MUS-E® online workshop
IYMF Hosts Its First Annual MUS-E® Network Wrap-Up Meeting
On 9 June 2026, the International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation (IYMF) brought together 15 IYMF staff members and artists and coordinators from across the MUS-E® Network for its very first annual online wrap-up meeting. Coordinators and artists and from Italy, Spain, Hungary, Germany, and Belgium spanning from different artistic practices (dance and movement, music, singing, visual arts, puppetry, circus and theatre, …) joined the session — a moment of cross-border exchange that IYMF will be building on for the years to come.
A Space to Meet and Connect
The 1.5-hour online meeting opened with a warm welcome from the IYMF Secretariat, which coordinates the international MUS-E® Network. For many participants, this was an opportunity to put faces — and voices — to names they had only encountered through documents and emails. From the very first minutes, the session was shaped by a spirit of openness: the group collectively defined its own ground rules to make the space feel safe and welcoming for everyone.
Introductions followed, enriched by a joyful icebreaker: each participant was invited to share their all-time favourite MUS-E® memory. The responses — vivid, personal, and deeply felt — immediately illustrated the unique emotional texture of the MUS-E® approach and the lasting impact it has on all those who live it. Moreover, some participants have been active in the MUS-E® Network for over twenty years, highlighting that impact.
Exploring the CAT Model in Practice
At the heart of the session was a rich conversation around the CAT model — the Coordinator, Artist, Teacher triangle that sits at the core of MUS-E® Guidelines. The group reflected honestly: What are the expectations of the artists, teachers and coordinators? What are the different roles in the MUS-E® session? How to diffuse performance pressure of children, artists and teachers? The conversation surfaced a range of creative, compassionate responses — grounded in the reality and experiences in the classrooms and schools across five countries.
Accomplishments, Challenges, and Good Practices
The wrap-up phase of the meeting gave space for participants to reflect on the 2024–2025 school year: what had worked, what had been difficult, and what they would carry forward. The exchanges were candid and constructive, spanning topics from classroom dynamics to institutional support, from the challenges of sustaining engagement across a full school year to the small, extraordinary moments that make MUS-E® what it is. Participants also shared the words they would use to describe MUS-E® in a single breath.
Looking Ahead
This first edition of the Annual MUS-E® Wrap-Up Meeting proved to be a genuinely productive and creative moment of sharing and learning to remind everyone present of what unites the network: a shared commitment to the transformative power of the arts in education.
IYMF is already looking forward to hosting the next edition. If you are an artist, teacher, or coordinator within the MUS-E® Network and would like to get involved, or if you have topics you would like to see addressed in future editions, please do not hesitate to reach out to the IYMF Secretariat: assistant@menuhin-foundation.com