FEDERACIÓ  DE  SOCIETATS  MUSICALS  DE  LA  COMUNITAT  VALENCIANA  C. Sorní, 22, 1º · 46004 · VALÈNCIA · Tel. + 34 96 353 19 43 · Fax 96 351 57 88 · fsmcv@fsmcv.org · www.fsmcv.org

Valencian Music Societies A unique educational, social and cultural

project

The Federation of Music Societies of the Valencian Community (FSMCV- initials in Spanish) unites its member associations to promote, disseminate and dignify the love, teaching and practice of music, to support associativism and provide society with means to develop and coordinate culture with equal opportunity policies. Most of its activities are carried out within the area of the Valencian Community (5.1 million inhabitants),along with other activities in Spain and abroad. This democratic 47- year-old association gathers 547 musical societies (50% in Spain). According to a recent census, it is formed by 1,686 music groups (1,075 music bands, 174 orchestras, 233 choirs and 133 chamber music groups), 40,000 musicians, 60,000 music students, 4,000 teachers and over 200,000 members, provided with artistic and material human resources in order to promote and disseminate our region's rich musical heritage originated by this unique movement. The volunteer directors, democratically elected every four years by an open list voting system, do not receive any payment for their work.

Musical societies create educational, social and cultural projects which

include symphonic bands, orchestras, choirs, dance groups, chamber music groups, instrumental ensembles, big bands and Valencian folk music groups. Each music society has its own music school, some with volunteer teachers, some have private conservatories and others are integrated in primary schools, where elementary music lessons are taught in addition to primary education. These non-profit associations have continued to grow since the late nineteenth century.

Centenary Associativism 30% of FSMCV musical societies are centenarian (163) and 2% are over 200

years old. The FSMCV supports and promotes their unifying and integrative importance as part of the cultural heritage of the Valencian people, aiming to promote and develop society through music societies, by promoting their growth, diversification, internationalization, improvement and excellence, both in musical pedagogy as in socio-cultural activities.

Economic impact and internationalization A 2010 study by the University of Valencia where the economic, social,

laboral and cultural weight of this associative movement is analyzed, concluded that the FSMCV is one of the main industries of the Valencian Community for its production (60 million), employees (2,575) and its patrimony. Music societies conform the largest cultural network and are the most popular civil-social structure, more than the local administration or the university itself.

A cornerstone of economy and culture, the FSMCV has over 250,000 m2 in buildings employed for educational and cultural purposes, where 37,643

FEDERACIÓ  DE  SOCIETATS  MUSICALS  DE  LA  COMUNITAT  VALENCIANA  C. Sorní, 22, 1º · 46004 · VALÈNCIA · Tel. + 34 96 353 19 43 · Fax 96 351 57 88 · fsmcv@fsmcv.org · www.fsmcv.org

hours are dedicated to weekly classes and rehearsals and over 3,600 band and orchestra concerts, 1,700 instrumental ensemble concerts and over 11,000 street music activities are performed.

The Third Congress of Valencian Music Societies stressed its "projection

capacity" and its “fluid international connections". The FSMCV develops collaboration projects in Spain, Europe, Latin America and the USA. Collaboration agreements have been signed with the respective Ministries of Culture of Colombia and the Dominican Republic for various years. Other initiatives with Brazil and Costa Rica are currently waiting for institutional support.

Music Schools Music schools have become a historical milestone for their commitment to

teaching music to thousands of students for over a century since the nineteenth century. From a social perspective, these schools led to the democratization of music teaching, permitting many small towns without means access to music education.

Music societies' music schools combine access to amateur musical training,

early detection of musical talent and the development of early stages of music related careers. The FSMCV encourages music schools to provide a unique, differentiated educative project, different than other formal educational models, by providing non-formal music education proposals to all ages, and by constant, continuous pedagogical research, supported by adequate administrative funding and sponsorship policies.

Training and music ensembles The FSMCV has a Study Centre, an educational project which organises

training activities for teachers and directors which collaborates with the promotion and development of research and doctoral theses on musical education and social issues which encourage research, educational reform and innovation.

The FSMCV Young Symphonic Band and Youth Symphony Orchestra are

samples of this unique social, educational and cultural phenomenon. The band has performed in several European countries and is formed by 110 selected music society musicians, conducted each year by a volunteer director (Beatriz Fernández in 2015); the orchestra is an educational, artistic project conducted by the prestigious conductor Cristóbal Soler. The FSMCV's aim is to promote and support orchestral education and practice within music societies. The orchestra has 78 musicians (39 women and 42 men), and may be increased or reduced in size according to the orchestra's repertoire.

The Federation also promotes instrumental chamber groups with its

"Concerts Circuit" project in various auditoriums throughout the Valencian Community and the rest of Spain.

FEDERACIÓ  DE  SOCIETATS  MUSICALS  DE  LA  COMUNITAT  VALENCIANA  C. Sorní, 22, 1º · 46004 · VALÈNCIA · Tel. + 34 96 353 19 43 · Fax 96 351 57 88 · fsmcv@fsmcv.org · www.fsmcv.org

In defense of music education The Federation of Music Societies of the Valencian Community (FSMCV) has

made a many contributions to the defense of music education in recent years. An example is its Music against School Failure project, which values the pedagogical benefits of art studies, defends the employment of musicians as teachers, and provides considerable institutional, media, social, educational and cultural relevance to music education, leading to the sponsorship of private entities and the development of numerous initiatives.

At meeting held between the FSMCV and the regional and national

Ministers of Education, Culture and Sports at the headquarters of the Ministry of Education in Madrid in July 2013, the FSMCV proposed that Music should become a core subject in the region, to give music a greater, specific weight within the legislative framework of the Valencian Community. Amongst other initiatives, the FSMCV presented various amendments to the current education law (which considers Music an elective subject) for Music to become a a core subject, and provided extensive documentation which was sent to every political party in the Spanish Parliament and to each Spanish Eurodeputy, but they were not contemplated by the Government. The amendments presented by the FSMCV and the Confederation of Music Education had obtained unprecedented formal support from various political parties; 60,000 people and over 1,400 organizations, trade unions, universities and associations representing tens of thousands of people. Taking the Swiss experience as a reference, the Federation also proposed including Music and Art Studies as core subjects in the Spanish Constitution, subjects which had been included in the Swiss Constitution in 2012. The presence of Music and Art Studies in the Spanish Constitution guarantees the quality of the educational system, freeing it from future legislative fluctuations.

Awards and Acknowledgements

One of the objectives of the FSMCV is to reach political consensus on music education. This constant labor has been awarded at regional, national and international levels. Its latest award worthy of mention in recognition of its work on behalf of music education, is the Donostiarra Choir and the University of the Basque Country Award in March 2015.

The outcome of the FSMCV's work benefits the music collective in

education and with initiatives that provide employment, sponsorship, leadership and social, institutional and cultural relevance. Projects on which the FSMCV continues its work, conscious of representing a unique collective that still has much to offer in every educational, social, cultural and artistic aspect.

FEDERACIÓ  DE  SOCIETATS  MUSICALS  DE  LA  COMUNITAT  VALENCIANA  C. Sorní, 22, 1º · 46004 · VALÈNCIA · Tel. + 34 96 353 19 43 · Fax 96 351 57 88 · fsmcv@fsmcv.org · www.fsmcv.org

Young Symphonic Orchestra of FSMCV.

Youth Symphony Band of FSMCV.