THE FOUNDATION
The purpose of the foundation
There are a great number of gifted and creative young musicians who are dying to showcase their abilities and projects. This is exactly where the foundation steps in: our concert series gives them the opportunity to play to an interested and engaged audience.
Our musicians come from all over the world. The majority of them study at the Hochschule für Musik in Basel or at other Swiss music colleges. For the most part they live in Switzerland, many in Basel.
We want to support their projects, be they solo, small instrumental and/or vocal ensembles. That encompasses their talent as as an musician or composer as well as their engagement in the programme composition. We have, on occasion, organised world premieres or Swiss premieres of compositions.
Our focus is on the composition of short programmes with contemporary and 20th century music. We are open for every kind of programme selection that inspires us. We are also happy to combine short programmes between different ensembles to encourage interconnection between musicians and demonstrate parallels or contrasts to our audience.
We shape each programme in intensive collaboration with the musicians - also part of the promotion. The musicians receive a fee for their performance, and we allow them to use audio recordings, video clips and photos for their websites and future promotion.
A second major concern of the foundation is to develop new forms of performance. On the one hand, we aim to inspire a young audience to engage with music; on the other, we seek to encourage classical music audiences to listen to the “voices of our time.” Our concerts do not take place on traditional concert stages, but rather in venues and spaces that present the music in a new light, inspire the performers, and intensify the musical experience for the audience.
The foundation, based in Basel, was established in 2012 under the name “Swiss Foundation for the Vocal Arts” through the generous donation of a music lover in Basel and is sustained by contributions from patrons. In 2015, it changed its name to “Swiss Foundation for Young Musicians.” It is a non-profit organization and does not pursue commercial objectives. Financial support is granted exclusively to projects in whose development the foundation is actively involved.