AEC Office

Finn Schumacker has been the Executive Director of the AEC since February 2024. Finn is overall responsible for AEC’s day-to-day operations, including projects and network activities for the members, ongoing contact with partner organizations within music, the arts and education, and lobbying on behalf of higher music education towards decision-makers associated with the EU Commission, the European Parliament and related institutions. Key areas are sustainable development of the Higher Music Education Area through collaboration, quality enhancement, increased mobility, strengthening alumni’s career opportunities, integration of new technology such as artificial intelligence and the contribution of the sector to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Finn was born in 1961 in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he studied tuba at the Royal Danish Academy of Music. After a few years as a member of a military orchestra, Finn was appointed as principal tubist with the Bavarian State Orchestra at the Munich Opera, where he worked with top class singers and conductors, such as Wolfgang Sawallisch, Carlos Kleiber and Zubin Mehta. At the same time, Finn was active as a soloist, chamber musician and clinician in Europe, the USA and Japan. In 1995, Finn changed his career path and has since held a number of positions as General Manager and Artistic Director for symphony orchestras in Denmark and Sweden, most recently for the Odense Symphony Orchestra in the period 2007-2021. Prior to this appointment, Finn was Principal of the Royal Academy of Music Aarhus, and in this capacity he was elected member of the AEC Council. Finn also has extensive experience from board work in the cultural sector in general, where the most recent posts include chairman of the Association of Danish cultural boards and of the Danish Orchestra Association. Finn can be reached via finnschumacker@aec-music.eu.

Linda joined the AEC in March 2007 as project administrator of the ‘Accreditation in European Higher Music Education’ project.  She coordinated the ERASMUS Network for Music ‘Polifonia’ (2007-2010) and the AEC Institutional and Programme Review Scheme. Linda is General Manager since January 2011 and supports the CEO in managing the AEC Office. Linda also works for the new external evaluation body MusiQuE – Music Quality Enhancement. Linda has a Master in European Politics from the Institute of Political Sciences in Strasbourg. She is French, speaks English and some German and works hard on her Dutch. She can be reached via lindamessas@aec-music.eu.

Sara has been part of the AEC Team since 2009. She coordinated the European Students Chamber Orchestra Tour 2011 in the framework of the project “Widening Participation on the Road to Membership” and in September 2010 she became the Office Manager of the AEC. Since November 2011 Sara has been the Events Manager of the AEC, being in charge of the organization of the AEC Annual Congress, the International Relations Coordinator Annual Meeting and the thematic working groups and platforms (Pop and Jazz, Early Music and Artistic Research). She also represents the AEC at international  meetings. Since 2016 she also got involved with project management at AEC: she is the Project Manager of the European Online Application System (EASY) and she represents the AEC in the management working group of Erasmus Strategic Partnership and Creative Europe projects where the AEC is involved as communication and dissemination partner. Sara has got a Master of Science in Economics and Management of Arts and Culture at Bocconi Business University in Milan with a final dissertation on conservatories’ international relations. She was also trained as a musician and she got a violin degree at Conservatorio di Novara (Italy). Sara is Italian, speaks  English and French and has some knowledge of Spanish and Dutch. Her main fields of interest are: management of cultural and educational institutions, event management, mobility and international relations.

Alessandra joined the AEC team in October, 2022. She comes to the AEC after working at ECSA – The European Composer & Songwriter Alliance as Project & Communication Manager. She also previously worked as an Admissions Representative and Business Manager at “Up with People”. She holds a Degree in International and Diplomatic Science. At AEC, she coordinates the communication activities, managing the AEC website, social media and newsletters. She also supports the coordination of the METRIC Network and the AEC Digitisation Working Group. Ms Callegari is an Italian mother tongue speaker and fluent in English with an intermediate knowledge of French and German.  She can be reached via alessandracallegari@aec-music.eu.

Alfonso joined the AEC in 2019, first as an intern and later as Membership and Finance Coordinator. He graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels (Belgium) with a master’s degree in Music composition, and holds a master’s diploma in EU Project Design & Management 2021-2027 from the Europa Innovation Business School. Besides liaising with nearly 300 member institutions and monitoring the overall financial management of the office, Alfonso is involved in project management and has developed expertise in diversity, inclusion and gender equality matters as coordinator of the Diversity, Identity, Inclusiveness Working Group of the AEC – Strengthening Music in Society (AEC-SMS, 2017-2021) project, and more recently coordinator of the IncluMusic (2022-2025) project. Moreover, he is dedicated to culture as an active composer, harmony teacher and professional music engraver at the Alain Van Kerckhoven Éditeur publishing house. Since 2022, Alfonso coordinates the association’s flagship project AEC – Empowering Artists as Makers in Society (ARTEMIS, 2022-2025), and is involved in project writing and reporting processes. Alfonso is Spanish, speaks fluently in English and French, and is working on his Portuguese. He can be reached via alfonsoguerra@aec-music.eu.

Beatriz joined the AEC team in February 2021 as an intern in Communication and Advocacy, and started her position as Events Coordinator in January 2022. She graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp (KCA) with a Master’s Degree in Music (cello performance) and she holds a Master in Management at the Free University of Brussels (VUB). Her interest in these two disciplines has led her to be a founding member of several musical projects, where she is actively involved in the artistic and in the coordination side. She speaks Spanish and English and is working on her Dutch. She can be reached via beatrizlaborda@aec-music.eu.

Ashkhen joined the AEC as Office and Project Coordinator in April, 2023. Her responsibilities at the AEC inter alia include supporting the Council and the General Assembly, coordinating the PRIhME project and supporting the ARTEMIS project, as well as intern supervision.
Previously she worked in a Brussels-based human rights and advocacy organization as Project and Policy Officer and later as Project Manager. Moreover, she has been involved in several volunteering projects and youth initiatives and also has worked as an independent consultant. She has a vast experience in project management, event organization, policy-making, and research. Ashkhen received her MA in Interdisciplinary History Studies from Central European University. Furthermore, she holds an executive master’s diploma in EU Project Design & Management 2021-2027 from Europa Business School and a Postgraduate Certificate in EU Policy-Making from Brussels School of Governance/Free University of Brussels. In addition to her native Armenian, Ashkhen is fluent in English, French, and Russian, has an intermediate level in Czech and Arabic. She can be reached via ashkhenfixova@aec-music.eu .

Paloma is a Spanish violist who joined the AEC team in August 2024 as a Communications intern.

After graduating from Royal Conservatoire Antwerp in viola performance she has been freelancing with orchestras and her own music projects, now she is thrilled to contribute to the AEC network.

She is fluent in Spanish and English, and has intermediate-level French and Portuguese.
She can be reached via office1@aec-music.eu.

Lara is a Spanish pianist who became a member of the AEC in August 2024.

She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio in Madrid, followed by a Master’s degree from HKU Utrechts Conservatorium in The Netherlands. She also holds a Master’s degree in Music Research from Universidad Internacional de la Rioja.

Lara has professional experience as a pianist, having performed as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra pianist. In addition to her performance career, she has worked as a piano teacher and accompanist at several conservatories in Spain, as well as cultural manager across various institutions.

Lara is fluent in Spanish & English, and she is she’s brushing up her Dutch skills.

Lara can be reached via office2@aec-music.eu.