International training at Liszt Academy as part of HarMA HUB project
A delegation from the institutions participating in the programme for the development of music theory education took part in a meeting and intensive training days at the Liszt Academy.
The Harmony and Music Analysis (HarMA) collaboration was initiated by Salvatore Gioveni (Royal Conservatoire of Brussels) in 2020. Its aim is to support the teaching of music theory in music academies and colleges, supporting teachers of harmony, form, music analysis, aural training and solfege. The Erasmus+ project is led by the Belgian institution and includes the music academies of Valencia, Tallinn, Gdansk and Budapest, as well as the European professional association AEC (Association of European Conservatoires).
The event, which took place over six days at the end of April at the Liszt Academy, was attended by around 40 teachers and students from the partners. The training included 10 lessons covering a very wide range of repertoire and other activities to help participants get to know each other. The event was organised by the project's professional representatives (Boglárka Terray, Barna Szabó, Máté Balogh) at the Liszt Academy and its Department for International Affairs (Orsolya Freytag). The participants were unanimously very positive about the Budapest programme, both in terms of organisation and content.
There are plans to organise a similar event every two years, continuing the series launched in Tallinn in 2022 and now continued in Budapest.
HarMA is the first international collaborative music theory project in Europe, and the success of the first phase, which was completed in 2023, was evidenced by a high score and "good practice" rating received in the EU evaluation. Furthermore, the consortium has been awarded a further €250,000 for its continuation, development and expansion as HarMA HUB (2023-2026).
The aim is to create a platform and a website for the value created so far, where pedagogical exchange can take place, not only between the participants in the programme, but also between all European higher education institutions. In fact, music theory teachers have increasingly called for the creation of a European network specifically dedicated to them, which, in addition to the exchange of experience, would also facilitate student and teacher mobility. For researchers, there is already a similar toolbox for professional dialogue, but for music theory teachers, the creation of a webpage for a bibliography of the profession, an eight-language music dictionary and publication platforms will be a major step forward. An English-language website dedicated to all these objectives is expected to be available in early 2025.
23 April 2024, HarMA Instensive Week / Photo: Andrea Felvégi / Source: Liszt Academy