Medinea On Air session I – Review

The first session of the Medinea On Air online training has recently taken place Thanks to the contributions and commitments of all partners and stakeholders it has been a great success. Here are the most valuable learnings from this new experience

The first Medinea On Air session, which took place from 12th to 15th of April, presented 9 webinars of 40 min each, designed and presented by Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, University of Ljubljana – Academy of Music (Slovenia), and the Istanbul Technical University – MIAM (Turkey).

Designed to help young musicians from the Mediterranean basin in their career development, this session was facilitated by 20 experts, focusing on a great variety of topics.
The main aim of this session was to guide young students and musicians in the preparation of orchestral auditions, particularly for the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra.

  • 3 webinars concentrated on 3 groups of instruments (string, woodwind, brass and percussions).
  • Mental preparation for auditions was addressed in a webinar led by a musician and psychologist, teaching in the Academy of Music of Ljubljana.
  • The audio-visual expert of the Festival d’Aix explained how to produce a proper video application.
  • An ethnomusicologist and a musicologist, both teaching at the ITÜ MIAM in Istanbul guided the participants through a process helping them to better connect with their audiences via communication means.
  • A historical and cultural section investigated the notion of Mediterranean identity and explored Turkish musical traditions.

93  students and young professionals participated in the interactive webinars:

  • Female and male participants were evenly represented.
  • 33% of the participants are students, 16% are music professionals and the remaining 50% of the participants attested that they were both students and young professionals, which shows that these participants are in that pivotal period of professional integration, which is where the pedagogical contribution of Medinea On Air can be most useful.

All participants are globally satisfied with the pedagogical content, the technical modalities, and the conditions of access and diffusion of this first session.
All 9 webinars are now published on the Medinea YouTube channel, to support even more artists worldwide.
The next 3 sessions of Medinea On Air will take place in December 2022, February 2023 and finally in April 2023.

Medinea On Air is a European Union Erasmus+ funded programme that unites six partners from the Mediterranean region: the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence (France), the Ente Musicale di Nuoro (Italy), ARC Research and Consultancy (Malta), the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa (Portugal), the University of Ljubljana – Academy of Music (Slovenia), and the Istanbul Technical University (Turkey).

Medinea On Air aims to provide specific preparation for classical musicians and improvisers who wish to audition for the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra’s symphonic and Medinea Sessions; and more broadly, to enrich young musicians’ musical training. Therefore, in addition to “Audition and Competition Preparation”, the Medinea On Air programme provides three other modules: “Digital Technology”, “Career Development and Human, Social and Entrepreneurial Skills” and “Aesthetics, Cultures, Identities and Artistic Encounters”.