Our

Project staff

Prof. Dr. Isolde Malmberg

Prof. Dr. Isolde Malmberg

mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna

Project lead
Karla Stolle – PROJECT COORDINATION

Karla Stolle

mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna

project coordination
Prof. Dr. Thade Buchborn, CHAIR OF STEERING COMMITEE

Prof. Dr. Thade Buchborn

FrM – University of Music

Chair of Steering Commitee
People

Ann Sophie de Praitere

LUCA – School of Arts

MMag. Wilfried Aigner, Mdw – Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien

Dr. Mag. Mag. Wilfried Aigner

mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna

Prof. Mag. Michael Rumpeltes​

Prof. Mag. Michael Rumpeltes

UENÖ – University of Education
Lower Austria – Continuous

Prof. Dr. Thomas De Baets, LUCA School of Arts

Prof. Dr. Thomas De Baets

LUCA School of Arts

Prof. Dr. Natassa Economidou Stavrou, UNic – University of Nicosia

Prof. Dr. Natassa Economidou Stavrou

UNic – University of Nicosia

Stefanie Schopf

hfm – Hochschule für Musik Freiburg

Dr. Philip Stade

Dr. Philip Stade

FrM – University of Music

Prof. Smaragda Chrysostomou

Prof. Smaragda Chrysostomou

NKUA – National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Elissavet Perakaki

Elissavet Perakaki

NKUA – National and Kapodistrian
University of Athens
Angeliki Triantafyllaki

Angeliki Triantafyllaki

NKUA – National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Dr. Lorraine O’Connel

Dr. Lorraine O’Connel

TUD – Technological University
Dublin

Prof. Rúta Girdzijauskiené

Prof. Rúta Girdzijauskiené

LMTA – Lithuanian Academy of
Music and Theatre
Joné Girdzijauskaité

Joné Girdzijauskaité

KVG – Klaipeda Vydunas Gymnasium

Dr. Demosthenes Dimitrakoulakos

Dr. Demosthenes Dimitrakoulakos

ISL – International School
of Luxembourg
Prof. Dr. Jens Knigge

Prof. Dr. Jens Knigge

NUL – Nord University Levanger

B. Solveig Fretheim

NUL – Nord University Levanger

Runa H Jenssen

Runa Jenssen

NUL – Nord University Levanger

Prof. Dr. Anna Houmann​

Prof. Dr. Anna Houmann

MAM – Lund University Malmö
Academy of Music
Lina Van Dooren

Lina Van Dooren

MAM – Lund University Malmö
Academy of Music

Prof. Dr. Branka Rotar Pance

Prof. Dr. Branka Rotar Pance

AML – Akademija za glasbo Ljubljana / Department of Music Pedagogy 

Lauren Steinmetz

mdw – University of Music and Performoing Arts Vienna

  • Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

© 2025 · TEAM · Teacher Education Academy for Music

UP

TEAM Webinar- May 15, 2025
14:00 CET

WP5 is creating a network to facilitate school internships abroad after the conclusion of the TEAM Project: the Teacher Education Academy for Music Internship Network, or TEAM-IN.
TEAM-IN, will provide a resource-rich platform where music teachers, music teacher educators, and music education students can go to find the contacts and information they need to set up a successful school internship abroad.

TEAM-IN officially launches with an online information and exchange on Thursday, May 15, at 2 pm CET. You are cordially invited to come and hear about the internships that have taken place within the TEAM project: so far, students from Germany, Norway, Belgium and Greece have interned in schools in Luxembourg, Austria and Lithuania. There will be ample time during the session for participants to ask questions and voice concerns about the benefits and challenges of school internships abroad, as well as to brainstorm together what sort of resources would make TEAM-IN helpful to you and your institution.

Please join us! And please feel free to pass this invitation along to colleagues you think might be interested. The invitation is open to anyone who fits the description of our target audience: music teacher educators, international/Erasmus officers, music teachers in schools, and school administrators.

