Music4D was in the spotlight at the 25th AEC Annual Meeting in Budapest, hosted by the Liszt Academy. Michelangelo Galeati presented the project on behalf of the Palermo Conservatory, under the artistic direction of Fabio Crescente, as a prime example of digital innovation and international mobility in music education.
PALERMO – A dedicated session on the Music4D project took place during the 25th edition of the Annual Meeting of International Relations Coordinators (IRC) of the Association Européenne des Conservatoires (AEC), held in Budapest at the prestigious Liszt Academy of Music. From 17 to 20 September, representatives from conservatoires across Europe gathered to exchange best practices, strengthen international collaboration, and promote new opportunities for students and institutions within the Erasmus+ framework.
Representing the PNRR (NextGenerationEU) project led by the Alessandro Scarlatti Conservatory of Music in Palermo was project advisor Michelangelo Galeati, who spoke during the session held on Friday, 19 September, titled: “How to move students beyond Europe? The example of the PNRR Project Music4D in Palermo.” In this session, M° Galeati presented the initiative, which aimed to enhance the musical heritage of Southern Italy while promoting innovation through advanced digital tools such as AR, VR, XR, AI, and robotics.
A central pillar of the Music4D vision is mobility. The project launched a large-scale program of both virtual and physical exchanges, which directly engage over 400 participants – including students, faculty, and staff – while creating new, lasting networks of international cooperation. Starting from this experience, the session broadened its focus to explore the potential of non-EU collaborations. It served as a valuable platform for conservatoires to share the international milestones achieved (including Hong Kong, Tirana, Osaka, and Buenos Aires) and to discuss best practices and strategies for how mobility could enrich artistic training, research, and cultural dialogue in the world of performing arts.
“In an era where music education must look far beyond national borders, the AEC platform is an essential space for connection and international exchange. It is precisely within this context that Music4D finds its natural place, offering an innovative model of cooperation that bridges tradition and experimentation,” said Mauro Visconti, Director of the Palermo Conservatory.
Fabio Crescente, scientific coordinator of Music4D, added: “The Budapest meeting was a crucial opportunity to bring the value of the work carried out with Music4D to a European stage. It was the occasion to demonstrate how Southern Italy—through Palermo and its conservatoires—could engage globally on key topics such as mobility, digital creativity, and cultural inclusion.”
In an increasingly connected era, no institution could grow on its own. It was from this awareness that the annual meeting of the AEC was born, and where the concept of Music4D fit perfectly with the theme of that year’s edition: The great compass of mobility: exploration, navigation and direction in the future of internationalization.
The artistic direction and coordination of the Music4D project contribute to shaping this vision, blending the Mediterranean musical heritage with emerging technologies and helping to position Palermo and Sicily as an international hub of musical innovation.
