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International networks and projects

As a student at the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp, you surf along on our international network. We work together with other higher arts education institutions all over the world to make your programme even better and increase your chances in the international labour market. 

An overview of our current projects

AEC

The Royal Conservatoire Antwerp, along with around 300 other institutions of higher performing arts education from as many as 57 countries, is a member of AEC (Association Européenne des Conservatoires, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen). Together, with this network, we form a strong voice for higher performing arts education and defend our and therefore your interests. In November 2021, the annual AEC congress was held in Antwerp.

Metric

Within METRIC (Modernizing European Higher Music Education through Improvisation) you work around improvisation with coaching from teachers from leading European Conservatoires. We are members of this collective because we are convinced of the importance of improvisation to perfect yourself into a versatile artist. A first project started in 2011 resulting in a publication “Improvisation? Just do it!” and a movie. You can see it on this web page. The website also collects numerous exercises and assignments in video format, as a source of inspiration and didactic guide for improvisation courses.

EOA

Vocal students and accompaniment students from all over Europe meet within EOA (European Opera Academy). Fourteen different institutes share their best-practices there, nurturing your personal talent. Students go on exchanges abroad and take part in a module on a specific aspect of vocal coaching or mentoring, or they are cast for a real opera production! 

Besides your new musical network, you also get unique opportunities thanks to the various international cooperation projects, subsidised by Europe. 

Musae

MUSAE (Multidisciplinary Skills for Artists' Entrepreneurship) looks at acquiring multidisciplinary skills that develop students into true artist-entrepreneurs. In the Erasmus+ Capacity-building project MUSAE, we collaborate with institutes from Finland, Italy, Tunisia, Palestine and Uzbekistan countries.  Effective methods and tools are being developed for the development of creative entrepreneurship; skills that are fundamental for future international and multidisciplinary careers.

In 2022-2023, the Conservatoire spearheaded work package 4, in which 48 students and a dozen teachers from the non-European partner institutions were coached during 3 project weeks in Antwerp and in Italy, culminating in a festival of interdisciplinary performances in the Italian city of L'Aquila. 

Resono

Recently, the Conservatoire won an Erasmus+ Design measure project, in which KCA is working as coordinator with ESMAE (Porto, Portugal) and the Vilnius Academy for Music (Lithuania) with a view to developing a Joint Master for interdisciplinary creative performers-composers in a changing society: RESONO.

By combining classes and subjects in different partner institutions and travelling to different cultural capitals, students can gain all the necessary skills to build their individual artistic profile. The open curriculum is open to composers, performers, teachers and researchers who work with sound as creative artists, exploring different disciplines and using (new) media, instruments and sound skills as possible tools.

 

IMPACTd

We are also part of an innovative project on contemporary dance: IMPACT. Through this Erasmus+ collaboration, we are creating an international Master in Performance and Choreographic Technologies with partners from France, Sweden, Portugal and Senegal. Curious about this project? Then register for our newsletter.

 

Past projects

EOALAB

The Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership project EOALAB (European Opera Academy Lab - 2019-2021) unfolded in the bosom of the European Opera Academy (EOA). The project stimulated innovation in opera education. Thanks to new and student-centred training methodologies, more cooperation between members and the exchange of their knowledge, the link between education, programme and the labour market is strengthened.

The Conservatoire actively participated in working group 1, which developed a Manual on Shared education. Working group 2 looked at contemporary and innovative practices in making opera, and how to deal with them in the programme of opera singers and composers. Working group 3 developed a model for Blended Teaching activities for Opera Language Coaching.

 

Lotus

As a partner in the LOTUS project (Leadership and Organisation for Teaching and Learning at European Universities) we contributed to capacity building and strategic change management for learning and teaching in higher education. A total of 40-60 institutions benefited from this development programme, while supporting each other through peer-learning and a problem-solving approach. LOTUS also took on key challenges such as student-centred learning, digitisation, teacher professional development, institutional organisation and quality management.

Our educational developers, heads of departments, teachers and staff members are always looking for opportunities for international cooperation. For more info or questions contact international.kca@ap.be 

Metric

As an active partner, the Conservatoire contributed to the development of improvisation coaching at Higher Music Education level through the Metric (Modernising European Higher Music Education Through Improvisation) projects.

A first METRIC project started in 2011 and was coordinated by the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague. The outcome of this ERASMUS Intensive Projects on Improvisation included a publication “Improvisation? Just do it!” and a film, to be seen at this web page.

The follow-up project, an ERASMUS+ Strategic Partnership project, ran from 2015 to 2018 with coordination from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. Outcome was a Manual for teaching and learning Improvisation in European Conservatoires, and the creation of several Joint Modules, including KCA's module 'Improvisation: from Score to Creation', together with Guildhall school of Music and drama (London) and KC Den Haag. 

The website collects numerous exercises and assignments in video format, as a source of inspiration and didactic guide for improvisation courses in Higher Music Education.