Please direct any questions you might have to Lauren Steinmetz at steinmetz@mdw.ac.at.
Thanks and hope to see you there!

TOPIC: Info and exchange about school internships abroad: TEAM Project and TEAM-IN Network

Time: 15 May2025 14:00 CET
https://mdw-ac-at.zoom.us/j/64751595160?pwd=AgSb9O06HzXV2fmKfH63iFJQMD6Obq.1
Meeting-ID: 647 5159 5160
Code: 457738

WP 5

Dr. Emily Akuno 

COMING SOON

Finn Schumacker

 

COMING SOON

Verena Bons

WP 5

Verena Bons has a teaching diploma and a master’s degree in Music Education and French as well as a bachelor’s degree in oboe. After working as a secondary school teacher near Freiburg and as a lecturer at the Freiburg University of Teacher Education, she currently works as a research assistant at the Freiburg University of Music, where she teaches music education and research methods. There, she is also part of the research project „Zukunft. Land. Music.“ (Future. Country. Music.“) which investigates the transformation processes of amateur music ensembles. In her dissertation, she focuses on young amateur musicians and their everyday musical practice. She is interested in social aspects of music-making, future-oriented teacher training, innovative forms of music-making in the classroom and praxeological approaches.

Verena Bons is part of WP 5, where she supports the development of design principles for mentoring situations.

Dr. Jana Buschmann

WP 5

Dr. Jana Buschmann has studied Music and German at the University of Potsdam and is currently Research Assistant at the UP. Dr. Buschmann works for many years at the interface between university music teacher education and school internships. She leads the School Internship Semester in Music at UP and, at the moment, is also developing a prototype for a mentoring tool for Potsdam students in interships abroad. Dr. Buschmann earned her Ph.D in 2020 which concenred the issue of Continuous Education in rural areas of Brandenburg. Her current research interest is the development of online learning resources in music for students in rural areas where there is a lack of music teachers.

Dr. Buschmann will be part of WP5 and ensure knowledge transfer from UP Network for Sustainable Teacher Education.

WP 5

Lauren Steinmetz was trained as a cellist and studied at Mannes College of Music and Manhattan School of Music, and spent the first part of her career freelancing in NYC and beyond, including teaching cello and chamber music. Ms. Steinmetz followed her increasing interest in music pedagogy and research upon moving to Germany, and she has since taught at the Universität der Künste in Berlin, Universität Potsdam, Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus, and the Institut für Musik at the Hochschule Osnabrück, and is currently pursuing a PhD in music pedagogy. Her particular interests include helping artists to develop as instrumental teachers, internationalization in music pedagogy, and improving access to music education in the classroom and beyond, so that everyone has the opportunity to express themselves through music-making.

She works with WP 5, internships and mentoring. 

Prof. Dr. Thade Buchborn, CHAIR OF STEERING COMMITEE

WP 3

Prof. Dr. Thade Buchborn is full professor of music education at University of Music in Freiburg, Germany. He is head of the music teacher training program, deputy head of doctoral studies and board member of Freiburg School of Education (FACE). He leads funded research projects on music making, improvisation and composition in the classroom, cultural diversity and amateur music in rural areas and on specializes in reconstructive methods and Design-Based Research. Prof. Dr. Buchborn has been working within the EAS since 2003, is currently secretary of the board and chair of the editorial board. He was chair of the Freiburg conference team in 2021 as well as chair of the European doctoral student forum. He has published in peer-reviewed national and international journals and book series, and is a board member of the journal Music Education Research.

Prof. Dr. Buchborn will be chairing the Steering Committee and the WP3 (Future- Making) and help with transfer to EAS.

