50 years of service to the SSPM - Vaud!

I joined the SSPM-Vaud in 1967 after obtaining my piano teaching diploma. Before that, thanks to a CFC in business administration and a stay in England, I had a very interesting and well-paid job as a trilingual secretary. I started teaching at the Conservatoire de Vevey, which was a dependency of the Institut de Ribaupierre in Lausanne. The salary there was miserable, so I went into private practice. It still wasn't enough. Things changed when the SSPM-Vaud organized a training course to teach the Willems method, enabling us to teach groups of students. I'll be eternally grateful to the SSPM-Vaud for approaching Jacques Chapuis and Edgar Willems to train us to teach music education using this method. The SSPM-Vaud was a pioneer in this field in the canton of Vaud. This enabled us to take care of very young pupils aged 4-5, to whom we gave a musical education to develop ear training and rhythm. This training still exists today, and gives pupils a good foundation on which to begin learning the instrument that interests them.

Following some disastrous experiences in the organization of exams, I took a stand, with the result that I was offered the job. So I was already involved in examinations before joining the committee. I joined the committee in 1975, at an extraordinary AGM when the entire committee resigned. A new committee was elected, but things went wrong when it came to electing the president: we wanted Claire Buenzod. What a horror: a woman! It took lengthy discussions before the meeting finally agreed to elect Claire Buenzod as president.

Since then, I've been in charge of the Vaud section's secretariat. My training as a commercial employee enables me to carry out tasks with a certain typing facility. It's always nice to feel useful. I still enjoy putting my skills to work for our section.

In 1976, I had the opportunity to take part, as hostess, in ISME, the International Society for Music Education organized by the SSPM. I had the privilege of meeting Dimitri Kabalewsky and Dimitri Shostakovich! They looked very sheepish, having no money to pay the registration fee! The president immediately intervened and I was able to give them the documents. As they didn't speak English, I hummed Kabalewsky's Toccatina, which immediately lightened the mood and I saw them smile; they looked very happy.

It is difficult to summarize the highlights of all these years. The negotiations to obtain recognition from the State of Vaud, and consequently a subsidy to finance the annual examinations, lasted from 1977 to 1985. Indeed, public opinion on our profession regarded it as "hardly a profession" and saw no need to subsidize music teaching "since it's a leisure activity". In 1997, despite the Canton's financial difficulties and thanks to the tenacity of President Claire Grin, we were able to continue receiving the subsidy of Fr. 5,000.
Our outreach work brought us to the attention of the DFJC (Department of Education, Youth and Culture). So, in 2009, we were invited to meet State Councillor Anne-Catherine Lyon. During the consultation she had organized, President Marc-Henri Aubert and part of the committee were asked to give our opinion on the draft law on music schools. We affirmed our support for the AVEM-SSP positions. We made it clear that we want to be recognized as partners in the Vaud music education landscape.

Thanks to the government's support, we are able to organize our annual examinations with a certain degree of serenity. Over the past 50 years, these examinations have changed a great deal. In my early days, to avoid favoritism, students presented themselves anonymously and the teacher was not present at the deliberations. This gave the impression of being judged by a secret court. Nowadays, teachers attend their students' performances and take part in the deliberations. This way of proceeding establishes a constructive dialogue for both the students and their teacher.

From 2010 to the present day, we've been able to carry on organizing our events with peace of mind. I'm very happy to be able to contribute to the realization of our section's various projects and to the good understanding that reigns within the committee.

There's always room for improvement, and I wish the section every success in continuing its activities with enthusiasm and a constructive spirit.

Interview by Guy Fasel, President of SSPM-Vaud