Delegates' Meeting on November 24

Picture: Margot Müller

Association President Philippe Krüttli warmly welcomed those present, in particular the new delegates Stéphanie Küffer Weber (canton of Valais) and Reto Inäbnit (canton of Bern). Both the budget and the multi-year target plan 2024 - 2028, which defines the tasks and projects of the VMS - from talent promotion to networking, from digitalization to statistics - were unanimously approved.

Cultural Message 2025 - 2028 and Young Talents in Music

The consultation phase for the Culture Dispatch 2025 - 2028 ended on September 22. The VMS wrote a detailed response, which Philippe Krüttli discussed again at the DM. The complete consultation response can be found here. Work continues on the "Young Talents in Music" program. Sixteen cantons have already received financial support from the Federal Office of Culture for the start of the process. The following cantons have already concluded a performance agreement:

• Berne
• Lucerne
• Nidwalden
• St. Gallen
• Vaud
• Zurich

In some other cantons, the performance agreement is about to be signed, and several others are also in negotiations.

The VMS will publish the cantonal programs relating to "Young Talents in Music" on the website as soon as they are released by the Federal Office of Culture.

Cooperation from the cantons

The VMS Board is explicitly asking for cooperation from the cantons in two projects. On the one hand, we are looking for a representative from the cantonal associations for the Statistics 2025 working group, which collects extensive information from the cantons.

Input from the cantons is also required for the digitalization concept. The concept, which will be available to music schools digitally and dynamically, is to be presented to a sounding board consisting of experts from the world of music schools (music school directors or digitally-savvy music teachers).

Contact between the VMS and the cantonal associations

There are currently two regional conferences at which managers and interested parties from several cantons meet to exchange ideas and receive further training - the Regional Conference of Central Switzerland and the Conférence Romande in French-speaking Switzerland. The Board of Directors proposed that these conferences should no longer be launched by the Board itself in future and that instead regular contact between the Board members and the cantonal associations should be promoted, a proposal that met with the approval of the delegates.

News from the cantons

The most important items on the agenda of the delegates' meetings include information from the individual cantons. Several delegates reported on the status of the "Young Talents in Music" funding program and cantonal music school laws that are currently being planned or consulted on or have recently been passed. The exchange made it clear how different the music school landscape is in Switzerland.

Anniversary 2025

In two years' time, the Swiss Association of Music Schools will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. Reason enough to put music schools in the public eye. A radio tour through all cantons is planned for summer/autumn 2025, in collaboration with the Pestalozzi Children's Foundation. The cantonal associations will receive a specific call for nominations for music schools in January 2024. The musical and colorful tour will conclude with a celebration in Bern on November 21, 2025.

Professional mission statement

Finally, Board members Christian Braun and Philippe Müller presented the newly developed "Job description music teacher" and thanked the members of the broad-based working group who were present. The work had been very intensive, but profitable. The result is a new, future-oriented basic document for the varied profession, which can be used both as a tool for school development and for political work.

The "Professional mission statement" working group, from left to right: Adrian Meyer, Beat Hofstetter, Lionel Zürcher, Marcel Blanchard, Céline Shuler (Photo: Margot Müller)