Prof. Dr. Isolde Malmberg

WP 1

WP 5

Prof. Dr. Isolde Malmberg was full professor for school music education at the University of Potsdam, (DE), department for music and arts and head of the study programme for music in secondary schools until the 30.09.2024. From October 2024 onwards she is full professor for school music education at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna (AT). At the moment she is Steering Committee member and leader of two working groups in the international project “UP Network for Sustainable Teacher Education” – teaching together with partners form AT, NL, BE, UK about the 17 sustainable development goals and music education (Funded by the German National Agency DAAD). For many years she has been active in the European Network EAS (European Association for Music in School), currently she is the president and member of the Editorial Board of EAS; she has presented in many countries. Before her university career she was a music teacher in secondary schools in Vienna (AT) and worked as a mentor for teacher novices. In 2010 she earned her Ph.D on the subject of “Project Method and Music Education”. Prof.

Dr. Malmberg is highly experienced in coordinating transnational networks: From 2006-2009 she was the coordinator of the widespread SOKRATES-COMENIUS-3-Network “meNet music education Network – A European Network for Communication and Quality management in the field of music education”, with 26 full partners from 11 European countries. Her current research areas are: the passage between university training and school music teaching, mentoring novice music teachers, transcultural music education and the design-based research (DBR) methodology in music education.

Her tasks will be TEAM project leading and leading of WP5.

B. Solveig Fretheim

WP 4

B. Solveig Fretheim is an Associate professor in music at The Faculty of Education and Arts at Nord University, Levanger in Norway. She teaches general music education courses on the teachers’ training program and early childhood education. Her areas of teaching and research are concerned with music philosophy and aesthetics, music appreciation, gender and voice, as well as narrative inquiry in music education. She has considerable experience of arts education and cross- disciplinary course work, music collaboration and creative learning processes. Her research has been published in national and international anthologies.

Solveig is an active member of the research group “Music related learning processes” at Nord University in addition to “Music pedagogy in development” (MiU) and the international NNRME. She has previous experience with the Nordplus network and exchange students, teaching the course „Introduction to Norwegian Language and Culture.” Her educational background is from the States where she received a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree in Music from Luther College, Iowa, USA (1993) and a Master of Musicology from Florida State University, USA (1997).

Ms. Fretheim will be research assistant of WP4 and use her strong qualitative research expertise.

Angeliki Triantafyllaki

COMING SOON

Karla Stolle – PROJECT COORDINATION

WP 2

WP 9

WP 1

WP 8

Karla Louisa Stolle studied music and german at the University of Potsdam with a scholarship from the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes. Since successfully completing her studies, she has worked as a lecturer in music education at the University of Potsdam and also as a teacher at the Waldorf School Berlin-Mitte. She has been working as a project coordinator for TEAM since 2023 and is doing her doctorate within the project. Her normal research focus in music education is on language-sensitive music teaching, dance and movement and practice-orientated teaching.

In the project, Karla is working in Workpackage 8, researching music curricula and music teaching within and outside the EU. This will also be part of her doctoral thesis.

In Workpackages 1, 2 and 9, she is responsible for administrative tasks.

Runa H Jenssen

Runa Hestad Jenssen (PhD) is an associate professor at the Faculty of Arts and Education at Nord University (Norway) and is deeply dedicated to exploring voices. With a background as a classically trained soprano from Barratt Due Music Institute and the Norwegian Academy of Music, Runa has a versatile performance career that spans folk music, baroque, opera, and contemporary repertoire. She has performed extensively as a soloist with choirs and orchestras both nationally and internationally and as a member of The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir.

Runa’s teaching and research focus on voice, inclusive music education practices, music and gender, difference, embodiment, and the sociopolitical dimensions of singing. Her research employs performative autoethnography and storytelling, bridging personal and professional experiences while drawing on feminist posthuman philosophies of thinking. She delves into pedagogical difference, rethinking voice pedagogy, and uncovering new ontologies of voice, inviting musicians, teachers, and researchers to challenge conventional practices and engage in transformative dialogue.

Runa has published articles and book chapters in scientific and international journals and holds leadership roles as a board member of the Fulbright Alumni Association and board leader of the Norwegian Forum for Research in Music Education. She is currently a researcher and project manager in the Horizon Europe project dialoguing@rts, which involves 8 countries working to create performing arts education contexts that enhance cultural literacy to promote social cohesion and inclusion. She has also been a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

In the TEAM project, Runa is involved as a researcher in Work Package 4.

