VOX early MUS Erasmus Project

Project Title

VOX early MUS

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Creativity and culture; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation

Project Summary

VOX early MUS aimed to improve the quality and relevance of higher music education through creating a joint master program on vocal early music small ensembles, at the excellency level. Under this frame, prestigious teachers, students and professionals from European conservatories and potential employment institutions gathered in order to exchange good practices on innovative methods and approaches in teaching, learning, assessing and performing vocal early music, taking into account four important dimensions: internationalization, vocal pedagogy, artistic performance and professional integration.Having young specialized professionals in vocal early music appears as an evident need nowadays: quality, professionalism, true aesthetic values are the alternatives this music offers. Thus, implementing vocal early music for small ensembles in the university curriculum – as a joint master program – arised as a common need of the partner institutions. This new learning offer in music education leads the students and graduates to identify new professional competencies and wider career opportunities.
Partner institutions in VOX early MUS:
1. National University of Music Bucharest – coordinator (Romania)
2. Den Haag Royal Conservatory (Netherlands)
3. “Joseph Haydn” Conservatory, Eisenstadt (Austria)
4. “Arrigo Pedrollo” Conservatory of Vicenza (Italy)
5. “Arrigo Boito” Conservatory of Parma (Italy)
6. Association of European Conservatories – AEC (Belgium)
7. Fondazione Italiana per la Musica Antica – Rome (Italy)
8. National Choir Association – Bucharest (Romania)
VOX early MUS addressed both direct and indirect beneficiaries – as target groups. More than 90 students – from five European conservatories – who have the vocal skills, knowledge and a special interest in approaching and understanding vocal early music – benefited of the intellectual outcomes of the Transnational Project Meetings and tested the innovative teaching methods put in act during the three Intensive Programmes.
All the activities during the three years (Steering group meeting, Transnational Project Meetings and Intensive Programmes) were connected to the main objective of the project: ellaborating a new Master programme for Early music small vocal ensembles, based on the two intellectual outputs: Curriculum design and development handbook on vocal early music small ensembles (O1) and “VOX early MUS mastering excellence” – an electronic didactic support (O2). The working group consisted in 13 experts and teachers from all the partner institutions, with a high level of expertise and experience in the early music field. Due to the project’s needs, the working group splitted in two sub-groups, focused on: 1. Curriculum design and development: preparation of the Joint Master Programme (chair: Isaac Alonso de Molina – Den Haag Conservatoire) and 2. Repertoire research: collecting the research studies of the institutions in the field of vocal early music and preparing the three Intensive Programmes (chair: Nicolae Gheorghita – UNMB) . The two sub-groups cooperated “in parallel” between and during the Transnational Project Meetings. Collaborative tools have been used in order to facilitate the “distance collaboration”: online platforms to exchange information, research studies, repertoire suggestions, list of Intensive Programmes participants and organisation, Skype sessions, etc.
The three Intensive Programmes have been conceived as a laboratory for the future Master programme. Each of them gathered together 30 students (6/conservatoire) and 6 to 12 teachers and experts during eight days of Voice-labs, where the theoretical aspects and perspectives have been put in act through one-to-one and ensemble training, body awareness, workshops of improvisation, ornamentation, conferences, lectures and artistic performances.
The Multiplier event – has been organized by the AEC and hosted by the National University of Music Bucharest, between 25th and 26th of May 2018 as an important dissemination opportunity for the project. Co-organized within the Early Music Platform of the AEC, the event gathered European experts from the Early Music field.
Along with the main activities of the project, the management played an important and constant role – shared between the coordinator institution and the partners – being responsible for the quality assurance of the planned and implemented activities, expected results, impact on the target groups and project sustainability.
The newly formed consortium on vocal early music pedagogy will continue to provide teachers and students in order to make functional the Joint Master Programme. Based on the principles and the intellectual outputs, this master program ensures a clear and formalized structure, internationally-oriented towards the students and the employment market.Besides the existing partners, VOXearlyMUS is open for additional institutions interested in participating at the Joint Master Programme.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 266437,47 Eur

Project Coordinator

UNIVERSITATEA NATIONALA DE MUZICA BUCURESTI & Country: RO

Project Partners

• CONSERVATORIO DI MUSICA “ARRIGO PEDROLLO” DI VICENZA
• Association Europeenne des Conservatoires, Academies de Musique et Musikhochschulen
• FONDAZIONE ITALIANA PER LA MUSICA ANTICA
• Asociatia Nationala Corala din Romania
• Joseph Haydn Konservatorium des Landes Burgenland
• CONSERVATORIO DI MUSICA ARRIGO BOITO
• STICHTING HOGESCHOOL DER KUNSTEN DEN HAAG