Dear colleagues and friends,
As we move through a particularly active Spring for AEC, this month’s newsletter reflects the depth of membership engagement, advocacy, and artistic inquiry taking place across our network.
Advocacy continues to be a central focus of our collective work. Recent weeks have seen AEC actively representing higher music education in Brussels and beyond, contributing to key discussions on European cultural strategy, education policy, and future funding frameworks. At a moment when culture and education must clearly articulate their value within a changing political landscape, the sustained presence and shared voice of our community remains essential.
Earlier this month, many colleagues gathered in Oslo for EPARM 2026, hosted by the Norwegian Academy of Music. Under the theme 'Alone Together: Exploring Dimensions of Interdependence and Cooperation', the conference offered a rich space for artistic research grounded in practice, questioning how collaboration, ethics, and responsibility are reshaping our field. EPARM once again demonstrated the vitality and diversity of artistic research within higher music education.
Looking ahead, I would also like to signal what is coming next. In May, we expect to open the call for contributions for the upcoming AEC Congress. For the first time, this will include an open call for content, ideas and formats inviting members and partners to help shape how our flagship event is conceived and experienced. This represents an exciting opportunity for the community to influence both what we discuss and how we come together.
Thank you for your continued commitment to AEC. I look forward to future conversations and collaborations.
Deborah Kelleher
AEC President
What is the state of play for culture and education in the next MFF 2028-2034? Europe’s next seven-year EU budget is being shaped now and the decisions could redefine funding for culture, education and research across the continent. Discover who is gaining ground, where the biggest risks lie for programmes like Erasmus+, Horizon Europe and AgoraEU, and why the coming negotiations matter far beyond Brussels.
From 9-11 April, EPARM 2026 brought together over 200 participants, at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo for inspiring performances, research presentations, and vibrant discussions on the future of artistic research in music.
Share your institution's unique culture and facilities with the international community by hosting an AEC event in 2028. From the Annual Congress to the PJP and EPARM, hosting offers a wonderful way to engage with colleagues and help shape the dialogue of music education. Interested members are invited to apply by 1st July 2026 to welcome the AEC network to their home city.
How can digital tools transform the way Artistic Research is taught, supervised and shared across music education? Join the next WE ARE webinar to explore practical online resources, new approaches to student autonomy, and fresh ideas for knowledge exchange across institutions.
Early Music is no longer confined to Europe - and this inspiring online forum reveals how Asia and the Pacific are reshaping its future. Join leading experts for a free global conversation on performance, education and cultural exchange, from the Philippines to Taiwan and beyond. Join the online session on 21st May!
From shaping the next EU budget to confronting AI-driven hate through music, the European Association for Music in Schools Conference at mdw in Vienna, showed why music education now sits at the heart of Europe’s cultural and democratic future.
Join the AEC at the Cultural Literacies: Social empowerment through the arts International Conference from 15–17 October 2026 at the Gustav Mahler Private University of Music.
The MusiQuE Board met in Brussels to chart the organisation’s next strategic milestones. Highlights included finalising the upcoming Strategy 2026–2030 and reinforcing partnerships across Europe’s music education and performance networks.
On 20-25 April HarMA HUB project partners gathered in the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in Tallinn for the final HarMA activities - the concluding transnational meeting and intensive staff training.
The PNRR-funded project “Musical Theatre and New Technologies” was presented at the MTNT International Symposium in New York, highlighting new intersections between opera, artistic research and digital innovation.
AEC Events
AEC International Relations Coordinators Meeting
d@rts International Conference
and Artistic Reunion
AEC Vacancy Platform
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