Joné Girdzijauskaité

WP 3

Jonė Girdzijauskaitė has been working in Klaipėda Vydūnas gymnasium as a music, choir and instrumental teacher for 3 years. She has broad international experiencefrom studying in various European countries and from participating in seminars and conferences in the field of music education. Jonė is a former student representative in EAS’ board and has actively participated in the activity of the association. She is also a regular organizer and lecturer of music education conferences in Lithuania.

Jone will be part of WP3 and try out OERs in her school, she will also spread OERs in her school network and offer evalutions to OERs.

European Music School Union (EMU)

Till Skorruppa is secretary general of the EMU (European Music Union) and part of the SCHEME group will act as one person in the SAB.

The European Music School Union (EMU) brings together 26 national associations and represents 6,000 music and art schools, 150,000 professionals and 4 million students. EMU fosters: – the quality and diversity of music education in Europe and its access to the largest audience; its promotion to the European and national institutions; the exchange of information and experience between our members; the formation of regional working groups; the organization of training seminars throughout Europe; the development of innovative pedagogical projects; the collaboration with higher education, music at school and university research; and the patronage of Youth Music Festivals.

Elissavet Perakaki

COMING SOON

MMag. Wilfried Aigner, Mdw – Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien

WP 5

MMag. Wilfried Aigner PhD is assistant professor at mdw Vienna at the Department of Music Education Research, Music Didactics and Elementary Music Education (IMP). His academic teaching and research activities focus on issues of digital media and their implementation in music education, on research strategies to interlink theory-based research knowledge with educational innovation development (such as Practitioner Research or DBR) and on inter-institutional cooperation and curriculum development. At IMP, he is responsible for the mentoring team as well as for organization and content design of the master internships for future music teachers, which is also an ongoing research topic. In his professional life, he has gained 15 years of classroom teaching experience in Austrian Secondary schools, before earning his Ph.D with a study on the subject of “Composing between school and social web” which was one of the first German-language Design-based Research works in music education, helping to pave the way for DBR as research approach in the music education community. He also holds Master’s degrees in Instrumental Music Education as well as in French Language Studies (University of Vienna & Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3). He is currently a board member of the European Network EAS (European Association for Music in School) with responsibility for communication. He is also member of the EAS Special Focus group DigiTIME (Digital Technologies in Music Education).

Prof. Dr. Aigner’s tasks will be to be part of WP5 and to develop OERs for WP5.

Prof. Mag. Michael Rumpeltes​

WP 3

Prof. Mag. Michael Rumpeltes has 30 years+ experience in teaching music in a Secondary School in Lower Austria. He teaches at the University College of Teacher Education, Lower Austria. One of his main focuses is CPD for music teachers in primary as well as in secondary schools. He is leader of the nationwide communities “Music teachers in music primary schools” and “Music teachers in music middle schools”, where he organizes further education events and seminars throughout Austria. Many courses, in this part of his professional activities, are cooperations between the University Collage of Teacher Education Lower Austria and the University of Music Vienna (MDW). He is the leader of a new university course of further education named “Dance in School”.

Michael Rumpeltes’s tasks will be to try out the Future-Making OERs and implement them in his and in further CPD institutions.

Prof. Dr. Thomas De Baets, LUCA School of Arts

WP 6

Prof. Dr. Thomas De Baets is Professor of Music Education at LUCA School of Arts and KU Leuven. He is currently Head of Music and Group Head of Performing Arts at LUCA. Prior to this, he coordinated the Bachelor and Master programmes in Music Education and the Specific Teacher Training in Music. He has led the recent transition from the postgraduate Specific Teacher Training programme to the Educational Masters in Performing Arts. He holds a Master’s degree in Music Education (Lemmensinstituut, 2005), a degree of Advanced Studies in Music Education (Lemmensinstituut, 2008), and a PhD in Music Education (KU Leuven, 2012) entitled ‘On-the- spot Music Teaching – The Music Teacher in ‘Immediate’ Musical Interactions’. His main research interests are professional development, innovation and practitioner research in music education. He has been a board member of the European Association for Music in Schools since 2009 and was the president 2019-21, currently he is the EAS Past President.

