VoCon is a Europe-wide platform for vocal Jazz, Pop and all interested teachers in higher music education. It provides in the need for sharing good practice, thoughts on education, and differences in vision and mission in the various European countries. It is a learning community, practicing what it preaches and also provides and protects free space for sharing topics that emerge on the spot.
VoCon held their first online meeting on June 22, 2020. The participants were divided into 4 groups to discuss different topics:
- The first group (on-line voice teaching) focused on the challenges of the on-line teaching experiences such as the need for more preparation, live accompaniment with students is no longer possible. Some positive points came out nevertheless: the students became more creative; they could also start the production and have more responsibility.
- The second group brainstormed on VoCon 2021 in Poland (linked to the Pop and Jazz Platform in Łódź). They tried to think about the best solutions for the 2021 event based on the example of the VoCon 2020 in Ghent, which went very well.
- While the third and the fourth group discussed very different issues, they came out with very positive statements about the need for experimenting new ways of approaching both preforming and teaching. The Covid-19 emergency has definitely imposed new boundaries – this is why we need being more and more creative, more and more flexible, more and more open to new possibilities.
All the participants were delighted to meet again, and a next meeting will take place in September in order to continue brainstorming on the official meeting in 2021 during the Pop and Jazz Platform in Lodz (Poland).
The full version of the meeting’s report is available here.
