2023 marks the 30th anniversary year of the creation of the MUS-E® Programme, which took place in Saanen, Switzerland, where Yehudi Menuhin, together with IYMF Executive Vice-President Marianne Poncelet and IYMF Vice-President Werner Schmitt, conceived this programme in 1993.

To celebrate this anniversary, MUS-E® delegates and the IYMF reunited during three days in Saanen, Switzerland, from August 25^th to 27^th.

The first day was consecrated to folk dance workshops: MUS-E® delegates learned Swiss folk dances with professional folk dance teacher Andreas Wirth, as well as Portuguese folk dances with Margarida Moura. Josemar Duarte, Vice-President of MUS-E® Brasil, showed participants some of his capoeira skills during an introduction to capoeira.

On August 26^th, MUS-E® delegates and the IYMF team went to discover the Menuhin Philosopher’s trail, a beautiful scenic path in nature, with inspirational quotes at each stop. Representatives took this opportunity to talk about their MUS-E® programme, and some showcased some artistic presentations: for instance, Patrice Wichers, an artist from MUS-E® Belgium, sang a song, choir master Giorgio Guiot from MUS-E® Italy transformed participants into a choir, and Ruben Gonzalez from MUS-E Germany also made them use their singing skills with a game of tunes.

In the afternoon, guests reunited in the Saanen church for a festive event. The opening act was a group of young folk dancers, followed by speeches from IYMF President Coen Teulings, IYMF Executive Vice-President Marianne Poncelet, Vice-President Werner Schmitt, and Alexa Ritter, President of MUS-E Liechtenstein as moderator.

The event was punctuated by musical moments with Gilles Apap, Mookie Menuhin, and Jeremy Menuhin, who also gave a very moving speech about his father, Lord Menuhin.

In the evening, the IYMF team and MUS-E® delegates were able to enjoy a beautiful concert by the Israeli philharmonic orchestra at the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad.

On the final day, participants listened to an interesting presentation by choir master Giorgio Guiot about the importance of music in MUS-E ® Network and assisted to a creative music workshop given by musician Alexandre Cellier, whose particular talent is to create instruments made of everyday objects and to transform life in a continuous musical expression.

We thank all of those who have crossed paths with us the past 30 years and who have made the MUS-E® Programme possible. Together, we will continue to advocate for social inclusion through the arts for many years! 

All photos of the event and workshops are available here (1,2,3), ©Katerina Kiper. A live stream of the event is available here, © Gerald Hahnefeld and Marc Schneider.