De Baets is currently editorial board member of the peer reviewed journals Music Education Research (Routledge), Cultuur+Educatie (LKCA) and TOPICS (The Mayday Group).

Prof. Dr. Thomas de Baets will be leading the WP6. During his time as EAS board member and EAS president as well as through his editing expertise he contributes an extensively broad view on Music Education in Schools as well as on Teacher Education Systems in Europe. This will be a highly valuable expertise for chairing the Learning Outcomes Working Group.

Prof. Dr. Natassa Economidou Stavrou, UNic – University of Nicosia

WP 7

Prof. Dr. Natassa Economidou Stavrou is Professor of Music Education and the Associate Head of the Department of Music and Dance at the University of Nicosia in Cyprus. She gained her PhD from the University of Athens in 2004 in the field of Music Curriculum. Currently, she is elected board member of the International Society for Music Education (2020- 2024) and served in the board of the European Association for Music in Schools (2015-2019).

Natassa has co-coordinated the design and development of the latest Cypriot National Curriculum for Music after appointment by the Cypriot Ministry of Education. Since 2012 she has directed her own early childhood music centre, offering group music classes for children aged 10 months-7 years old.

Prof. Dr. Economidou-Stavrou has participated in various European projects: She was a consortium member and researcher in the Comenius 2.1, Lifelong Learning Programme: «mPPACT: a methodology for pupil and performing arts centered teaching» (2006-2009) and also participated as a member of the early childhood music education working group in the Association’s Européenne des Conservatoires, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen (AEC) four year funded Creative Europe project titled Strengthening Music in the Society. (2018-2021). She is currently participating in the Erasmus + project entitled REACT – Rethinking Music Performance in European Higher Education Music Institutions (2021-2023) as a consortium member and investigator. Also, she is member of the newly four year funded Creative Europe project of the Association’s Européenne des Conservatoires, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen (AEC) entitled ARTEMIS, “Empowering Artists as Makers in Society” (2022-2025).

Prof. Dr. Economidou-Stavrou will be leading WP 7 (Mapping MTE) Her expertise in research, her focus and experience in School and University Music curriculum design and evaluation, her involvement in quality assurance of Higher Music Higher Education Institutions, as well as her experience in music teacher education and European projects is believed will support the TEAM project through multiple directions. She will also ensure knowledge transfer from the ARTEMIS and SMS projects.

Dr. Philip Stade

WP 3

Dr. Philip Stade works as a music teacher at the secondary school Schönau in the Black Forest, Germany. He wrote a doctoral thesis at the Cologne University of Music and Dance on online discourses between YouTube and the German collecting society GEMA. Currently, his music teaching and research interests are on future-making topics like democracy education, digitization and sustainability. He is experienced in participatory educational formats such as project work and barcamps fostering students’ empowerment. He regularly organises the latter in Freiburg across organisational boundaries. His music lessons follow democratic principles, which he presented at the EAS Conference 2021. In doing so, Philip Stade designs learning environments with digital media and music apps such as Garageband and MuseScore with a post-digital understanding, according to which he sees digitization as only one component of a broader transformation process of schools.

Dr. Stade will be research assistant in WP3 and will bring in his high expertise in school teaching as well as in music and digitization and democratic learning.

