ECMA-Next Step

The European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA)- Next Step is a collaborative Erasmus + project that focuses on cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices in the field of Chamber Music. This EU funded project will have a duration of three years, from September 2015 to August 2018, and will build on the years of expertise of the ECMA and AEC’s previous Polifonia Project. The ECMA is an association of 9 European music conservatoires and festivals who provide training for chamber music ensembles and develop new networks by bringing together people from different backgrounds and cultures.

For more info about the ECMA please click here.

Aims and Objectives

This project aims at using the potential of chamber music teaching as a tool to address to main objectives of the 2011 EU Modernisation Agenda: Improving the quality and relevance of higher education and strengthening quality through mobility and cross-border cooperation.
By pooling the knowledge and traditions of various European countries through cross-border cooperation, the quality of the educational programmes will be strengthened and employment possibilities for music student will be enhanced in an increasingly international employment market. One other objective is also present in this project and that is the increased cooperation with professional partners. By involving two well-known music festivals into the partnership as full members, the professional dimension is strengthened.
The above mentioned objectives will be met via the development of the following specific actions:

  • Training activities for teachers and students
  • Celebration of a event prior to the AEC congress in Zagreb, November 2017
  • Creation of a manual on teaching methodologies in Chamber Music
  • Development of a new Joint European Master’s Programme for Chamber Music

Partners

  • Norges Musikkhøgskole, Oslo (Project Coordinator)
  • Universitaet fuer Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, Austria
  • Hogeschool der Kunsten Den Haag, NL
  • Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Vilnius, Lithuania
  • Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris, France
  • Royal Northern College of Music Manchester, UK
  • Fondazione Scuola di Musica di Fiesole Onlus, Fiesole, Italia
  • Association Europeenne des Conservatoires, Academies de Musique et Musikhochschulen (AEC), Brussels
  • Artesis Plantijn Hogeschool Antwerpen, Belgium
  • Association Festival Pablo Casals, Prades, France

Role of the AEC

AEC’s role in the project is as follows:
• Promoting the Strategic Partnership during dedicated sessions of the AEC events organised regularly;
• Disseminating to external targets the project activities and outcomes of the Strategic Partnership;
• Developing criteria for the evaluation of the Strategic Partnership and hiring an external evaluator to visit one project activity a year, read through materials and write an annual evaluation report.