The Hasdrubal Foundation and the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna signed a three-year partnership agreement on Friday in Hammamet.
A press conference was held on the occasion in the presence of Laurent Jost, musical director of the Hasdrubal Foundation, and Ulla KRAUSS-NUSSBAUMER, ambassador of the Republic of Austria to Tunisia.
Laurent Jost said this new agreement is a major contribution to the consolidation of partnership between the Hasdrubal Foundation and its various partners among the great international institutes and academies specialised in musical training.
In September 2022, a first partnership agreement was signed between the Hasdrubal Foundation and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, with the support of the French Embassy in Tunisia. The violinist Zied Zouari has been appointed to coordinate the workshop programme and select candidates for the Tunisian section.
The aim of these agreements is to open up new horizons for Tunisian musicians by enabling them to take part in music workshops led by international artists and aimed specifically at students from Tunisian higher music institutes.
Training cycles and courses will take place from June 2024 in Hammamet and Djerba for the benefit of Tunisian music students and their Austrian and French counterparts, announced the music director.
Five training cycles will be organised each year, from September 15 to June 15, each cycle lasting one week. Particular attention will be paid to music students in the south of the country.
The Austrian diplomat spoke of the importance of this partnership in the field of Western and Arabic classical music and Tunisia, which is a bridge of communication and cultural exchange between students from both countries.
This cultural partnership shows the Foundation’s commitment to establishing an effective and sustainable partnership, she said.
The partnership between Tunisia and Austria in the field of music goes back more than 35 years, with the participation of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in the El Jem International Symphonic Music Festival.
The ambassador said this new agreement will broaden the partnership between the two countries and help to establish a true intercultural dialogue through mixed musical creations, both Western and Austrian.
French cellist Laurent Jost is the musical director of the Foundation through seasonal musical events and in support of the Foundation’s objectives. The renowned musician is the winner of first prize in the Radio France National Competition.
He announced that further partnerships will be established with academic institutions in the United States and Canada for the benefit of students in the country’s various music schools.
The Hasdrubal Foundation headed by Ridha Laamouri is dedicated to art, culture and the production of internationally renowned artists.
Since 2017, the Foundation has been working to promote the hotel industry through shows organised at the hotel of the same name, which houses a rich collection of 2000 works by major Tunisian and Arab visual artists.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse