Two-day workshop Developing Audiences for Classical Music, organized by the International Festival Vox Baroque, will be held on 28th and 29th of March in Tirana, Albania as part of EU project #synergy Sharpening the capacities of the classical music industry in the Western Balkans.

One of the Developing Audiences for Classical Music workshop main objectives is to address specific issues, exchange mutual experiences, and share individual know-how effective means when it comes to attracting new audiences interested in classical music and participatory art. The workshop first session will feature talks from the keynote speakers Prof. Dr. Vasil S. Tole (composer, ethnomusicologist and Vice-President of the Academy of Sciences of Albania), Dr. Herida Duro (Director of Policies and Cultural Development Strategies, Ministry of Culture) and Mrs. Abigeila Voshtina (Advisor of the Minister of Youth), regarding policies for a sustainable development and growth of classical music audiences. The second session will focus on discussion about different approaches and methodologies used by the some of the most reputable festivals in the region KotorArt Don Branko´s Music Days (Kotor), Dubrovnik Summer Festival (Croatia), Ljubljana Festival (Slovenia), Belgrade Festivals Center (Serbia), Vox Baroque (Albania) and Chopin Piano Fest (Kosovo), which will be presented by their festival directors and classical experts.

This is a third of overall six workshops which are being organized as part of project #synergy for the cultural operators in order to strengthen their capacities in areas of classical music finance, programming, production, professional education, audience development and marketing & PR skills. Through these workshops and regional mobility actions, as well as through networking, the participants are given the opportunity to share their experience and know-how with their colleagues, cultural professionals in order to enhance their competitiveness and open up opportunities for co-production.

The project #synergy: Sharpening the capacities of the classical music industry in the Western Balkans is co-funded by the EU Creative Europe programme and brings together six important festivals from the region: the KotorArt Don Branko’s Music Days (Montenegro), Dubrovnik Summer Festival (Croatia), Belgrade Summer Festival (Serbia), Ljubljana Festival (Slovenia), Vox Baroque Festival (Albania), and the Chopin Piano Fest Prishtina (Kosovo). The project aims to provide new skills and connect cultural professionals, primarily those who work in the music festival and classical music sector, to encourage composers to write new pieces inspired by the local heritage of partner countries, as well as to facilitate networking and collaboration between young musicians, composers, and classical music organizations in the Western Balkans.

For more info about the project, visit synergyproject.info.