GIFt Erasmus+ project

The adult amateur symphony orchestra GIFt consisted of amateur musicians, music school students and teachers from Germany, Italy and Finland. The idea of GIFt came to life with the realization, that all these three participating schools have an orchestra, that operates using this unique model, where amateur musicians play together with music school students and teachers. These kind of orchestras are relatively rare in Europe. The starting point of this project was the exchange of good practices and the improvement and further development of the learning possibilities for adult amateur musicians. With the dissemination of the results we wish to share this operating model with other adult education centers and music schools in Finland, Germany and Italy and also in other European countries. With such an exciting project, we will hopefully be able to inspire many adult amateur musicians to join orchestras.

Music is a universal language and brings together people from different cultures, backgrounds and age groups. Playing an instrument has many positive effects on an individual and also on society. With adult amateur Orchestra GIFt we want to create an interesting possibility for adult amateur musicians to use and develop their instrumental skills and play concerts on a high artistic level.

Each country will bring to this project their expertise of their national music; this way the participants will learn about European cultural and musical heritage. This is also a great chance for the adult educators to share their information about andragogy (adult learning) and learn new practices. We will test new teaching methods nationally and transnationally. As a result the European collegility can develop so, that these new operating models become a permanent part of the music school portfolio with the help of digital media. We will create an international network of educators and adult amateur musicians, who will continue to learn from and support each other in the future.

We will organize one kick-off meeting in Finland in order to create a functioning operating model and to plan the details and practical arrangements of the project. The main goal will be the two transnational meetings, one in Germany and one in Finland. During these meetings, the orchestras will rehearse intensively and the meetings will culminate in concerts held in the region. Each country will have 10 adult amateur musicians and 4 teachers, who take part in the transnational meetings. The two main conductors will come from Finland and Germany. Every partner school will have their own area of responsibilities and all the responsibilities will be equally shared between the three partners.

Making music increases the human capital and the all-round wellbeing of a person; it elevates mental health, improves self-esteem and diminishes the effects of brain aging. Playing together improves social skills and strengthens sense of community. Getting to know and playing together with musicians from different countries will be a meaningful experience and will increase the solidarity between the participants and nations.

With this project we want to strengthen the orchestral culture in each region and spark joy in the people, who come to our concerts. “GIFt” is a gift not only for every amateur musician, educator and music school, but also for the whole society.