Prof. Smaragda Chrysostomou

WP 3

WP 5

Prof. Smaragda Chrysostomou is currently a Professor of Music Pedagogy and Didactics at the Faculty of Music Studies, University of Athens, and is teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Greece and Cyprus. At the moment, Chrysostomou is the Scientific Coordinator of the professional development and lifelong learning programs „Go-Arts„, at the Centre of Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning of the NKUA. Besides her work as the Director of the Music Education Lab at the Department of Music Studies as well as the Director of the postgraduate program (MA) „Music Education in formal and in formal environments“, she is a member of the Advisory Committee of the National Council of Research and Innovation (Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation – HFRI) for the Thematic Area of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Chrysostomou is highly experienced in coordinating both national and international projects: She was the Coordinator for Internal Monitoring and Evaluation in Comenius 2.1, Lifelong Learning Program: «mPPACT: a methodology for pupil and performing arts centered teaching» (2006-2009) (participating countries: UK, GRC, CYP, DNK). Moreover, she was the Coordinator of the Aesthetic Education Team in the National projects „DIGITAL SCHOOL I and II” Greek National Strategic Reference Framework (NSFR). As Chrysostomou has also worked as a music teacher in secondary education and as an in-service trainer for music teachers in primary and secondary education, she has experiences in teaching music in all levels of education. Also, she has participated in national and international conferences in the areas of education and music education (since 1994) and is a member of scientific committees and editorial boards in journals, Greek and international.

Prof. Chrysostomou will work in WP3 and in WP5 and will bring in her expertise in the ME systems in Europe as well as digitization.

Dr. Lorraine O’Connel

WP 8

Dr. Lorraine O’Connell is an experienced secondary school music teacher and choral director, working as a lecturer at TU Dublin Conservatoire. In addition to teaching Music Education courses within the undergraduate programmes, she supervises undergraduate and postgraduate research and teaches Musicianship (within the Junior Conservatoire). Her role also includes coordinating the Musicianship programme for the Junior Conservatoire, which includes developing the curriculum and teaching materials.

O’Connell was awarded a PhD in 2012 for her collaborative research in developing a programme to teach the statutory music curriculum in the lower secondary school. She also holds a post-graduate diploma from the Kodály Pedagogical Institute (Hungary). In 2012-2013 she was awarded a Teaching Fellowship Award (with Dr Anne- Marie O’Farrell) for the research project ‘Composer in the Classroom’. Her research interests include music curriculum development, music teacher education, the reflective teacher, psychology of music education, learning theories and teacher as researcher including collaborative research. She has presented her research at numerous national and international conferences and published in music education journals and in the European Perspectives on Music Education book series. She has taught on many CPD courses for Irish music teachers (classroom and instrumental/vocal) and on numerous Kodály courses in Ireland, Hungary and Scotland. O’Connell is a founding member of and currently serves on the committee of the Society for Music Education in Ireland (SMEI). She is the EAS (European Association for Music in Schools) National Co-ordinator for Ireland.

Dr. O’Connell will be chair of WP 8 and bring in her huge expertise in MTE systems in Europe.

Dr. Demosthenes Dimitrakoulakos

WP 5

Dr. Demosthenes Dimitrakoulakos is the National Coordinator of Music Education for Luxembourg for the European Association of Music in Schools and is the Academic Leader of the Arts at the International School of Luxembourg (ISL), where he supervises pedagogy and curriculum design for music, visual arts, theater and film.

Demosthenes teaches on the following programs at ISL: Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM), the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), and the International Baccalaureate (IB), covering a holistic approach to music education through music theory, composition, music research and performance. Demosthenes has been a consultant for the development of the IB Music Curriculum and is a former IB Music Diploma Examiner. In addition, Demosthenes works as a music editor for Editions BIM International Music Publishing and is a member of the Advisory Board for the International Society for Research and Promotion of Wind Music. Prior to moving to Luxembourg, Demosthenes was a trombonist with the US Army Band in Germany, and he has guest conducted ensembles in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Dr. Demosthenes Dimitrakoulakos holds degrees in music education and performance from the University of Luxembourg, Boston University, Indiana University (Bloomington), and the Oberlin College-Conservatory.

Dr. Dimitrakoulakos will be part of WP5 and receive students for internships, he will use the Mentoring International tools and feedback on them.

