The participants created a unique and fleeting proposal featuring performances and compositions by students from the four collaborating centers. This shared experience helped make music a space to gather talent through a community with a European vision and a desire to share experiences. The direction of the ensemble was led by ESMUC professor Lluc Casares and Claudio Jr. De Rosa , from the KC Jazz in The Hague.

European network

The European university alliance IN.TUNE (Innovative Universities in Music & Arts in Europe) is the first European network of higher education institutions specialized in music and arts working together to transform the sector on a European scale. It is part of the European Commission’s European Universities initiative, within the Erasmus+ program, and brings together eight institutions from different European countries, including ESMUC, the only non-university center in the Spanish state within a university alliance.

Artistic and creative exchange

Within ESMUC’s Large Ensembles cycle, where the school’s large orchestral groups participate, this year the ESMUC Jazz Project was transformed into the IN.TUNE Jazz Project. Through a Blended Intensive Programme, this experience of collaboration and creative exchange was created through performance and composition in the field of jazz, involving students and faculty from the School and the participating centers: Norges Musikkhøgskole (Oslo), KC Jazz (The Hague), and Uniarts (Helsinki).

For a week, the students from the four participating centers worked together in an interdisciplinary musical context. Through group work, improvisation, and collective creation, they developed a series of pieces that reflect the diversity of approaches in contemporary jazz. The musicians worked on the different compositions created by peers from the four centers and, under the coordination of their faculty, brought an intercultural dialogue to life.

The initiative helped create an inspiring human experience. Different nationalities and cultures shared rehearsals, knowledge, work, and recreational moments that they will hardly forget during their training stage and future professional career. In the rehearsals, meals, and preparation moments, we could see the connection facilitated by music.

Smiles, effort, and enthusiasm to bring the experience to a successful conclusion were elements that could be seen these days on the faces of all participants, and especially in the final milestone, the concert at Luz de Gas.

On stage

The IN.TUNE Jazz Project concert represents the culmination of a hard and intense work that was half educational and half professional. The participants worked with a professional dynamic to prepare for the concert and were able to enrich themselves with each other’s artistic concepts.

The show, in a cozy and pleasant venue, was full of harmony. The attending audience could see the synergy between the musicians and their directors. The scenic result evidenced the level of work and coordination of the ensemble. Nothing gave away the hours of collective rehearsal, individual work, and the training of each participant who dedicates these years to their musical education. The result for the audience was vibrant and displayed a high level of performance. The nature of the ensemble is full of enthusiasm and youthful energy, and the applause closed this unique moment that everyone knows is unrepeatable.

Future

During these days, IN.TUNE has demonstrated the educational, social, and cultural potential generated from coexistence, exchange, and mutual knowledge, highlighting the impact of a model based on cooperation. This experience leaves a lasting artistic and human footprint and helps strengthen the bonds between these young European musicians.

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