Although it is not the central topic of the ERASMUS thematic network for music ‘Polifonia’, migration with its multiple aspects plays an important role in the work of our network. Having a young Mozart’s travel from Salzburg to Italy in mind, moving from one city to another from one country to another or from one continent to another as a music student or a professional musician has a long tradition.

In the pre-college phase talented children often have no access to adequate music education in their vicinity and are forced to move to a city where there is a conservatoire. It is a well-known fact that musicians have to start learning an instrument at a young age in order to reach a sufficient level for the music profession. The training of a professional musician requires a long period of time for technical, physical, psychological and musical development. The ‘Polifonia’ pre-college working group studies where talented children get the adequate training to be able to enter the highly competitive professional music training sector. Later in their life those students when admitted to higher education in music might take the opportunity to go on an Erasmus exchange. They also often take part in music competitions, summer courses or festivals in different countries of Europe1.

In ‘Polifonia’ there are two ways we cover student mobility: a working group of international relation coordinators put together useful tools for student and teacher mobility and the ‘Polifonia’ Tuning working group produced a summary of Tuning findings for higher music education, including the Polifonia/Dublin Descriptors and learning outcomes for the 3 cycles of higher music education, that help making the subject area more transparent and understandable across Europe, which in its turn facilitates mobility and recognition of studies. The work of the above mentioned ‘Polifonia’ working groups is supported by the research realised in the framework of the AEC2 project ‘DoReMiFaSocrates’. This project aims to promote and support the participation of higher music education institutions in the SOCRATES programme by offering customised online tools and information to music students and teachers who envisage taking part of a mobility programme3.

After completion of their studies the graduates enter a highly international professional field. In ‘Polifonia’ the working group on the music profession studies the effects of recent developments in a global society on the music profession. For example, music can function as an international means of communication and in a multicultural society the facilitation of such a communication becomes a new and important professional skill.

Furthermore, not only the European dimension is of importance for the music profession. Therefore ‘Polifonia’ connects as well to the MUNDUS MUSICALIS project4, which studies international comparability of systems and qualifications in the field of music training. The MUNDUS MUSICALIS project is realised in the framework of the EU programme, “Erasmus Mundus”, which seeks to enhance the quality and attractiveness of European higher education world-wide and which encourages mobility of students from and to third countries.

Finally, mobility of music students is being facilitated not only through the process of international recognition and qualifications in the field of music, but also through the development of joint degrees and curriculum collaboration. The Bologna Declaration Process offers opportunities to Higher education European institutions to develop agreements to combine professional degrees with partner institutions. In this way, students are able to study in different countries. The first joint Master and PhD courses in the field of music are being developed with the assistance of ‘Polifonia’ and AEC with the ultimate goal of enhancing cross-settings and courses, and collaborative practice5. These projects directly integrate central findings of ‘Polifonia’, like the learning outcomes, into their work and into practical conservatoire life.