The European Association for Music in Schools (EAS) Student Forum (SF) in 2016 in Vilnius has become a keyphrase: a keyphrase for 26 young musicians from across Europe, who now associate this title with friendship, new experiences, community, personal development and, of course, fun.

In March 2016, 26 wonderful, motivated music education students, representing 12 different countries, gathered together to meet each other, to teach, to learn and to share. The geography of the participating students this time was broader than ever before. Together with representatives from annually participating countries, such as Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, United Kingdom, Croatia, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden, there were students from Ireland, Turkey and Kosovo, making it even more international, and even more exciting and dynamic.

Led by Branka Rotar-Pance from the University of Ljubljana and Oliver Krämer from the University of Rostock, students had three days together in which they shared teaching materials and ideas, attended concerts, took part in various workshops, searched for treasure in the town, sang, reflected, discussed music education and built a team of beautiful, same-age, like-minded people from different countries. Gospel pieces, body percussion games, national songs, improvisation, original ways of playing, dancing, composing, making music individually and with friends, tasting national cuisine, comparing studies, activities and interests: all this, and much much more, took place over the 4 days. The Student Forum ended with a beautiful, playful, dynamic workshop, created by the students and presented to the participants of the main EAS conference.

The cuckoo from the Austrian folk song, which has become an unofficial anthem of the 2016 Student Forum and was sang in at least four languages, is silently waiting for its chance to sing again this spring – next time in Salzburg, for other wonderful, motivated students, and for some who will return.

…to meet each other, to teach, to learn, to share again, in an open and inspiring space called the EAS Student Forum.

Jonė Girdzijauskaitė (Student Forum Delegate)