In the picturesque city of Strasbourg, 20 musicians embarked on a week-long exploration from October 29 to November 3, blending tradition with technology in a unique music project. Nestled in the Montagne Verte camping site, participants dived into daily topics such as computer-supported music, online composition tools, and the use of informatics in music communication. Guided by expert instructors at the Conservatoire de Musique de Strasbourg, masterclasses covered traditional Irish music, vocal techniques, body percussion, and more.
TANIA
From a music virtuoso to a software engineer with a passion for youth work: that’s how I describe my career journey. And imagine my excitement at taking part in an Erasmus+ project (by the way, it was my first time) tailored to my interests, happening in the country of my dreams – France.
We accomplished something truly remarkable during the project. We created an entire orchestra and choir performing traditional Irish music, led by professional mentors, where everyone contributed their culturally unique sounds through traditional instruments or singing approaches. Additionally, we formed a rhythm orchestra using body percussion techniques. The fusion of these two orchestras resulted in something truly amazing. And as for the technological workshops, they were so interesting and informative that you can’t even imagine how much music and technology can be connected.At the end of the project, we had a wonderful concerto and simply enjoyed the music we created.
I could continue endlessly, but what truly made the project extraordinary were the people involved, representing diverse cultural backgrounds, incredible mentors, organizers, and the city renowned for its cinematic charm – Strasbourg.
We together turned my French dream into a reality – FIOH and I made it happen.
LILIT
Everything that happened to me was the dream that I so believed and waited for to come true. And as they say, dreams do come true.
From traveling to different countries to the course of the program, the people who became relatives, the infinitely beautiful places, the best emotions, etc. once again proved that you should believe and love everything you really want, and that life is always full of surprises that way.
The environment that was created thanks to the organizers and participants was simply unimaginable. Thanks to that, we got a lot of new knowledge professionally and not only, we exchanged our cultural features, we also appreciated the importance of informal education, we understood how important it is to create even stronger ties between young people of different nations.
And of course, all this would not have happened if it were not for the MUS.IT program and the FIOH connecting us. The work done by everyone is highly appreciated.
The fact that we created a big family from participants from different countries was powerful that we didn’t even feel that we are from different nationalities. The wonderful language that united all of us was music, and being with talented musicians every day, creating, enjoying what you do, discovering yourself, feeling safe and self-satisfied, I think it’s a very wonderful feeling.
And as a first trip, it was very important that I did all this, I was extremely motivated, I was not afraid of anything for a second, I discovered new wonderful things, I reached the country of my dreams, France, I rediscovered myself, and I can definitely say that this it is only the beginning. Peace and love.
SHOGHER
It is a pleasure to participate in musical training, but everything becomes unforgettable when it’s spiced up with amazing people. “Mus I.T.” became a vivid example of that. When we arrived in France, we realized that everything felt very native to us because there were many Armenian volunteers participating in the training. They welcomed us as their relatives and made our days joyful, sweet, and sunny (regardless of the Strasbourg weather). Everything was even nicer when we got acquainted with other participants and with our mentors. There were participants from Lithuania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Spain, Serbia and France. We learned many interesting skills, like body percussion or how to use I.T. in music, learned Irish and Schottish songs. We had a concert and performed everything by ear, so it was a special experience for us. t is a pleasure to participate in musical training, but everything becomes unforgettable when it’s spiced up with amazing people. “Mus I.T.” became a vivid example of that. When we arrived in France, we realized that everything felt very native to us because there were many Armenian volunteers participating in the training. They welcomed us as their relatives and made our days joyful, sweet, and sunny (regardless of the Strasbourg weather). Everything was even nicer when we got acquainted with other participants and with our mentors. There were participants from Lithuania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Spain, Serbia and France. We learned many interesting skills, like body percussion or how to use I.T. in music, learned Irish and Schottish songs. We had a concert and performed everything by ear, so it was a special experience for us.
Also, I can’t but talk about the beauty of the city. Although we had very little time to walk around and enjoy Strasbourg, we managed to feel the spirit of it. I would like to mention the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg here, because every time we looked at it, we had different feelings. It had different energy at different times of the day. We could not go away from it, but we needed to. I’m very happy that I managed to see the inner part of it too.
We spent a great time in France, so I will remember this journey for a long time.
