Next Generation – alku soittoon 

About the project

The multi-year project is aimed at primary-school-aged children who are at the early stages of their music hobby and who study at partner music institutes. Within the project, they receive individual and group lessons in their own instrument from the teacher of their music institute several times a week, and in addition to that, they participate in a weekend of teaching once per academic term. Children’s motivation is ensured e.g. through suitably sized teaching groups and by involving parents closely in the cooperation. Students will also be assigned a “godparent” for their musical journey from among the pedagogy students at Uniarts Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy.

The aim is to offer particularly motivated children who are at the early stages of their instrument studies longer and more frequent lessons than what is usually offered in a normal music institute context. Furthermore, the instrument teachers participating in the project get to network with each other and share their knowledge and experiences.

The project was launched as a pilot project run by Uniarts Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy, East Helsinki Music Institute, West Helsinki Music Institute and Helsinki Conservatory of Music in autumn 2022. In the beginning, the selection of instruments in the project includes the violin, cello and flute. The research project leads to more information on the individual and social effects of a child’s active, instructed music hobby. The pilot examines how the increased number of instrument lessons, collaborative teaching, small-group activities and the contents of creative music production form a balanced operating model that takes individual needs into account and supports each child’s learning and overall musical development.  

The goal is to guarantee the continuity of the Finnish music scene

The Finnish music education system is facing many challenges, including financial and structural challenges. The goal of the Next Generation project is to safeguard the quality and reputation of our internationally well-known music education and to ensure that we get applicants who have gone through the Finnish music institute path and who want to continue over to professional music studies.

The project is national and multi-year, and its impacts extend far into the future. The long-term goal is that in the future, new instrument groups would start in different parts of Finland within the scope of the project each year and that these groups would receive at least three years of instruction according to the project’s model after some tailoring to their specific needs.     

The Next Generation – Alku soittoon project has drawn inspiration from the Music Education Vision 2030 project and also aims to meet some of its key goals.

Contact information for the project