FOUNDATION

By Decree 73/2001 of 24 April (Official Gazette of the Basque Country, no. 86 of 8 May 2001), The Basque Government agreed to introduce higher level music studies starting in the 2001-2002 academic year. Article 1 of this Decree establishes that “from the 2001-2002 academic year on and in compliance with the Law on the General Organization of the Educational System, Higher Music Education studies will be introduced progressively.”

On 2 May 2001, in compliance with this mandate, the Basque Government agreed to create the Private Foundation for the Higher School of Music of the Basque Country (constituted by public deed dated June 7, 2001 and registered in the Registry of Foundations of the Basque Country on July 1, 2001), whose non-profitmaking aim would be to promote and encourage all initiatives and activities related with the teaching of music, and they entrusted the foundation with the creation of the school of music whose headquarters would be in Donostia/San Sebastian.

The Private Foundation for the Higher School of Music of the Basque Country, Musikene, enjoys its own independent legal status and is governed according to the applicable legal regulations in particular Act 12/1994, of 17 June, from Foundations of the Basque Country and Decree 404/1994, of 18 October, which approved the working and organization Regulations of both the Protectorate and the Basque Register of Foundations.

The foundation is mostly financed by grants received from the Basque Government or Eusko Jaurlaritza as well as by the fees paid the students enrolled in the Higher School and monies received legitimately from other sources.

The Board is the Foundation’s governmental, administrative and representative body without prejudice to the power of this Board to delegate certain functions permissible by law to other Foundation bodies or personnel. In fact, the General Coordinator has been named the official representative of the Foundation and exercises many of its powers.

The entrance requirements to the Higher School of Music of the Basque Country, Musikene, are those stipulated by law for accessing higher music studies without discrimination for reasons of birth, sex, race, religion, opinion or any other personal or social condition or circumstance.

Matriculation fees for the certified academic courses at Musikene are based on a credit system commonly used for university academic services.

MUSIKENE – EUSKAL HERRIKO GOI-MAILAKO MUSIKA IKASTEGIA / HIGHER SCHOOL OF MUSIC OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY

Musikene is the Higher School of Music of the Basque Country, set up by the Basque Government in the 2001-2002 academic year in order to offer a Higher Music Education. The school offers excellent instruction designed to guarantee fully qualified professionals capable of performing, composing, conducting and teaching. Bearing in mind the reality of the world of music in the 21^st century, the main objective of the school is to provide students with the necessary training to guarantee a future career in music.

One of the keys aspects of the educational philosophy at Musikene is the attention to  the development of each student’s talent. With this philosophy, students at Musikene become experts in their field. Teaching is very much geared towards ensuring students attain the level that will be expected of them once they start working. To this end, Musikene has an excellent and renowned teaching staff who also have international experience as soloists or performers with the best European orchestras. The school boasts a selection of highly specialized and widely experienced teachers.

The curriculum successfully combines specialist subjects with theoretical-humanistic subjects. The latter are considered an essential and integral part of any higher education. Therefore these subjects are not conceived of as merely complementing the “core” subjects but inextricably linked to the concrete objectives of each speciality.

Together, this means that teaching at Musikene does not only train students in technical excellence but it also provides them with a solid grounding in theory and humanism. This is how students become all-round professionals capable of performing music to an excellent standard while at the same time being able to reflect upon it.

STUDENTS

Since its founding 10 years ago Musikene has become an academic reference among music students in Spain and abroad. This is reflected in the variety of places the students come from.

The level of competence of the students has been recognised through numerous prestigious awards won at the Concurso de Juventudes Musicales de España (Spain’s national competition for young musicians), The Certamen Nacional de Interpretación Intercentros (the national interschools performance competition), the Certamen Internacional de Acordeón de Arrasate (the international accordion players’ competition held in the Basque town of Arrasate) and many others.

The students at Musikene receive top quality instruction from a highly qualified and prestigious teaching staff and they enjoy and benefit from human and material resources worthy such a highly reputable school. The centre’s Multimedia Library, which contains 48.838 documents, plays a vital role in the students’ education.