From Adliswil to Zumikon: Zurich's music schools
In Zurich, Switzerland's most populous canton, some 2,500 teachers work in 36 music schools. The number of enrolments is equally impressive: over 70,000 courses are taught every year.
Zurich is a clearly urban canton - with the city of Zurich and its conurbation, it has the highest population density in Switzerland. But there are also rural areas, such as the Zürcher Weinland and parts of the Zurich Oberland. This is reflected in the widely varying sizes of music schools. For example, with some 25,000 students, the Musikschule Konservatorium Zürich is the largest music school in Switzerland and one of the largest in Europe, while others teach only a few hundred students.
A law on music schools since 2023
January 1, 2023 marks a milestone for music education in the Canton of Zurich. That's when the Music Schools Act, for which the Zurich Music Schools Association (VZM) has been campaigning for years, comes into force. "The law improves equal opportunities for children and young people," explains Thomas Ineichen, VZM President and ASEM delegate. Since its introduction, the canton has assumed approximately 10% of the costs of musical training (compared with 3% previously). After deduction of communal contributions, around a third of the cost of music education for children remains with the parents. Music schools are in the process of being accredited, a process that will last until 2027. One year on from the entry into force of the Music Schools Act, Thomas Ineichen takes a positive view of the situation, describing it as a great relief from a political point of view. He believes that the quality of music school offerings can now be maintained and even improved, to the benefit of all stakeholders.
Encouraging talent
The cantonal promotion program "Jeunes Talents Musique", supported by the Swiss Confederation, also recently came into force, consolidating the talent promotion programs already in place in many schools. Around 1% of students benefit from this offer aimed at the most gifted - a number that Thomas Ineichen believes could grow even further.
Music, a lifelong task
Thomas Ineichen is committed to musical education at all levels. He has been head of the Zurich Oberland Music School since 1997. A member of the VZM board since 2002 and president since 2018, he is making his mark on the music school landscape not only in the canton, but also at national level as a delegate to the ASEM. "Committing myself to the cultural asset that music represents is a lifelong task for me," he declares. "As music teachers, we should remind people how important music is to us and show that society couldn't exist without it."
