We can now share this news with you: a professional jury selected six ensembles from 24 submissions in recent weeks to take part in the International Young Artist Presentation 2023. The chosen ensembles will come to Antwerp for a few days this summer to be intensively coached by Peter Van Heyghen and Raquel Andueza on their presentations.
On Saturday 19 August 2023, you can see the selected IYAP ensembles at work. With an IYAP day ticket, you won’t miss anything from this young guard and their musical ability.
Bring adventure into your home and enrich your life!
From 1 September 2023, we expanded our team with two new volunteers. We are looking for a host family near Pelt, preferably in northern Limburg, to give Fernando Tarrancón from Spain a home for the whole year.
Meet Fernando
Fernando has a passion for music, piano playing and reciting poetry on open stages. Fernando has decided to put aside his job in Spain for a while and volunteer for new adventures.
On the right, watch the video in which Fernando introduces himself to you.
What Fernando expects
During his stay in Belgium, Fernando is looking forward to discovering our culture, learning Dutch and meeting new people. But above all, he hopes to build a close relationship with his host family. Fernando is known for his caring and responsibility, both for others and for the things around him. As he says himself, he has “lots of love to give”!
What we offer
AFS Flanders covers his medical and personal expenses. Fernando receives a daily allowance to enjoy in his free time.
Contact us
Do you have any questions or would you like to participate in this amazing adventure? Contact info@musica.be soon and welcome Fernando to your world.
A harmonious interweaving of cell biology and music in early childhood education
Musica is delighted to share with you the positive results of the recently completed Erasmus+ CACAO project. Together with our international partners, we have seamlessly interwoven the fields of cell biology and music in the context of early childhood education.
The Cell Biology and Art Class Omnibus project (CACAO) brought together a diverse group of researchers, artists, educators and experts in technology-enhanced learning from seven European countries. Drawing on their collective expertise, they developed a unique curriculum for 5-year-old preschoolers that brings together cell biology, music, dance and visual arts. Musica, with its musical translations of biological concepts and processes, played a central role in connecting the two disciplines. Together, these experts enriched the essential skills, knowledge and awareness of preschool teachers.
An important outcome of the study was the participation of three nursery schools from Poland, Italy and Croatia. Each school represented a different teaching approach. Throughout the study by Juraj Dobrila University in Pula (HR), each school was subject to a different teaching approach; there was one group that followed the standard curriculum, another that received pure biology lessons, and a third that was introduced to biological concepts and processes through musical forms. Moreover, music was not merely used instrumentally to learn about biology. Conversely, biology was also used to learn about music from the inside out. Biological concepts such as evolution, homeostasis or learning processes in the brain gave rise to musical-creative forms of work.
At the beginning of the project, each child was presented with a series of questions, a mix of both biological concepts and more mundane topics. At the end of the programme, the same set of questions was presented again.
The results were plainly remarkable. The first group showed minimal improvement in understanding questions. This may have been due to the simple fact that the children had now grown older and gained more knowledge from their environment. The second group showed a moderate increase in their knowledge of biology. The third group, which had intertwined music and biology, showed a spectacular increase in basic knowledge about biology! In addition, parents reported a significant increase in children’s intrinsic motivation and simply the desire to go to school.
The study underlines the effectiveness of integrating music into biology education and shows a significant positive impact on cognitive development and knowledge retention in preschoolers. Apparently, from their more sensory-bodied approach, the musical work forms had an integrative effect on children’s knowledge acquisition.
As we celebrate the success of the Erasmus+ CACAO project, we look forward to further discussions on the wider implications of this innovative approach to early childhood education.
An innovative cocreation project in the world of contemporary music
This month The Times Academy was launched. This unique cocreation project acts as a follow-up project to SoundMine 2023 in which four talented composers are coached and guided in the development process of their new composition for ensemble and electronics.
The Times Academy is the exciting result of a productive collaboration between Musica, HERMESensemble, Nemø Ensemble, Centre Henri Pousseur and Matrix.
During several work sessions, the selected composers will have the opportunity to further explore and refine their creative vision. The result of their efforts will not only be heard at the HERMESstudio in Antwerp at the end of June, but also during SoundMine 2024, scheduled for early July.
Het Klankenbos is preparing for a quiet winter period and will go into winter mode from 23 November 2023 to 22 March 2024.
What does this entail?
During winter mode Het Klankenbos will remain open for walks, please note that some sound installations will not be in operation or are only partially in operation during this period.
With the arrival of spring, Het Klankenbos will resume its regular activities, visitors will again be able to enjoy guided tours and public activities. Bookings for tours from 22 March 2024 will remain possible during the winter period.
We look forward to welcoming you for the new season packed with activities. Mark the weekend of 18 to 20 October 2024 in your diary for a brand new edition of the OORtreders Festival.
More information or questions?
For more information about Het Klankenbos or for any questions, contact us at info@musica.be.
