50 years at the service of the SMPV Vaud!

I joined the SMPV in 1967 after receiving my teaching diploma for piano. Thanks to my initial training as a commercial clerk with a federal certificate of competence and a language study trip to England, I had a very interesting and well-paid job as a trilingual secretary by then. I then started teaching at the Conservatoire de Vevey, which was a branch of the Institut de Ribaupierre in Lausanne. The pay there was so miserable that I started teaching privately. But that wasn't enough either.
The situation only improved when the Vaud section approached Jacques Chapuis and Edgar Willems to offer us training in the Willems method to make this possible. The training in this method allowed us to offer group lessons for very young students aged 4-5 years, whose hearing and sense of rhythm we trained. These courses still exist today. They give the students a good musical foundation to later learn an instrument they like. I will continue SMPV Vaud be eternally grateful for his pioneering work!

After witnessing how disastrously poorly organized the stage exams were, I started to get involved, whereupon I was immediately offered the opportunity to take over the organization of the exams in future. So I was already taking care of the stage exams before I joined the board. In 1975, I was elected to the board during a dramatic AGM at which the entire board resigned. A new board was elected. But when it came to electing the presidency, things got very complicated: We wanted Claire Buenzod. "What a horror: a woman!" It took long discussions before the meeting finally agreed to elect Claire Buenzod as president.
Since then, I have been looking after the secretariat of the Vaud section. My training as a commercial clerk helps me to carry out my tasks with a certain ease. It's always nice to be needed and I still enjoy putting my skills at the service of our section.

It is not easy to summarize the most important events of all these years. The negotiations for recognition by the canton of Vaud and thus for a subsidy to finance the annual examinations lasted from 1977 to 1985. According to public opinion, our profession was considered "not a real profession at all" and there was no need to subsidize music lessons "as it is a hobby".
In 1997, however, despite the financial difficulties of the canton and thanks to the persistence of the president, Claire Grin, we were able to obtain an annual subsidy of CHF 5,000.
These negotiations brought us to the attention of the DFJC (Department of Education, Youth and Culture). In 2009, we were invited to a meeting with the State Councillor, Anne-Catherine Lyon. During the consultation she organized, the president, Marc-Henri Aubert, and part of the board were asked to express our opinion on the preliminary draft of the law on music schools. We reiterated our support for the positions of the AVEM-SSP. We also made a strong request to be recognized as a partner in the Vaud music education landscape.

Thanks to the support of the canton, we can carry out our annual audits with a certain degree of serenity. These exams have changed a lot over the last 50 years. In my early days, students competed anonymously and the teacher was not present during the deliberations to avoid nepotism. You had the feeling that you were being judged by a shadow court. Today, teachers are present at their students' performances and take part in the deliberations. This enables a constructive dialog between the students and the teachers.

From 2010 until today, we have been able to continue organizing our events without any particular incidents. I am very pleased that I have been able to work on the various projects of our section and contribute to the good relations within the Board of Directors.

Of course, there is always room for improvement. I hope that the section will continue its work with enthusiasm and a constructive spirit.

The interview was conducted by Guy Fasel, President of SMPV-Vaud - Translation Marianne Wälchli