzing economic and social aspects. The focus is on understanding the integration of digital tools in various educational environments and analyzing their acceptance and impact. To this end, various learning settings (e.g. group situations or self-learning) are analyzed and digital teaching formats, such as interactive apps, are tested.

A particular focus is on investigating the needs, prerequisites and acceptance of digital methods in music schools and general education schools. The aim is to identify the most effective technological and pedagogical approaches to promote music appreciation and practice.

Born in Bucharest (Romania) in 1984, Irina Ungureanu studied classical singing at the Zurich University of the Arts with Jane and David Thorner-Mengedoth. After exploring contemporary music and taking part in a number of staged and musical premieres, she currently devotes herself largely to her own songs in Swiss German and Romanian. From 2011 to 2015, she taught solo singing at the Pädagogische Maturitätsschule Kreuzlingen. For four years, she was a member of the board of trustees of the Thurgau Cultural Foundation and the Music Commission of the City of Zurich.

The grants from the Canton of Thurgau are intended to enable artistic development. In addition to Irina, the expert jury selected the following five Thurgau artists from 65 applications: Reto Friedmann (radio art), Linda Heller (dance), Rhona Mühlebach (visual art), Barbara Tacchini (theater), Mikhail Joey Wassmer (visual art).

The Bernese ensemble was joined by actor Evans-Jones for the speaking roles in the film and made a remarkable appearance during the sinking of the Titanic when it played the Bach chorale "Nearer my God to thee". The violin that Evans-Jones played is now being auctioned off.

The violin was auctioned by Evans-Jones in 2013 and has been in the possession of the then buyer since its purchase. The auction will take place on April 26 and will be conducted by the auction house Henry Aldridge and Son in Wiltshire, United Kingdom. The violin will be delivered with a signed certificate of authenticity.

Article about the Titanic musicians in the SMZ from 10/2023