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International Relations and Cooperation
A big part of the UT VCA foreign relations constitute participation in the UE educational program Life Long Learning /Erasmus which covers the exchange of students and lecturers. Mutual agreements have been signed with 17 European universities. In order to select Erasmus students an in-academy competition is announced. The student has to submit an application and purpose statement. The final selection is done by the representatives of the departments together with Erasmus-coordinator. In the academic year 2006/2007 the UT VCA has 6 exchange student places and 5 exchange lecturer places. All exchange places for both students and academic staff have been fulfilled as of now. Five students were studying as exchange students in our partnership schools in the autumn term, two of them were traditional music curriculum students who studied at Helsinki Sibelius Academy. In the spring term there was one exchange student. There are three members of the academic staff who have been teaching in our partnership schools in the framework of the Erasmus program this year. Contracts have been entered into with the following music education providing higher educational institutions: Sibelius Academy, Royal College of Music (Stockholm), North Karelia University of Applied Sciences (Joensuu), Academy of Music and Drama Göteborg University, Norwegian Academy of Music (Oslo), Kuopio Academy of Music and Dance, Kunstuniversität Graz (Austria), Conservatorio di Musica G.F.Ghedini di Cuneo (Italy). Added in the academic year 2007/2008 there will be Erasmus-program students practice (mobility for placement) and staff-training which expand the possibilities of the UT VCA to have more versatile foreign relations and improve the quality of education offered. The UT VCA has accepted 2 exchange students in 2006/2007, they study in the music department specializing in traditional music. There is a jazz music curriculum student from the Republic of Latvia. The UT VCA is the member of the Association of European Music High Schools (Association Europeenne des Conservatoires, Academies de Musique et Musikhochschulen - AEC), which provides the Academy with a good status as music higher education provider in Europe allowing participation in several students and academic staff exchange programs and developing European music education landscape. There were two AEC conferences in 2006/07 (September 7.-11. 2006 in Vienna and April 27.-28. in Tallinn), that the head of music department Tuulike Agan and foreign relations coordinator Irene Hütsi participated in. The UT VCA is the member of the organization NORTRAD. Nortrad is an association of higher schools in the Nordic countries that provide traditional music education, other members being Sibelius Academy, Folk Music Department North Karelia Polytechnic (NCP) and Central Ostrobothnia Polytechnic (Finland), Carl Nielsen Academy of Music Odense (Denmark), Ingesund College of Music, Royal College of Music, The Academy of Music and Drama Göteborg University and Malmö Academy of Music (Sweden) and Telemark University College, Institute for Folk Culture, Ole Bull Akademiet, Haugesund/Stord University College and Norwegian Academy of Music (Norway). VCA is the only non-Nordic member of the organization. The conference is held annually in one of the membership schools. 28.03-01.04.2007 the annual meeting took place in Viljandi. Seminars and workshops were organized to teach each other one's national traditional music and culture. Within the course of a week there were public traditional music concerts performed in Viljandi every night. Outside Erasmus program the UT VCA has collateral collaboration agreements with the following schools: Kanneljärven Opisto (Finland), Theater Academy of Finland Department of Lighting and Sound Design (Valo- ja äänisuunnittelun laitos) and Saskatchewan Indian Federated College (Canada). All departments of the UT VCA are participating or have participated as partners in various programs financed by the EU. The most important foreign partner for classical and church music department in Helsinki Sibelius Academy church music department which is the closest BA and MA studies providing school to Estonia. The years long collaboration has had a positive impact on curriculum development and motivated both students and academic staff. The involvement of foreign lecturers in the curriculum has been increasing. The content of studies is enriched by frequent workshops and trainings carried out by practicing musicians and lecturers from abroad. In the academic year 2006/07 there were the members of French ensembles Quatuor Ix and New Lousadzaki teaching improvisation to music department students, Joe Lovano jazz music, Isabelle Duthoit the manager of on of the most remarkable improvised music festival Fruits de Mhère teaching singing and one of the most valued and demanded percussion French player Eric Echampard teaching ensemble work. A music journalist Arne Luht who lives in Germany delivered master classes on jazz music history and music journalism. Clavichord building course was carried out by Pekka Vabavuori from Helsinki Sibelius Academy. Music department has Norwegian traditional musician Tom Willy Rustad been teaching traditional music of the Nordic countries, Valdis Muktupavels taught Latvian Jew’s harp techniques. In 2006 there was a workshop by ensemble Troitsa on Belorussian folk music. Tom Sherlok (Ireland) and Ken Day (Sweden) carried out a workshop on Music Management.
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Music
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