For the photo exhibition and publication, photographer Frank Dries was commissioned to explore musical diversity in Rotterdam. He did not only go to formal finding places such as the conservatory, music school and concert halls, but also visited a Cape Verdian festival, a mosque, the subway stations and dressing rooms. In the publication, the photos were accompanied by quotes from leading people in the field of cultural diversity in music education as an alternative to the usually rather dry conference reader. The exhibition and publication were realised in partnership with the Phenix Foundation, an organisation that aims at more diversity in the Dutch cultural landscape. For further information and/or a free copy of the publication, feel free to contact us.

On Friday, four public lessons from the world music department took place. The programme started with Cuban percussion by Nils Fischer, followed by Indian sitar by Siddarth Kishna. Another contrast was made after lunch, when a saz lesson by Talip Özkan was followed by flamenco guitar taught by Paco Serrano. The differences in teaching methods were often striking and fed directly into the conference sessions and discussions. The same musicians performed at the final concert on Saturday evening, with the exception of Nils Fischer and students, who were replaced by Kay Sleking on tango guitar.