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Since the beginning of the 21 st century,
projects have become more varied and
sophisticated. The music education
repertoire of orchestras and concert organisers
no longer solely consists of concert
series for children and adolescents.
Projects such as music education workshops
before concerts, concerts in which
children and adolescents actively participate
and interdisciplinary projects incorporating
dance, visualisation and
drama have been added to the repertoire.
Since 2005, the total number of
projects has increased noticeably.
We chose a balanced selection of interviewees.
About a third started their
music education work before 2000,
about a third after and about a third in
2005. It is no coincidence that all British
and American interviewees started their
music education projects before 2000.
Organisational structure
Interviewees who work with concert organisers
and orchestras work within various
organisational structures; however,
there is a clear trend towards designated
‘Education Departments’ 1 ; 24 of the interviewees
work in such departments.
In the absence of designated education
managers:
> 2 music directors of ensembles we
interviewed declared themselves
responsible for matters of music
education
> 5 of the interviewees were associated
with the marketing or the press
and PR department
> 4 were part of the artistic administration
> 3 were freelancing for concert
organisers and orchestras
> 2 were in charge of developing and
organising music education projects
while also working as a dramaturge
and an orchestral musician
respectively.
Funding
In all countries, except Great Britain and
the USA, the majority of funding is provided
as state grants. The budgets of two
Austrian orchestras are highly subsi dised
by their supporting ‘Friend Society’. In
Germany, charitable foundations are becoming
increasingly important for making
music education projects possible.
When orchestral musicians take part
in music education projects, they usually
receive an additional fee, often referred
to as an expense allowance. In some orchestras,
participation in music education
projects counts as regular work hours.
However, interviewees commented that
musicians are not motivated in this case,
since they consider their creative as well
as their educational input into these
projects as higher value than the kind of
work they do during their so-called
‘work-hours on the game’.
In principle, music education distinguishes
between projects for schools and
projects for families. All interviewees
charge admission for projects for families
but opinions were divided when it came
to admission fees for school projects.
The majority believe that art is valuable
and therefore needs to be paid for, even
though the amount asked from pupils
can never cover the actual value of the
service offered. In most cases, the
amounts charged varied between 2 and
8 Euros for workshops and around 5
Euros for school concerts.
A small group of interviewees no
longer charge for school classes, some
128
because the administrative cost of collecting
the money would be higher than
the financial gain, some for socio-political
reasons i.e. because they work predominately
with schools in socially underprivileged
environments.
FORMATS
In total, we asked 26 ensembles and 14
concert organisers about the music education
concerts they offer. The most common
types and the basis of the music education
work of all interviewees are:
Concerts for families
These types of concerts usually take
place at weekends and during leisure
time and address parents/grand-parents
and their children. Different age classifications
are made, depending on the specific
experience of the local education
managers and music educators.
Newborns and babies are the youngest
age group targeted. Then children are
usually divided into age groups 3 to 5, 5
to 9 and 9 to 12.
Concerts for nursery schools
Only a few ensembles and concert halls
have so far approached nursery schools,
however, a rise in the number of concerts
for nursery schools is to be expected in
the coming years, since it has been
recognised that music education is more
beneficial if it starts from a very early age.
Concerts for schools
Historically, concerts for schools are at
the centre of all music education. Almost
all interviewees say they have been organising
such concerts for many years,