22 million teaching minutes from Biel to Brienz
More than a million people live in the canton of Berne - and every year, around half a million lessons are given at the 28 recognized music schools. These are united under the umbrella of the Bernese Association of Music Schools (ABEM), chaired by Nicola von Greyerz. The General Secretary is Hans Peter Hess.
Bern is Switzerland's second-largest canton, both in terms of area and population. One of its distinguishing features is its bilingualism. "It's not a problem for us," says Hans Peter Hess, who lives in the bilingual town of Nidau, with a smile. The very different educational approaches of the two linguistic regions are sometimes discussed within the canton - and President Nicola von Greyerz sees this as an enrichment.
At present, the association is placing particular emphasis on the promotion of talent - the existing strategy has been adapted to the federal framework conditions. Another important topic is collaboration with compulsory schools. "I'm very concerned that the existence of such collaboration should not depend on certain people," explains Nicole von Greyerz. ABEM's aim is to strengthen and institutionalize this collaboration. To this end, a new position for the coordination of "music schools - compulsory school" has been created at the beginning of 2023 - Isabelle Lehmann, deputy director of the Biel Music School, has been hired for this purpose.
Another important issue in the Canton of Berne is the financing of musical training. In addition to municipal and cantonal contributions (30%), parents pay an average of CHF 780. Hans Peter Hess believes that music schools are fundamentally too expensive and that a new system is needed. This is why the "Finance" working group was recently reactivated. As you can see, there's still a lot of work to be done, both for the ABEM Board and the secretariat. However, Hans Peter Hess will be handing over the helm of the secretariat in summer 2023. The long-standing ASEM delegate will be retiring, and he is looking forward to being able to devote himself once again in a very concrete way to the practice of music with a newly-founded group.
