Pilot N➦XT Level: "All doors open to culturally diverse talent"
Talent development in Amsterdam
To promote diversity and inclusion in the music sector, Amsterdam institutions are joining forces. A pilot will start in 2025 to pave the way from music school to Concertgebouw for talented children from Southeast and elsewhere.
In 2017, a number of Amsterdam music institutions put their heads together. The flow in music education was faltering, diversity and inclusion needed to be strengthened in the professional (classical) music sector. Over the years, an impressive number of organizations joined the project: The Learning Orchestra, B! Music School, Aslan Music Center, Music School Amsterdam, the Conservatory of Amsterdam (Sweelinck Academy), The Concert Hall, The Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra | Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, the Concertgebouw Orchestra, Oorkaan, Music Building on the IJ, Bimhuis and National Opera & Ballet. Together they want to form a chain through which culturally diverse talent can advance without obstacles, physical or systemic, in a customized training path in which musicality, instrument mastery, ensemble playing, music theory, development of musical hearing and a personal artistic signature can be developed.
What is the motivation for this pilot?
Simon Reinink, director of the Concertgebouw: "In the current system, there is great inequality of opportunity when it comes to access to good music education. Talent is shared equally among all children, opportunities to progress are not. It is high time to take action." For the pilot, eight children aged nine and older from Southeast or from other districts of the city will be selected. For example, through B! Music School, Aslan Music Center or Muziekschool Amsterdam. They will be provided with good instruments, good teachers, good guidance and good practice rooms. Among other things, the Concertgebouw provides free tickets to concerts by the musical heroes who inspire them and pairs professionals with the talents to give them a network.
In addition to the music content, the logistical and social facilitation of the talents is also an important part of the track. Why is this necessary?
Ellen Alvares, founder of B! Music School: "As a small music school in Amsterdam-Zuidoost we function as co-educators in an environment with many low-income and single-parent families. Music is not at the top of the priority list; parents work very hard to feed their children, the space for more is very limited; money and time are often lacking We take over tasks, provide transportation to and from lessons or concerts, give a child a packed lunch if necessary. Very important is the guidance of the parents in applying for subsidies or fees for music lessons, for example at Youth Fund Sports & Culture and City Pass."
Were those basic needs known to the partners "higher up" in the chain?
EA: "It did require explanation. If we want to create a chain and provide customized services, everyone at every position has to be aware of this. Also how important our trust relationship with parents is. Everyone in the community carries their history with them, they have to realize that. This also requires self-reflection. If you want to make the sector more inclusive, you will never succeed as a white organization without organizations of color, so all interests must be given equal weight, including parents. It can't be 'hey Ellen, do you have some people' or 'we always do it this way.' That's why we did a lot of talking and listening with the partners, getting to know and respect each other."
SR: "Actively approaching and supporting parents is enormously important, also because fewer and fewer schools have a professional music teacher. The number of regular teachers who can teach inspiringly is also decreasing. There are also more factors at play that hinder talent development. We live in wild and confusing times, with all the distractions of our screens. That undermines concentration, requiring that extra effort."
Does the track also offer enough diversity of musical styles?
EA: "The plan says there should be room for that. In the industry and with orchestras, you see fusion of styles and expansion of instrumentation. For children from multiple cultural backgrounds, it's important to also be introduced to composers of color. They need to be able to recognize themselves and the legacy of their ancestors."
You want to create a blueprint, a model that can be rolled out outside of Amsterdam. How do you plan to do that, is it possible in sparsely populated areas with few cultural institutions?
SR: "We want to start small and test our assumptions against practice first. On the basis of good monitoring and evaluation we can think about further rollout and call attention to music education for all children throughout the Netherlands. Only then can we also make clear what we expect from governments in this regard. We are doing something they have left out, but it is too early for advice. Yes, reopen the music schools. And make culture a municipal obligation."
EA: "This project is a fusion of interests. They will be different everywhere, so just rolling it out is impossible. To the government I would say: create equity not only for children of color, but also for organizations of color. Too often we are still in a dependent position. But diversity and inclusion starts with us."
Customization for each individual child
A street where all doors are open is how Caecilia Thunnissen characterizes the principle behind the pilot N➦XT LEVEL - Program for Musical Talent -. in Amsterdam, as the working title provisionally reads. "Although talent development is not the original issue. Even before the Diversity & Inclusion Code went into effect, we started talking about more diversity on the music stage, both in styles and musicians." Oorkaan, as a specialized youth music company, has been essential in fleshing out the "chain," as the process was called. Gabriela Acosta Camacho, then manager of education at Oorkaan, took the inspiration she gained from the conference of the American Sphinx Organization back to the Netherlands with them. Sphinx focuses on inclusion (of the black and Latino community in particular) and excellence in the classical music sector.
"We adopted the four pillars of their program: education & access, artist development, performance artist and arts leadership. So it goes from the youngest youth to professionals, also behind the scenes. All those facets are represented among the partners, so no new organization was needed for that." So the conversations about the project were mostly about removing obstacles: "You shouldn't actually have to knock on anything anymore."
In the context of the Alliance Music Education Amsterdam there was already contact between the partners, but that focused mainly on receptive arts experiences. "We focus on the performing side and want to increase equality of opportunity there." As a 'side benefit' that should not be underestimated, Thunnissen mentions the social skills that children acquire while making music: speaking one language together, even if you do not master Dutch, listening, concentration, physical togetherness.
For the "rollout" of an Amsterdam model in sparsely populated areas, for example, she sees plenty of opportunity. "I think spatial distance is a detail. In the Eastern Netherlands, for example, there are enough companies that can support talents. The most important thing is that we are now learning how to provide customization for each individual child."
Until now, the project (formerly The Chain) has been funded by two anonymous patrons. The Elja Foundation covers the first year of the pitot, which lasts a total of three years. "The application for the last two years is with a private fund." About government support, Thunnissen is not very optimistic. She does see awareness among the municipality, but with the approach of "canyon year 2026," the outlook is not favorable. "But if we encourage role models now, maybe in 15 years it will happen by itself, without additional investment. I'm glad Minister Bruins has kept some youth music institutions afloat, but investing in education is obviously a no-brainer."
