3rd European Music School Symposium

Music Schools and Their Ecosystems:
Building Sustainable Futures   

6–7 October 2023
University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and online
 

Collaboration partners:
European Music School Union (EMU)
Conference of Austrian Music School Associations (KOMU)
 
For the third time, the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, together with its two collaboration partners KOMU and EMU, is organising the European Music School Symposium in Vienna. The symposium aims to gather music school researchers, teachers, leaders, former and current students, representatives from music school organisations and from municipalities, university/conservatoire teachers and professors, and others who are committed to the development of strong, inspiring, and resilient music schools.

This year's theme is sustainability, understood as the cultural, social, environmental and economic conditions that present and future generations need in order to live well. The chances of living a meaningful and musical life are determined by many systemic interactions and interdependencies in society. Similarly, music schools can only subsist and flourish in favourable ecosystems: through interactions within communities that care strongly about education in the arts, social coherence, and long-term environmental security.
 
The different dimensions and conditions of sustainability in music school contexts range from high educational and musical quality and encouraging pedagogies to sufficiently broad aims, inclusion, financial stability, and efficient energy use. Protecting what is valuable and changing what is untenable can be a challenge that requires the right combination of knowledge, resources, and joint efforts. Across Europe, visions and projects for sustainability are currently being born in music schools, local administrations, and music school research. The symposium is a great place to share expertise, strategies, practices, and new ideas – and to form international, cross-institutional, collegial networks that can strengthen the daily work in and for sustainable music schools.

The programme includes talks by two distinguished keynote speakers, Dr. Catherine Grant from Australia and Prof. Ortwin Renn from Germany, and over 40 presentations and panels by music school researchers and practitioners from 17 countries. The traditional KOMU music school concert on the evening of 6 October and the closing dinner on 7 October provide excellent opportunities to share experiences and to broaden and deepen European exchanges. 

Participation is possible on location in Vienna or on Zoom. 

Registration from 1 June to 20 September 2023

Registration is now closed. 

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We aim to organise this event in accordance with the guidelines of the internal quality label fairanstalten_mdw. weniger ist mehr in order to contribute to resource conservation, climate protection, regional added value and awareness raising.

Here is how you can support us in this endeavour:
- Use public transport, cycle or walk. The mdw is centrally located and easy to reach. Bicycle parking and city bikes are available in front of the main building.
- Avoid waste as much as possible and separate unavoidable waste on site according to the waste management system.
- For necessary printing, use 100% recycled paper or at least chlorine-free bleached paper (TCF).
- Please do not print emails unless absolutely necessary.
Thank you very much!
 

If you would like to find out more about the University's commitment to the environment, please visit the "green mdw" website: www.mdw.ac.at/gruene-mdw