Committee retreat in the canton of Zurich
At the beginning of September, the ASEM Board met in the wonderfully situated abbey of Kappel am Albis for its traditional retreat. As in previous years, the focus was on exchanges with the local cantonal association - in this case the Verband Zürcher Musikschulen, represented by four members of its committee.
The 2025 Music Training Forum and the 50e anniversary were on the agenda for the first day. Discussions have already shown that the year 2025 may well go down in the association's annals. The committee discussed hot topics in the music education sector, as well as the best practice competition for music school projects. This was followed by a valuable exchange with Lorenzetta Zaugg of the Federal Office of Culture on the current status of the "Jeunes Talents Musique" program. In the meantime, almost all cantons have been able to submit concepts - ASEM will make these available on its website as soon as possible. In the next funding period, another federal program, "Youth and Music", will focus on equal opportunities. In this context, a possible expansion of the offer was discussed. In the evening, a workshop by Mami Irisawa devoted to Gregorian chant and polyphony from the XVIth to the XVIIIth centuries was held.e century brought a moment of relaxation - after a brief introduction, the committee, supported by the acoustics of the abbey church, were already singing an "Ave Maria" in four voices.
Also on the retreat program was a contribution on artificial intelligence from Richard-Emmanuel Eastes, professor at HES-SO, who has been accompanying the association since 2022 on the issue of digitization. "AI isn't a magic trick", he said, showing as a positive example how HatGPT, properly used, can become a relevant coach for students and teaching staff alike. His conclusions: the use of AI has to be learned.
ASEM President Philippe Krüttli welcomed four representatives from the Zurich music school association. "We'd like to use the network and promote exchange between the cantons", he said. Discussions focused on the "Jeunes Talents Musique" program and data protection in music schools. A convivial aperitif in the abbey garden and the supper that followed provided an opportunity to get to know each other better and consolidate the good collaboration that already exists.
At the end of a second day packed with topics such as multi-year objective planning, submitted each year in November to the Delegates' Meeting for approval, Philippe Krüttli thanked the participants for the good atmosphere and the focused, creative collaboration, and announced in conclusion that the 2024 retreat would be held in Geneva.