Prof. Dr. Jens Knigge

WP 4

Prof. Dr. Jens Knigge is a full professor of music education at the Faculty of Education and Arts at Nord University (Norway) and leader of the research group “music related learning processes”. His teaching and research interests include students’ competency development, teacher educators’ mentoring approaches, and the role of digital technology in teaching and learning music. At the music department Jens is the contact person for international incoming students. He has more than 15 years of experience of initiation and management of international and national research and innovation projects funded by the various German (BMBF, DFG), Norwegian (NFR, HKdir) and EU (HE, ERASMUS+) research funders – currently he is leading the Horizon Europe project “dialoguing@rts”. He has conducted a large number of empirical studies and published widely in international peer reviewed journals. Jens has edited several books and journal issues and has been a board member of the Norwegian network “music pedagogy in development” (MiU) and of the German Association for research in music education (AMPF).
(More information about Jens can be found on the website https://jensknigge.info)

Prof. Dr. Knigge will lead WP4 and use his strong project leading as well as qualitative research expertise.

Prof. Rúta Girdzijauskiené

WP 4

WP 8

Prof. Ruta Girdzijauskiene is professor at Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (Klaipėda faculty) and President of the Lithuanian Music Teachers’ Association. For many years, Girdzijauskiene was a secondary school music teachers and leader of a children’s choir. Currently, she is member in the organising and research committees of various music education journals and scientific events (conferences, projects, seminars. She has published her research in national and international journals, books, and conferences. The list of her publications includes two monographs, eight teacher handbooks, more than fifty research studies, and thirty practice-based articles. Moreover, she is co-author of several Lithuanian music education programs, music textbooks, and interactive lessons for general schools. Every year, Ruta Girdzijauskiene offers seminars on various topics of music education in Lithuania and abroad. Her scientific interests include primary music education, musical creativity and teacher education.

Ruta is part of the WP 4 and WP 8 team.

Prof. Dr. Anna Houmann​

WP 5

WP 3

Prof. Dr. Anna Houmann is full professor of Music Education, with Educational Sciences as her profile at Lund university/Malmö Academy of Music. She is Coordinator and supervisor of degree projects in the first and second-cycle, Course Director for Educational Sciences within the Music Teacher Training Programme and Subject Director for Research Studies in Music Education. She is currently leading the funded practice-based research project The digital student – computer as instrument in schooland have been aresearch project manager in developing a Music Education Department at the Vietnam National Academy of Music in Hanoi, in the funded research project Creativities – transcending boundaries in higher music education and The School I’d Like project together with universities within U21. She has been an elected Board Member of the European Association for Music in School (EAS) in charge of research and development and is currently an elected Board Member of the Nordic Network for Research in Music Education. Her research focuses on music teachers’ discretionary power – possibilities and limitations and future making, pedagogical creativity, uncertainty and improvisation, and music teacher training with a specialization in innovative research methods in collaborative and international settings. Her research is published in peer- reviewed national and international journals and book series and she is part of the Editorial Team of the Journal Nordic Research in Music Education (NRME).

Prof. Dr. Houmann is member of WP3 and will bring in her huge expertise in creative musicking in schools, in the student’s perspective as well as in digitization in music education. Together with Lina Van Dooren she will also develop OERs for WP5.

Prof. Dr. Branka Rotar Pance

WP 3

Prof. Dr. Rotar Pance works at the Department of Music Education at the Academy of Music (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia). Her teaching and research interests revolve around the teaching methods and the other topics of music education, motivation, working with gifted students, musical creativity, ICT in music education, lifelong learning of music teachers, arts and cultural education and the history of Slovenian music pedagogy. In 2020 she received The Golden Plaque for exceptional contributions to the development of scientific, pedagogical or artistic endeavours, and for strengthening the reputation of the University of Ljubljana. She is coordinator of the international EAS Student Forum. She is the coordinator of the Slovene Music Olympiad, a jury member at the International Music Olympiads (Tallinn 2012, Riga 2014, Klaipėda 2016, Tallinn 2018, Ljubljana, 2022) and the president of the Organizing Team of the 5th International Music Olympiad, Ljubljana 2022.

