Associated Partners
Founded in 1989 by Sonia Simmenauer, Impresariat Simmenauer is one of the world’s leading artist agencies in the field of classical music. In addition to renowned string quartets such as the Belcea Quartet and Quatuor Ébène, the agency also represents soloists like Isabelle Faust, Jean-Guihen Queyras, and Piotr Anderszewski, and is recognised for its dedication to maintaining high artistic standards and promoting excellence in chamber music on an international scale.
The partner contributes to the project through a career development program for the young musicians. It will further take part in the project’s dissemination through their extensive network within the music world, and consulting for the entire consortium.
Impresariat Simmenauer
Fundación Zaragoza Ciudad del Conocimiento (FZC)
FZC creates knowledge to support the scientific, institutional, entrepreneurial, civic, and artistic fabric of Zaragoza and its surrounding area.
The foundation carries out its activities at Etopia, a space of over 16.000 square meters open to citizens, the social and business community, and the city's pool of creators interested in developing, exploring, and sharing new ideas.
Etopia simultaneously functions as a center for contemporary culture, a showcase for cutting-edge artistic expressions, a workshop for creators, a training space, a laboratory for digital city ideas, and an incubator for cultural and creative enterprises. Its spaces welcome people from all walks of life, seeking to connect with others who share their desire to experiment.
The partner will promote 1000+ Concerts through its network and channels, and further provides rehearsal spaces, conference rooms, as well as a residence for musicians to live during the sessions and festivals in Spain.
Norrköping Symphony Orchestra
The Norrköping Symphony Orchestra has the reputation of being one of the most exciting orchestras in Scandinavia. German conductor Karl-Heinz Steffens is Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor since the season of 2020-2021. Norrköping Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1912 and is today comprised of 85 musicians. Through its long and rich history it maintains a special place in the region’s cultural life. The orchestra’s main repertoire consists of the great romantic era composers from Beethoven to Mahler but it is just as important to perform 20th century music and Swedish/Nordic music. The orchestra’s two principal venues are The Louis De Geer Concert Hall in Norrköping, and the Crusell Concert Hall in Linköping.
The orchestra will partner with Musethica Sweden for annual sessions, involving young musicians from both groups. NSO will also offer rehearsal spaces, conference rooms, and a concert hall for the project's activities in Sweden.
The APVdA, the Portuguese Viola Association, is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the viola, organizing and supporting artistic, musical, and related events and performances, as well as engaging in pedagogical, editorial, and educational activities related directly or indirectly to the viola. Its primary mission is to raise awareness of the viola and support the work and activities of musicians and enthusiasts who come together around this instrument.
During the project period, the association will join forces with ESMAE and host one of the conservatory’s Musethica Sessions, providing rehearsal and concert spaces. A lecture about the project, its method and its impact will also take place during the ViolaFest, offering a major dissemination platform.
Associação Portuguesa da Viola d'Arco
The University of Zaragoza (UNIZAR), founded in 1542 and located in Zaragoza, Spain, is one of the country's oldest universities, combining over 500 years of tradition with innovative teaching. It serves over 40,000 students across 23 faculties, with campuses and research centers in Huesca, Teruel, and Zaragoza. Its staff includes approximately 4,000 teaching and research professionals and 2,000 administrative personnel.
As a leading hub for technological innovation in the Ebro Valley, UNIZAR is highly regarded nationally and internationally, ranking 8th among Spanish universities in scientific and academic output (Academic Ranking of World Universities). It has extensive experience managing undergraduate and postgraduate programs, EU-funded projects, and researcher training, supported by a dedicated European Projects Office.
The partner will monitor the work of the research institutes accompanying the project. It will also be the main coordinator of the extended survey process among young musicians.
Universidad de Zaragoza
The Freie Universität Berlin is an internationally oriented university. It is home to approximately 33,500 students and about 4,000 doctoral researchers. Around 460 professors teach and conduct research across a broad range of disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and life sciences.
The Freie Universität was founded in 1948 as a liberal response to the increasing political repression at the Universität Unter den Linden, located in the Soviet sector of the divided city at the time. In the three rounds of the Excellence Initiative by the federal and state governments in 2006/07, 2012, and 2019, the Freie Universität emerged successfully and was recognized as an Excellence University.
The Department of Educational Science and Psychology of the University will produce a research paper on the project, focussing on the analysis of the project’s impact. The research will be conducted by Dr. phil. Nino Ferrin.
Humak University of Applied Sciences
Humak University of Applied Sciences is a national university of applied sciences that operates almost everywhere in Finland. Humak campuses and offices are located in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Tampere and Turku. It has 2,400 degree students and about 160 experts in various positions. Humak’s operations are divided into three schools: Arts and Cultural Management, Interpreting and Linguistic Accessibility, and Community Education. In just over 25 years, 5,600 experts in their fields have graduated from Humak. The core of Humak strategy is to strengthen the expertise in its fields through training, RDI activities and services. Humak offer degree programmes in the fields of youth and NGO work, cultural management and interpretation. Humak use its own pedagogical approach, coaching pedagogy, which will place the student in the centre of the learning process. This means that the students will become active learners during contact classes and in study assignments, and the studies will be strongly linked to research, development and innovation activities, as well as working life, right from the beginning of the studies. Besides being a highly respected national education provider, Humak is also known internationally as a reliable RDI-partner and educator in its fields.
The partner will produce a research paper on the project, focussing on the analysis of the project’s impact. The research will be conducted by Dr. Marcin Poprawski, PhD.
Freie Universität Berlin
Karolinska Institutet is one of the world’s leading medical universities. Its vision is to advance knowledge about life and strive towards better health for all. Karolinska Institutet accounts for the single largest share of all academic medical research conducted in Sweden and offers the country’s broadest range of education in medicine and health sciences. The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet selects the Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine.
The partner will produce a research paper on the project, focussing on the analysis of the project’s impact on different target groups. The research will be conducted by Prof. Eva Bojner Horwitz and Prof. Töres Theorell.