DAY 1: Monday, May 22, 2023

The EAS Student Forum (SF) started at 5:00PM. Having travelled to Lyon the night before, I’d had time to settle in a bit. We stayed at the Pilo Hotel, a very ‘hip’ hostel on the edge of the Croix-Rousse district. I shared a room with Chris, from England, and Christoph from Austria. Chris and I travelled by subway to CFMI (Centre de Formation des Musiciens Intervenants) where SF was taking place. Everyone slowly trickled in and enjoyed a song performed by first-year CFMI students. This was a nice start!

We introduced ourselves and heard about last year’s SF. Then we sang a short meeting song, “Welcome Everybody”, accompanied with physical movements. This was a fun and playful way to get to know each other. We then broke up into groups and practised songs we had brought with us from our respective countries. This included choosing two songs to perform at the EAS Conference.

Then it was time to eat together. People brought all kinds of delicacies from their own country. We had a nice meal and chat, a good way to get to know each other better.

DAY 2: Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Day two started early in the morning, after a hearty breakfast.

We immediately started the day making music together. We were given an assignment to write down a series of 12 different notes. Then we mirrored our melody and wrote it in reverse.  The melodies, which were very atonal, were then used to explore melody and rhythm as a group. (E.g., pay attention to the conductor striking a 4/4 time. Play a note from the melody on each beat.) This assignment was experimental, and we talked about it afterwards: What’s good about it? How did you feel during the assignment?

After this, we practised songs and a warm-up exercises in small groups in preparation for a public performance that evening.

The afternoon involved visiting different schools in Lyon. My group went to a primary school in central Lyon and attended a music lesson, in which children sat in a large circle. I really enjoyed seeing the inside of a French school; it was a beautiful old building with a courtyard for the children’s breaktimes. After this visit, my group analysed what we had seen in the lesson.

Following some rest after an intensive day, we walked around the city looking for a suitable place to perform our songs and warm-up exercises. We performed in a nice square next to the opera house. Later we went to an old Roman amphitheater where a kind of mini festival was taking place. We ate some fries and drank some wine, then headed to a restaurant.

DAY 3: Wednesday, May 24, 2023

The third day of our Student Forum has arrived. The group is starting to get to know each other better and this creates a pleasant atmosphere.

We started the day reading and responding to a music education text in groups. My group read “Democratic music education between creativity and sensitivity: A world-centered approach” by Gert Biesta. This piece was mainly about what creativity is and how creativity can be a guiding principle for education. A nice conversation arose in our group. I really enjoyed delving a little deeper into such a topic. It really made me think.

After this interesting start to the day, we continued to shape our musical presentation for the EAS conference, now a day away. We also devised a format for teaching the songs to the audience. After dotting all the i’s, we wrapped up and left the CFMI building and went to the EAS conference at the Lyon 2 University Berges on the Rhône. Once registered, a group of us sat by the water for a while and had a drink, and then went to the opening of the EAS conference. This was a fairly formal event with a number of ‘important’ people talking about the EAS and the conference. I thought the building and the space were very impressive. After the opening there was a reception where I met several teachers from my country.

DAY 4: Thursday, May 25, 2023

The last day of the Student Forum and the first day of the EAS conference. We gathered at Lyon 2 at 9:00 a.m. and did a walkthrough of our programme that we were presenting to the conference delegates. I thought the whole walkthrough went smoothly. The first spectators entered: now it was show time! And it went really well. It was clear from the reactions of the audience that they also really enjoyed it. After the concert, time was taken to chat with people and drink coffee.

To end, we did a reflection in which everyone was given the opportunity to say something about the past few days. The mood was very cheerful and music was played in between. After some more photos it was time to say goodbye to the people who were going home. This brought our SF adventure to an end. From now on I am no longer a participant of the SF but of the EAS Conference…

Student Forum Participants’ perspectives on creativity, music education and participating in the EAS Student Forum.

• Marjorie Frydig, Switzerland – “Creativity is being able to be who you are.”
• Noa-Felicia Diaz-Vidal, Switzerland – “Networking and exchanging ideas will lead to a better, more diverse music education.”
• Magdalena Lambert, Germany – “People make places.”
• Christopher Head, United Kingdom – “Anxiety is a barrier to creativity. Foster confidence and encourage the ability to share.”
• Merve Baltaci, Turkey – “Everyone may have a different race and language, but there is only one language that everyone speaks in common and that is the language of music.”
• Diana da Rosa Câmara, Portugal – “Creativity is happiness and allows you to be who you are.”
• Mailys Guinfoleau, France – “Be able to make music freely and express yourself without worries.”
• Sofia Sandik Bubanja, Montenegro – “Being able to share new ideas with open minded people has brought a sense of belonging into my life.”
• Tomas Mejias, Slovenia – “Music connects everything.”
• Annika Tallila, Finland – “Performing in the EAS conference was a great and fun experience.”
• Kristina Haavamägi, Estonia – “Creativity is the ability to let go of former ideas.”
• Jakub Selmeczi, Czech Republic – “Music let me to get to know all of you and I will always cherish those moments.”
• Ana Kanp, Slovenia – “Music is freedom.”
• Ahma Dea, Kosovo – “Creativity is a reflection of our inner world and through expressing it, we give the world unique colors.”
• Daan van der Sande, The Netherlands – “When I think of creativity, I think of freedom. But I cannot give an answer to what creativity is.”