AEC Pop and Jazz Platform meeting 2023
16 – 18 February Rome (Italy)
St. Louis College of Music
“What does it mean to make it?
Opening gateways to working life, international connections and artistry”
We invited all members to join us during the on-site AEC Pop & Jazz Platform meeting 16-18 February 2023 hosted by the St. Louis College of Music in Rome, Italy.
After two years of online and hybrid PJP meetings, we were very much looking forward to meeting you all face-to-face.
This year’s theme came up during a brainstorming with the colleagues of St. Louis College of Music and our preparatory working group. We were wondering which themes would still be relevant after all the turmoil of the passed Covid period and with all the uncertainties ahead? Contrary to what one might expect the working life of musicians has gone into overdrive after all the restrictive bans have been lifted. All over Europe the gigs and tours had been starting up again and audiences were happy to go out and enjoy concerts and live music at the many festivals and venues. Many of us had the opportunity to go ‘back to business’ and many of us used our ingenuity to branch out to other sources of income.
Because… let’s not oversimplify this returning ‘back to business’…
Due to the pandemic, we all had to review our lives as creators, musicians, entrepreneurs – and above all – humans. We all know that dealing with uncertainty is a much-needed competency. Following your dream to become the best performer is still valid and even needed to pursue a career in the arts. You need stamina and self-belief, an open mind and cleverness, and a rocksteady sense of belonging to want to build a meaningful career in music. As educators, we needed some real talk about our curricula and take a hard look at what it means to go out there in the world to create such a career. The profile of musicians has changed dramatically, and the question is if conservatoires and educational programs can keep up with this unknown future. Do we, as educators, have what it takes to ‘learn and teach it’?
These thoughts, ideas and questions were discussed with the attendees.
The program of the pre-conference on Thursday had a new format and we hoped you could join us already there! The two-day conference program had enough space built in to connect and exchange ideas and experiences and we were happy to meet you all!
Since this was my last AEC PJP meeting as Chair and member of the wonderful preparatory working group I would like to thank my colleagues who made this work so inspiring and meaningful.
Thank You!
Susanne Abbuehl, Jere Laukkanen, Anna Uhuru, Mario Carrillo, Marta Raviglia and Hannes Pries, Barbara Lalić, Stefan Gies and Rico Gubler.
We were glad to see you in Rome!
Linda Bloemhard
Chair AEC Pop& Jazz Platform meeting preparatory working group
