TRAINING

Guided by mentors from leading cultural institutions, each ensemble chooses a topic to develop new approaches to performance while enhancing their professional capacities. Based on this training, each will develop a special outreach project on one of the following topics:

1. How to organize and perform a concert in unusual forms and spaces – breaking the spell around classical music
2. Music and other arts
3. Chamber music for young audiences
4. Disabilities, interaction between professional musicians and fragile communities
5. Beyond a concert experience – string quartets turning concert halls into (multimedia) theatre
6. Music, space and place
7. Music as intercultural dialogue
8. Social transformation through classical music
9. Digital resonance: amplifying musical experiences and audience engagement
10. Women in music: Exploring the unheard narratives and legacy of Female Composers
11. Mental Health and wellbeing for artists and communities
12. Harmonising with nature: Integrating Environmental Consciousness in Musical Performance
13. International cultural relations/cultural diplomacy via Music

RESIDENCY

Armed with new ideas about how to reach out to new audiences and create exciting experiences, each new ensemble has a 5-day residency. The musicians will be the guests of a historical European house as they work with a mentor to develop a special performance project.

44 new ensembles means 44 new future-thinking special outreach projects, plus 12 quartets from the first edition, that re-envision classical music performance and energize the European classical music scene.
Each project will be shown to a network of concert organizers, festival planners, and live music booking organizations, setting a standard for innovation and audience outreach.

CIRCULATION

After their trainings, the ensembles will be prepared to circulate among cultural venues and music festivals, and 19 of Europe’s cultural institutions are ready to support them. They have access to a curated directory of professional services to support their work, travel, and audience development.