MUSICAL BOUNCE BACK - Promoting the Role of Women in Music and Connecting for a new Pedagogy

We wanted to implement MBB project in 2021 based on two findings: 1/ The current awareness of gender inequality places us at a turning point in history, bringing with it societal change, the upheaval of pre-established points of reference, and major challenges, made possible by the activism of various social movements for women and men equality. We aimed at raising awareness on gender equality within Musical Education Establishments (EEM), of different types (Academies, Universities, Conservatories, Training Centers) by allowing staff, teachers and to become more active and inclusive. 2/ The COVID-19 crisis has had a particularly strong impact on teaching and music sector. Pedagogical and creative work - especially on a transnational scale - has come to a standstill. Faced with the challenge of pedagogical quality, the education sector need more distant working practices.

1 - Strengthen collaboration between organizations in the fields of music education, pedagogical engineering, research, innovation and musical creation on a European scale. Our cooperation brings together 6 organizations active in these fields: OEPCR in Cyprus, PIANO AND CO in France, the LabMAT Laboratory of Acoustics and Music Technology of the National and Kapodistrian University in Greece, Casa do Professor in Portugal and the Yerevan State Conservatory in Armenia. 2 - Acting to improve the visibility of women in music and proposing new methods of raising awareness among music teachers, learners and staff, in order to contribute to a more equal.society. We wanted to make a practical contribution to gender equality in the music sector, with a broad educational and inclusive scope. 3 - Experiment with remote collective music practice and explore its potential in order to test its relevance its relevance and ecological impact. 4 - Strengthen the creative potential of teaching staff and music learners, enabling them to become committed citizens and acquire 21st century skills.

The activities of the MBB project were designed to be part of a participative, progressive educational process, enabling a call o action through musical practice. 33 musicians and 10 teachers got involved in an intercultural creative process, exchanged ideas with female composers, discovered their musical legacy in 5 countries and built awareness-raising tools based on their own experiences. 4 face-to-face workshops were the highlights of the MBB educational program, bringing together composers, musicians and teachers from 5 countries: - W1 in Yerevan, Armenia - October 17 to 21, 2022 - W2 in Braga, Portugal - March 20 to 24, 2023 - W3 in Athens, Greece - October 16 to 20, 2023 - W4 in Marseille, France - April 8 to 12, 2024 Four transnational meetings were held to build educational process and monitor activities: -TNM1, in France - April 27 and 29, 2022 -TNM2, in Cyprus - December 8 to 10, 2022 -TNM3, in Greece - March 17 to 19, 2023 -TNM4, Portugal - June 2 to 5, 2024

To ensure that European women composers and their works take their rightful place in the musical landscape, we worked to bring their heritage into the classical repertoires and concert programs. To this end, we have identified, researched and studied the scores of 74 works by women composers from their countries. We commissioned works from 4 European women composers: Esthir LELMI from Greece, Angela DA PONTE from Portugal, Narine MIKTHIRYAN from Armenia and Eve Risser from France, who composed for the MBB project. We organized and recorded awareness-raising concerts in the project's 5 countries, with 100% female composers on stage, providing a platform for their works to be heard by as many people as possible. We have worked towards greater inclusiveness in musical education. We built a toolkit to s music education educato to : -Set up musical programs and promote women composers within their establishments -Find innovative tools to enrich their curricula using digital resources -Engage their students to undertake their own initiatives and question the invisibilization of women composers. We produced a documentary portrait of 3 generations of female musicians and organised remote reharsal sessions using LoLA.