Student members of the SSPM

Following my very last-minute request to student members, three of them spontaneously took the time to answer a few questions by phone or zoom. As it happens, all three are flutists and all study at the HKB:

Dominique Bircher is a student in her first year of a Master's degree in pedagogy. In January, she was elected to the SSPM Berne committee, becoming the first student member of an SSPM section committee. Her letter of motivation reads: "For me, teaching is not just a way of passing on music to children. Above all, I'm learning to be the best teacher I can be for myself, hopefully for the rest of my life".
Lea Mirjam Hitz a Master of Performance student, has just passed her Master of Pedagogy exam and is delighted to become a full member and finally have a profile on mein-musikunterricht.ch. She teaches at the Murgenthal music school.
Edua Nyilas was born in Hungary, but has lived in Switzerland since completing her Bachelor's degree. To finance her Master's studies in pedagogy, she works as a flute teacher, choral conductor and school musician.

What prompted you to join the SSPM?
Lea : I was recruited by a professional colleague who is a member herself. And of course, I already knew about the important and useful price lists. I'm also interested in the private lessons platform.
Dominique : It was a colleague who introduced me to the association. For me, it's especially interesting to be able to network with other music educators and to make contacts in the world of professional musicians. And I appreciate the opportunity to participate in the organization.
Edua : I'd seen SSPM equipment on several occasions at teachers' homes, so I Googled it. I immediately discovered the two very professional platforms.

Which SSPM services do you already use and which ones would you like to take advantage of soon?
Dominique : I have a profile on rent-a-musician.ch, took part in a continuing education day and once benefited from legal advice. Soon, I'd like my students to perform at student concerts.
Edua : I also have a profile on rent-a-musician.ch, so I'm glad they have price lists, and I'll certainly be taking advantage of the student concerts. I'm interested in the continuing education days, but they're too expensive for me at the moment.
Lea : I'll soon be able to have a profile on mon-leçon-de-musique.ch and I'm also interested in the other platform. As far as the price list is concerned, I'd like it to include other lesson durations and also prices for group lessons.

What do you expect from the SSPM on the union and political fronts?
Edua : The SSPM must work to ensure that music schools really only hire teachers who are artistically and pedagogically professional.
Dominique : In general, it must defend the rights of professional music teachers. If we unite, our demands will carry more weight.
Lea : It is important to oppose dumping in music education.

What are the most pressing issues in your daily lives as students and professionals, and how can the SSPM help?
All three : We still know very little about what we need to do in practice when making the transition from studies to everyday working life. When do we need to register for which social insurance, what do we need to do to become (partially) self-employed, how do we apply to music schools, etc.? A checklist or even an SSPM course for young people entering the market would be great.
Dominique : A list of foundations to which we could turn for financial support would also be useful. It's important to know how we can finance our lives.
Edua : Exactly, because we have to work alongside our studies to finance them, we have even less time to practice the instrument, and we already have far too many subjects, so it's almost impossible to do everything.
Lea : Perhaps the SSPM could help us find affordable places to teach and practice.

Thanks for your suggestions! We can certainly offer such a course. If you have any specific questions, you can always contact the presidencies and secretariats of your sections and the central association! You can search for premises and musicians for chamber music in the Market on smpv.ch.

If you could wish for anything, what could the SSPM ideally still offer you?
Dominique : I dream of a coworking space in every major city, where we could meet and network with everyday professional musicians. And perhaps a slightly more realistic wish: it would help if the SSPM could support us in our search for practice students.
Lea : The SSPM should intensify its contacts with universities.
Edua : Exactly, she should get closer to the students.