Over the last 20 years, ECMA – the European Chamber Music Academy – has established itself as the leading European collaborative project for the ongoing support of chamber music and young professional ensembles. The permanently growing list of prize-winning and well-recognised ensembles provides impressive proof of the successful work.
Founded in 2004 on the initiative of Hatto Beyerle, ECMA is characterised by experimental openness, artistic independence and active participation in shaping the future world of music, based on the great European chamber music traditions. Top European educational institutions and leading festivals collaborate in a training and funding programme for professionally oriented chamber music ensembles, ranging from string quartets and piano trios to saxophone quartets and brass ensembles, extending all across Europe and as far as Shanghai. After having already expanded the “family” with the addition of the Royal Danish Academy Of Music Copenhagen, ECMA is happy to welcome the hmtm – University of Music and Theatre Munich as a new partner as of 2023! In a two-year advanced education programme comprising eight to nine one-week sessions and further activities lasting several days per year, the ensembles receive intensive mentoring and inspirational input from distinguished lecturers in the context of the different regional and national cultural backgrounds, traditions and current developments.
The programme provides much scope for reflection on art and society in historico-cultural, philosophical and transdisciplinary lectures and workshops. ECMA also places emphasis on practice-oriented research and on connecting the arts and the sciences with one another. In addition, it engages in an increasing number of regular collaborations with prestigious venues (e.g., the Wigmore Hall in London) and high-ranking festivals (Grafenegg Festival, Ghent Festival, etc.).
ECMA offers an educational programme to established ensembles. ECMA ensembles are selected by audition and are entitled to participate in ECMA sessions. These sessions offer chamber music coaching by renowned musicians plus relevant lectures, seminars, and excursions that are compulsory.
Furthermore, ensembles are given the opportunity to present themselves to a wider public through concerts, performances, and recordings. ECMA’s ongoing training cycle covers a period that normally lasts two years, with four to five sessions per year. In contrast to the attendance of isolated master classes, regular participation in as many ECMA sessions as possible assures young ensembles continuity of high-profile coaching by well-established tutors and combines interpretational work with impulses from the academic realm. Each session takes place at an ECMA partner institution or at a partner festival. Participation is free of charge for ECMA ensembles. Costs arising in connection with travel and lodging are usually covered by the ensembles themselves.
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