The two-year Erasmus+ project "MUSICAL SPHERES – HUMAN SOUND TRACES" is attended by two schools (Adalbert Stifter Gymnasium Linz / Austria and the Gymnázium a Hudební škola hl. m. Prahy Czech Republic) which have a special upper level education for outstanding musically gifted students. The cooperation between the two schools dates back to 2013 and is based on mutual, solid trust which is promising for the implementation of further projects. There are numerous transnational orchestral projects for young musicians, but these are rarely integrated into everyday school life, and if institutionalized, then organized by music universities. In other words, their target group in most cases are students over the age of 18. But this project is about students between the ages of 14 and 19 years. Due to this fact, this project is innovative because it offers upper secondary students the opportunity to study music as authentically as possible in a school context with the best professionals and to be able to present orchestral music at a professional level. The Erasmus+ project titled "Sounds of the Neighborhood", which the two schools successfully realized in the period 2016-2019, provided valuable insights and experiences in both professional and personal terms. As a result of the evaluation, the new subjects "Orchestra" respectively "orchestral parts studies" were created at both schools, which will be implemented as a regular lesson from the school year 2019/2020 on. The reasons are that there is not enough time in regular music lessons to offer continuous orchestral training and that pure project-oriented work does not lead to the goal those responsible at both schools have in mind, namely to introduce the young musicians to a professional orchestral work, which is sought by many pupils of the respective upper grades as a career goal. In other words, this is not just about a joint orchestral project but about the development of a strategy to significantly increase job opportunities and create perspectives in an increasingly difficult cultural environment. The project objectives of the deeper cooperation between the two institutions within the framework of the new project "MUSICAL SPHERES - HUMAN SOUND TRACES" are defined as follows: - Upgrading of the newly installed subject "orchestra" at both schools at the school's location - Improvement of quality and exchange of good practice - Exchange of the social and educational value of the European cultural heritage away from the mainstream and the uniformity of a pseudo-world culture through practical self-experience with Central European music from the Baroque era to the 21st century. - By working with professional musicians of the neighbor / home country, sharpening the professional orientation as well as realizing in good time if they are prepared to meet the increasing challenges as musicians. - Understanding of music as a universal European language to promote social cohesion (creation of relationships and friendships beyond purely school cooperation) - Increase the attractiveness of the participating school institutions With reference to the theme "MUSICAL SPHERES - HUMAN SOUND TRACES" the emotional experience in the musical creation and realization of different facets of life shall be awakened and thereby the artistic expression should be increased. The idea is also to implement unfamiliar or new instrument combinations especially at the chamber orchestra concerts, focusing on differentiated timbres. Two large orchestra projects (C1 and C3) with about 60 participants (30 per school) are planned as well as two chamber orchestra concerts (C2 and C4) for about 30 participants (15 per school). The cooperation with lecturers (orchestra musicians, university professors) and possibly also with guest conductors significantly increases the motivation, since it is a completely different experience to work together with a professional musician and to receive valuable tips and tricks for playing in an orchestra. This may also create connections that may later be beneficial in a desired career. As a result, the newly installed subject "orchestra" at both schools will be further upgraded, which not only represents a massive increase in quality but also highlights the location compared to similar institutions and increases its attractiveness. Since the concerts take place in professional concert halls, there is also a lively exchange between the institutions in terms of programming and presentation. For project organisation and dissemination etc. the project homepage "www.eumps.eu" is used. LINZ
The two-year Erasmus+ project MUSICAL SPHERES – HUMAN SOUND TRACES was attended by two schools (Adalbert Stifter Gymnasium Linz, Austria and the Gymnázium a Hudební škola hl. m. Prahy, Czech Republic) which offer special upper-level education for outstanding, musically gifted students. The cooperation between the two schools dates back to 2013 and is based on mutual, solid trust which is promising for the implementation of further projects. The previous Erasmus+ project entitled "Sounds of the Neighborhood", which the two schools implemented very successfully from 2016 to 2019, brought forth valuable professional knowledge and personal experiences. There are numerous transnational orchestral projects for young musicians, but these are all extracurricular, and if institutionalized, then organized by music universities. In other words, their target group in most cases are students over the age of 18. This project is innovative because it offers learners between the ages of 14 and 19 the opportunity to study music as authentically as possible in a school context with the best experts and to be able to present it at a professional level. The project goals were defined as follows: Upgrading the newly installed subject "orchestra" at both school locations Quality improvement and exchange of good practice Communicating the social and educational value of European cultural heritage away from the mainstream and the uniformity of a pseudo-world culture through practical self-experience with Central European music from the Baroque age to the 21st century. By working with professional musicians, the students sharpen their professional orientation and recognize in good time whether they can cope with the increased demands as a musician. Understanding local music as a universal European language to promote social cohesion (development of relationships and friendships beyond purely academic cooperation) Increasing the attractiveness of the participating institutions As a result, the newly installed subject „orchestra“ at both schools is further upgraded, which not only corresponds to a massive increase in quality, but also makes the location stand out compared to similar institutions and increases its attractiveness. Since the concerts took place in professional concert halls, there was a lively exchange between the institutions in terms of program design and presentation. Referring to the topic "MUSIC SPHERES - HUMAN SOUND TRACKS", the emotional experience in the development and interpretation of outstanding musical works should make people aware of the most diverse facets of art in all areas of life and intensify artistic expression. Two large orchestra projects (C1 and C3) with around 60 participants (30 per school) were planned, as well as two chamber orchestra concerts (C2 and C4) for around 30 participants (15 per school). Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the project was extended twice to 35 months (from 07/2020 to 31/03/2021 and from 02/2021 to 31/07/2022). The associated postponement of the short-term exchanges led to scheduling conflicts with concerts that had already been planned and were not integrated into the Erasmus+ program, especially at the Musikgymnasium Linz. This would have overburdened the students and teachers. Therefore, the musical high school, another branch at the Adalbert Stifter high school, took over the short-term exchange C2 with its Coro Carissimi. Around 60 other students took part in the project. In the form of a short-term mobility project they visited the partner school in Prague for three days to perform two vocal-instrumental concert programs together. It was also possible to carry out three additional concert tours in November 2019 and in May and June 2022, as well as to offer music education concerts for elementary and secondary schools. The project achieved a high level of publicity in the respective school communities and, considering the intensive musical exchange, also presented important decision-making tools for students choosing a musical career. Even more important is the personal commitment of the students, which, also because of the moderate distance between the two educational institutions, allowed new friendships to be made, which in turn led to mutual visits and further musical activities. The school homepage, the newsletter “Rundbrief”, and the project homepage www.eumps.eu were used for project organization and dissemination.