Music education in step with the times

Luc Nijs' lessons require full physical involvement: using scarves, rings, balls or rattles, Bachelor students learn how to express what they perceive in music or how they can later convey basic musical concepts such as rhythm and melody to others without the aid of instruments.

After stints at the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels and the University of Ghent, the Belgian-born clarinettist took over the management of the Bachelor's degree program in Music Education, which was introduced at the University of Luxembourg in 2021, just over two years ago. The 51-year-old associate professor is not short of ideas.

Lëtzebuerger Journal: Luc Nijs, how did you end up in Luxembourg?

Luc Nijs (laughs): I like this story because it was a "plan B". I had actually applied to the renowned Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts. But from the moment I arrived in Belval, it suddenly became my plan A. I applied because there was a vacancy, but above all because it matched what I wanted. I want to do research and I want to have freedom in my research. This means that I wanted to work on the topics that interest me. I am enthusiastic about music, music education and its further development, and all of that was available here.

The first students received their diplomas last year, after Luxembourg introduced a Bachelor's degree in music education for the first time in the 2021/22 winter semester. Does Luxembourg have sufficient "critical mass" for such a degree programme?

That's not a given. The bachelor's degree is still young and many people are still in the habit of going abroad to study music in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands or Austria, usually with a focus on performance (i.e. perfecting their own musical skills, ed.) in order to add further pedagogical training later on. That's the usual path. It's a challenge for us because Luxembourg has decided to offer a bachelor's degree specialising in music education.