The official launch and kick-off meeting of the TUNE project (Traditional Music Undergraduate Network in Europe), co-funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme and coordinated by the University of South-Eastern Norway (USN), took place at the Department of Traditional Arts and Traditional Music in Rauland, Norway on February 17th and 18th, 2022.
In addition to USN, the project consortium includes pôle Aliénor (France), University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy (Estonia), Conservatorio Superior de Música de Vigo (Spain), University of Ioannina (Greece) and the European Association of Conservatories (AEC).
Blended mobility
The TUNE project is a three-year Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership project that aims to promote strategic cooperation between five European higher music education institutions through the development and implementation of an innovative joint undergraduate module in traditional music, based on the concept of blended mobility.
The project's main outcomes will be a joint undergraduate module in traditional music, and an online platform, used to connect student groups throughout the academic year and build towards bi-annual intensive weeks of workshops, lectures, ensemble work, and performances at a professional music festival.
Cultural identity, awareness and heritage
– The project aims to foster the development of intercultural competence among students and other project stakeholders through the lens of traditional music exchange, aiming to raise awareness and understanding regarding cultural identity, cultural awareness, and cultural heritage in the European context, says Laura Ellestad, TUNE Project Coordinator and Lecturer at USN Rauland
The project will also enhance music students’ employability by providing opportunities to build a European professional network, gain performance experience in professional conditions, and develop digital skills and competences.
On stage
These synergies will be showcased during intensive week-long courses hosted at a different partner institution each semester. Second-year students from the Bachelor Programme in Folk Music at USN campus Rauland will participate in the project’s first Intensive Week in Arta, Greece, from May 30 – June 3, 2022.
Participants in the project kick-off meeting, including professional musicians from France and Greece, also performed in a short concert on February 17th as part of the Rauland International Winter Festival, held at Campus Rauland.