We are looking for creative young people between 16 and 18 in and around Bruges, who want to dedicate their free time to art in all its forms: music, image, word, dance, or media. As a Young Curator, you get a free hand to bring your own ideas to life during exciting workshops and inspiring bootcamps. This adventure is supported by professional coaches and artists, both individually and in groups. Together, you will work towards an impressive show moment – an exhibition, performance, or whatever you can think of – which will shine in Concertgebouw Brugge on Sunday 3 March 2024.
Young Curators is a concept and creation of Musica in cooperation with Concertgebouw Brugge and Het Entrepot.
For whom
Especially for young people (16 to 18 years old) who would like to work together on a special artistic project in their spare time and are given carte blanche to do so.
When
Bootcamp 1: from Tuesday 2 to Friday 5 January 2024 Rehearsal 1: Saturday 20 January 2024, from 10 am to 5 pm Rehearsal 2: Saturday 27 January 2024, from 10 am to 5 pm Rehearsal 3: Saturday 3 February 2024, from 10 am to 5 pm Bootcamp 2: from Tuesday 13 to Friday 16 February 2024 Rehearsal 4: Saturday 24 February 2024, from 10 am to 5 pm Showtime: Sunday 3 March 2024 during Deep Listening Day II
Price
There is no registration fee, your input, ideas and energy are your commitment!
The latest hEAR DROPS video Misophonic Treatment focuses on food sounds. Food can not only be delicious, it can also sound good. However, for people with misophonia, hearing food sounds can really be agony.
In this episode, we approach the sound of food in a musical way. Hopefully, it will inspire you to start a tasty session of your own. hEAR DROPS is known for each episode containing an ‘artlink’ to a work or artist. This particular episode highlights Zimoun, a Swiss artist who lives and works in Bern, Switzerland. As self-taught artist, he is most known for his sound sculptures, sound architectures and installation art. Listen to the meal of woodworms in this installation: vimeo.com.
Go to the sun and back with Babelut Parcours @ASTRA!
Babelut Parcours returns with an exciting new theme: @ASTRA. Children and (grand)parents get actively involved during the performance and adjacent sound garden. Play and discover music from space, together with three top international musicians: Danae Bletsa, Birgit Eecloo and Joeri Wens.
When
Saturday 25 & Sunday 26 November 2023, showings at 10:00 am and 1:30 and 3:30 pm
WANTED: Test audience for try-out Babelut Parcours @ASTRA (fully booked)
Babelut Parcours @ASTRA is a musical journey of discovery through the universe for children aged 0 to 5. International top musicians take children and their parents/carers on an experiential journey during the performance and adjacent sound garden. In this way, we sharpen all the senses and keep young ears stimulated.
For the try-out of Babelut Parcours @ASTRA, we are looking for 0 to 5 year olds accompanied by 1 (grand)parent who would like to try out the already developed experiential journey.
With z.Lab – One Thousand Birds, children create art in a fun way and learn to listen and care for nature and each other through art.
z.Lab – One Thousand Birds is an online course for nursery school teachers. It teaches you about art in a special way. It shows you how art is all-encompassing and what kind of message it can convey to the preschoolers.
The inspiration for this course comes from a saying in Japanese traditional culture. According to this saying, a wish comes true if one folds a thousand ‘orizuros’ (cranes) while contemplating.
Educators from several countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark and Portugal, are encouraging their nursery schools to make paper birds using the origami technique ‘orizurus’. This group is invited to send their created orizuros for a collective installation. In doing so, they share a shared desire for peace and a harmonious world.
Become the world family of Gaia and/or Fernando and bring adventure into your home!
From 1 September 2023, two new AFS volunteers will join our team for a year. We are looking for one or two host families near Pelt (preferably in the North Limburg area) who can provide a home, either for the full duration or part of their stay.
Meet Italian Gaia Capitanio and Spanish Fernando Tarrancón! These volunteers will be working at Musica Impulse Centre in Pelt.
Gaia is neat, has her affairs in order and helps out in the household. She can easily adapt to new situations. She is also sporty and she has several hobbies such as listening to music, going to concerts and visiting musicals.
Gaia looks forward to living in Flanders and discovering more about our culture and traditions.
Fernando is a musician who is passionate about culture in all its facets. He plays the piano and makes his own music. Occasionally, he performs at an open mic to recite his poems. With his band The Rollovers, he also rehearses often.
To volunteer, Fernando is taking a break from his job in Spain. During his stay, he is looking forward to getting to know our culture better, learning some Dutch and meeting new people. Above all, he hopes to build a warm relationship with his host family. Fernando takes care of others and other people’s belongings, he is tidy and takes care in his responsibilities around the house. He has, in his own words, “lots of love to give”!
Gaia and Fernando receive a daily allowance with which they can provide for their own leisure time. Medical and other personal costs are covered by AFS Vlaanderen.
Do you have a spot for (one of) our volunteers? Contact info@musica.be.
Would you like to get to know Gaia and Fernando? They introduce themselves in the videos below:
