Desar Sulejmani
Artistic Director of the European Summer Music Academy
Opera Class, Piano Accompaniment for singers and instrumentalists,
Vocal Coach, Piano Chamber Music, Conducting
Music Director of Festival String Orchestra of ESMA
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear young musicians, friends of the European Summer Music Academy in Kosovo,
Being for years very close to the ESMA and a big supporter of this Academy, I am very happy that the ESMA 2016 will take place in Gjakova, one of the most cultural city of Kosovo.
The ESMA 2016 will be a real festival of the classical music in Kosovo. Very well-known professors from different European countries will take part and lead masterclasses in different musical disciplines; various concerts will be performed.
The ESMA, as a unique institution of its kind in the entire region of Southeast Europe, aims to put together, harmonize, exchange and above all develop the best European experiences related to the education of the classical and contemporary performances.
The fact that we have the ESMA in Kosovo for the fifth year in a row fills me with great joy.
The Academy is already transformed in a tradition, which constitutes an undisputed success of its context.
Based on the ideas and modern concepts of the performance masterclasses structure, the ESMA aims primary to expand the knowledge of the young classic musicians in the region on the classic performance and then have the young artists embrace the contemporary musical and artistic concepts in their respective education area. This way ESMA hopes to become an inseparable companion throughout their artistic journey for all these young musicians.
We are aware that the ESMA, as an artistic academic institution that launched its activities in 2012, has always room for improvements, extensions and amendments of its platforms and programs in order to fulfill as much as possible the artistic and musical needs of the young artists in the region.
This year we have taken some additional important administrative actions to develop a more comprehensive structure of ESMA and bring it closer not only to the students’ participants, but also to a broader community.
One of this action is the new website of the ESMA 2016, which has been seen from its developers as a new perception of the ESMA visions and objectives, and at the same time, it outlines in a more professional way everything about the ESMA throughout the years of its existence.
This new website is also a great source of information and provides all young musicians interested to participate in the ESMA 2016 with an online registration tool.
In conjunction with the local organization “GjakovaBasel”, the School of Music “Prenkë Jakova”, the Palace of Culture “Asim Vokshi” and with the generous help of the Municipality of Gjakova, I am convinced that we will deliver a very professional Academy, unique in its category, with intensive masterclasses and other various activities to all participants during the 9 days of this event.
We have to admit that the ESMA 2016 could not be possible without the support of many international and local institutions and organizations.
Once again I would like to express my deep appreciations and thanks to the European institutions and embassies in Kosovo (Embassy of Federal Republic of Germany, Embassy of Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Embassy of Switzerland, Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands, Embassy of Austria, Yunus Emre Institute Kosovo, Culture for All – Phase III, Embassy of France), the Municipality of Gjakova, the Swiss Foundation “Pirolo”, a private foundation from Basel, Switzerland, the local organization “GjakovaBasel” and other local partners.
My special thanks go to Dorothea and Georg Fankhauser from Basel, Switzerland for all their help and assistance in light of ESMA 2016.
This remarkable support of all our friends matters so much to all of us as the ESMA organizers and participants.
I feel very lucky and honored that I am part of a huge group of friends of the ESMA, the classical music in the region and above all of Kosovo.
Come and join us in this academic and artistic journey of ESMA in 2016 in Gjakova.
Come and become part of this challenging event in the beautiful and welcoming city of Gjakova.
Come and support us with your presence in our concerts and other activities.
Let’s make music together! Here in Gjakova! NOW!
