Music as a "tool in society"

The craft of a musician is and has been (almost) the same for decades. The situation is different when it comes to their role in society: everything here is in a state of permanent change. And with these changes, the terms used by universities to respond to the social challenges facing the arts are also changing. No sooner had we realized that "music education" had become a relevant discipline for which specialists urgently needed to be trained than we had to get used to the term "cultural participation". At the same time, there was also talk of "audience development", "community music", "co-creation" or "musicking". What all these terms have in common is that musicians contribute to society as artists in addition to their craft. Or as Augusto Boal, the Brazilian director and theorist, puts it: "Being a citizen is not living in society, it is changing it." These trends are being discussed intensively not only at universities, but also in international associations such as the AEC (music academies) or ELIA (art academies).

The Bern University of the Arts recently held an interdisciplinary course on "Artistic Citizenship" to address students' interest in social engagement that goes far beyond music education. During a week of research, we investigated theoretically and empirically whether and how the model of "artistic citizenship" is suitable for this: can concepts such as artistic citizenship, social responsibility and civic mission enter into a fruitful connection with artistic excellence, imagination and creativity? What happens to our art when we understand its practice as a social process or as a "tool in society"? We also looked at global megatrends that are identified under keywords such as "global migration" or "down-aging" (older people feeling increasingly younger). Students from all disciplines conducted their own qualitative experiment, which they linked to one of the megatrends discussed. They were able to present the results, including performances, project and workshop concepts, to concert organizers at a public event.

In this context, one student has specifically dedicated herself to the dialog group of the very elderly and has placed her experiment in the "Silver Society" trend. The ageing of society today is both a challenge and an opportunity for a new socio-cultural vitality. The student - a flautist - regularly visited a 90-year-old lady suffering from dementia, who used to play the flute, at the retirement home. She was deeply impressed by the great and gratifying response of the lady to her flute playing, especially to her freely arranged folk songs.

In order to develop new methods and innovative strategies as a university, Bern University of Applied Sciences has been focusing on three strategic fields for some time: digital transformation, sustainability and caring society. The aim is to respond to challenges and enable students to share classical music with the elderly, for example. A team from the Departments of Music and Social Work is currently working on how to respond to the need of elderly people for musical expression and creative, process-based exchange with young people. In the longer term, this should be taught and learned in a university context.

For some time now, the Department of Music at the University of the Arts has offered students the opportunity to study topics relating to mediation and participation as part of the MA in Specialized Music Performance. Part of the final thesis is a tailor-made project, which can include new concert formats or the inclusion of non-classical groups.

So if we understand music not just as a performative act by performers for a passive audience, but think, research and expand its practice in a socially comprehensive way, then this strengthens the importance of this music as a whole, it brings previously rather separate social groups into active exchange and it increases the legitimacy of our universities as educational, communication and cultural institutions.

Barbara Balba Weber is Head of "Music in Context", Bern University of the Arts