Canton Jura: Music school in the youngest canton
The canton of Jura has an eventful history - it only became independent in 1979, making it by far the youngest canton in Switzerland. The capital is Delémont, with around 12,000 inhabitants, the only town in an otherwise very rural canton with many small municipalities.
The canton recognizes the Ecole Jurassienne et Conservatoire de musique, or EJCM for short, as a cantonal music school. This makes it the only subsidized music school in the canton. The performance agreement contains guidelines from the Quarte Open Label - for the school director and VMS delegate Blaise Héritier, the certification has tangible political weight because parameters such as salaries, regulations and premises are laid down. He greatly appreciates the good, respectful cooperation with the canton. The subsidies are divided into two areas: Firstly, the canton pays annual contributions depending on the number of pupils at the music school, so that the school fees for parents amount to around 45%. And secondly, there is a gifted and talented program with space for 24 students.
During the Corona period, the EJCM was able to set up a video project with the support of the canton, which presents instruments and teachers as individual video clips or as a whole 40-minute film. This is particularly helpful because there is no tradition of cooperation with elementary school and municipalities in the canton - partly for budgetary reasons. On the other hand, there is very active cooperation with the brass bands. Most members attend lessons at the music school and benefit from a special rate.
Héritier values the exchange with cantons in French-speaking Switzerland (including during the annual Conférence romande) and throughout Switzerland. "If we know what works for others, it helps us with our own further development," he says. He has been Head of School at the EJCM since 2016 and is therefore also a VMS delegate. Previously, he worked as a conductor and as President of the Music Committee of the Swiss Wind Music Association.
