Musical life at the pulse of society
The Young Ears Network has been in existence for over 15 years, supporting players and institutions in the classical music scene on their way to a sustainable, diverse, inclusive and interdisciplinary music culture. The SMV is one of the sponsors.
The Network Young Ears (NJO) based in Berlin, has been the forum for experts and practitioners in music education in German-speaking countries since 2007. It brings together professionals from the fields of music, education, cultural policy and the creative industries from Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Luxembourg. The NJO advises individuals, projects and institutions in the field of "music education & communication". The aim is to open up access to music for as many people as possible with modern formats of musical practice. As a podium, the NJO communicative structures between institutions and people in the music scene. The team of cultural managers and music mediators develops its own projects such as the Young ears price, KLANGRADAR and The Power of the Arts and is a cooperation partner in a wide variety of productions. It is financed by Young Ears Network through project work, member and participant contributions as well as private and public third-party funding. The network is managed by an interdisciplinary team of six, with Katharina von Radowitz and Alexander von Nell as directors. The team is supported by an expert advisory board, which includes Andrea Tober, former head of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra's education program and Vice-Rector of the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin, Anke Fischer, head of the education department at the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, and cellist Oliver Wenhold, Deputy Chairman of the Board of unisono, the German Music and Orchestra Association. Johanna Ludwig, who heads the music education program of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, will be joining from Switzerland. Over 250 organizations and individuals in eight regions have joined the NJO have already joined. The network is supported by some of the most important musical associations in German-speaking countries, with both employers and employees represented: Bundesverband Musikindustrie, Deutscher Bühnenverein, Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland, orchester.ch - Verband Schweizerischer Berufsorchester, Schweizerischer Musikerverband, Stiftung Zuhören, unisono Deutsche Musik- und Orchestervereinigung, Verband deutscher Musikschulen and Younion - die Daseinsgewerkschaft. Cooperation partners also include the newly founded Arbeitskreis Musikvermittlung Schweiz, the successor organization to the association of the same name, which was dissolved in 2022.
Acoustic search for traces
KLANGRADAR has been aimed at school classes in grades 5 to 10 since 2019. In weekly workshops or project weeks, pupils go on an acoustic search with extracurricular experts, open their ears to the unknown and unexpected and develop their own audio and music pieces together. This gives new impetus to everyday school life and teaching practice. On June 14, 2023, almost 300 pupils, teachers, participants and external interested parties came together in Berlin for the Hör.Fest! where the sonic results were presented.
Young ears price
Due to the pandemic, numerous digital formats of music education have been developed. For the 15th Young Ears Award 2021, innovative projects with digital technologies as an integral part were therefore sought in order to make music and/or concert life tangible in a new way. Over 80 concepts were submitted - a huge amount of interest! First prize went to the Berlin-based Zafraan Ensemble and LOUDsoft for the interactive performance "SCHRUMPF/Like Tears in Rain". The second prize was shared by the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden for the virtual music theater project "Things Fall Apart - Diggin' Opera II" and the Ensemble Quillo (Uckermark) for the digital "Werkstatt Quillo". The award-winning concepts make it possible to experience how diverse music education can be today.
There needs to be a rethink
The field of music education is extensive, demanding and in a constant state of transformation. In the annual magazine Best of throws the NJO Highlights what is currently on the minds of those involved with a view to a sustainable musical life. The articles reflect challenges and topics of current practice on an artistic, mediatorial and strategic level. In the very interesting new issue Best of #10 the magazine deals with different dimensions of "excellence" in musical life (the magazine can be downloaded from the website of the NJO can be downloaded). In the magazine The orchestra each issue presents projects of the NJO presented on a separate page. Today, music education is no longer just for children and young people: Offers are designed to be inclusive and diversity-oriented and appeal to people of all generations in different ways. Katharina von Radowitz, the managing director of the NJOrightly writes that "when it comes to making a lasting mark on the musical present and future of a city or region, it means getting moving, scouting the landscape, getting to know those you haven't met yet, seeking out conversations with those you haven't yet spoken to, to be open to new themes, living environments, places and feelings" and wonders "how long the public will be prepared to bear the consequences of the despondency that leads to music remaining in its traditional spaces, reproducing the same old things on well-trodden paths and thus reaching fewer and fewer people?"
