A good start for two new music school directors

Training in Berne (bilingual: German/French)

"I'm very happy, it's an exciting feeling", says Katalin Müller, "but I'm also a little sad because I really enjoyed coming to Bern". Trained as a violinist and violist, Katalin Müller obtained her Master of Advanced Studies in Music Administration in June 2024, along with the diploma of "ASEM Music School Director". As she lives in Erlenbach, in the canton of Zurich, after completing the first home-based module on Zoom, she made the trip to the Bern University of the Arts every two weeks or so. It was her growing interest in the tasks of running a music school that motivated her to embark on this training course. "My heart beats for music schools," she says, "and over time I noticed more and more clearly that subjects like organization and strategy were of great interest to me." Still during her studies, Katalin Müller applied for a position as school principal, and has thus headed the Musik- und Kunstschule Lachendorf (at 55%) since 2022, while also teaching music (at 35%) and giving numerous concerts. "The training turned my life upside down - in a positive sense, of course," she stresses. "It has opened up a lot of possibilities, and my professional life has become even more diversified." 

Training in Lucerne

This continuing education program at the Bern University of the Arts, developed and directed by Felix Bamert, has been in existence since 2005. Since 2021, the Lucerne University of the Arts has been offering a new course of study under the direction of Andrea Kumpe.DAS Kultur- und Bildungsinstitutionen leiten"and two CAS music modules. Aloisia Dauer also completed her training in 2024, receiving her diploma as "ASEM Music School Manager" at a graduation ceremony. "It was a very intense phase alongside my job at 100%", explains this violinist who only needed a year and a half to finish her studies instead of the two to three years normally expected, "but it suited me". She too took up a position as a school director while still in training. She appreciated the combination of practice and theory, in particular the managerial elements which, in her view, are often lacking among musicians. Since 2023, she has been head of the Musikschule Münchenstein, a community music school with around 400 students, and is delighted to be able to put into practice with the public school the project she developed as part of her further training. During her studies, she found the exchange with participants not only from the music scene but also from other institutions particularly valuable, as was the diversity of teachers from different departments. "I felt very well supported," she explains. Like Katalin Müller, she finds that the fact that she went straight into school management was of great benefit to her. 

Bern University of the Arts

MAS in Music Administration

• 4 CAS followed by a Master's thesis (personal management, leadership, project design and implementation, professional experience in music and cultural institutions). Consisting of various modules, this curriculum focuses on the needs of the professional field, which are addressed through case studies and contexts, internships and project work. Continuing education enables students to work alongside eminent professors from the worlds of science, teaching and practice.
• Bilingual (German/French)
• Sustainable networking with reunions of MAS alumni. 

Students who have completed at least 3 of the 4 CAS courses on offer are awarded the "ASEM Music School Director" diploma. 

Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts - Music 

DAS Kultur- und Bildungsinstitutionen leiten

CAS Musiklernen neu gedacht

CAS Praxistools für die Leitung von Musikschulen und Kulturinstitutionen 

• The DAS is made up of various optional core modules focusing on business economics (taught either at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences' Department of Economics or Music, or at the University of Lüneburg/Goethe-Institut), and compulsory modules (including management, administration, innovation and development margins). The DAS is a component of various MAS programs at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences. 
• The two CAS are dedicated to innovation, management and communication issues.

ASEM awards the ASEM music school director diploma to students who have completed the DAS and one of the two CAS. 

Further information on the two offers and on the ASEM music school director diploma