Prof. Dr. Branka Rotar- Pance will be part of the WP3 and steer the Spring Schools for Students. She is also ensuring knowledge transfer from the meNet project.

Prof. Dr. Stefan Gies is Secretary General of the biggest and most powerful NGO in the Music Higher Education Area: the AEC. The AEC runs huge transnational projects in the area of professional musicians training and works as NGO in close cooperation with European policy makers for the subject music.

In TEAM Prof. Gies will act as one person in the SAB and provide dissemination possibilities.

The Association Européenne des Conservatoires et Musikhochschulen (AEC) is the leading voice for Higher Music Education in Europe, a powerful advocate for its member institutions. AEC understands and supports music and arts education, together with cultural participation, as central contributors to quality in human life, and inclusive societies founded on democratic values. – AEC sees professionally focused arts education as a quest for excellence in three areas: artistic practice; learning and teaching; –research and innovation. It seeks to foster these elements and to encourage the diversity and dynamism with which they are pursued in different institutions, countries and regions. AEC works for the advancement of Higher Education in the performing arts, primarily focusing on music. It does this based on three pillars:

  1. Fostering the value of music and ME in society
  2. Enhancing quality in Higher Music Education
  3. Promoting participation, inclusiveness and diversity AEC operates inclusively, sustainably, efficiently and effectively, enabling communication and sharing of good practice.
EAS - European Association for Music in Schools

Dr. Marina Gall is EAS Vice President and member of the so-called SCHEME group (the Steering Committee for the Harmonization of European Music Education). She is an internationally renowned expert in European music teacher education systems as well as digitization and special needs/disabilities in music education. In 2022 she was lecturer in the Summer School “Teaching the SDGs” at the UP. She will be part of the SAB, offering the EAS network to TEAM and helping with the afterlife of the project.

The European Association for Music in Schools (EAS) interconnects all those involved in music education (teachers, teacher educators, researchers, students, musicians, policy makers) to share knowledge and experience in practice and research, and to advocate for high quality music education that is accessible to all young people. The EAS aims to support the music education community in fostering and developing essential competencies to advance practice and research, and to aid cultural awareness. Our work nvites music educators to motivate learners to pursue their own interests and goals with confidence, and to facilitate young people’s creativity. The EAS operates in accordance with the principles of UNESCO. The EAS organises an annual conference, initiates and engages in a range of other music education activities and projects, and cooperates with partner organisations in the European and global context.

EMC Board Member (EMC – the European Music Council Associated Partner)
In TEAM one of the EMC board members will act as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board and on dissemination. The European Music Council (EMC) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the development and promotion of all genres and types of music in Europe. It is a network that promotes and supports music- related activities for representatives of both national music councils and European networks involved in the fields of music education, creation, performance, participation, production and heritage.

The EMC contributes to a better mutual understanding amongst people and their different cultures, and promotes the right for their musical cultures to coexist. Therefore, it provides exceptional value to its members through the analysis of policy developments and formulation of policy statements; capacity building and knowledge exchange, as well as creating networking opportunities within and beyond the music sector on an international platform.

Lina Van Dooren

WP 3

Lina Van Dooren  is currently a PhD candidate at the Malmö Academy of Music in Sweden. The focus of her research is on connecting sustainable development and music education through themes like (artistic) citizenship education, social justice and social change. The project is also part of the Agenda 2030 Graduate School of Lund University. Before starting her PhD, Lina was full-time music teacher in international schools in Sweden. Besides her teaching assignments she led the after-school music program, arranged the bi-annual concerts and initiated several musical service-learning opportunities. Lina also holds a position as a board member of the European Association for Music in Schools, an association in which she has been actively involved since 2011.

Lina Van Dooren will bring in her expertise as a group member into WP3.