The European Music School Union is the leading European voice for music and art schools, ensuring their recognition as indispensable pillars of cultural and educational life and safeguarding music and arts education as a priority in European and national policies.
The EMU represents and empowers music and art schools as vital institutions for creativity, cultural diversity, and lifelong learning – from early childhood education, through active engagement in music and the arts within communities, to talent development and preparation for advanced studies.
Currently, music and art school associations from 25 European countries are members of the EMU. Together, they represent more than 6.000 music schools, 150.000 teachers, and 4.000.000 pupils and students.
The EMU’S Structure
The European Music School Union (EMU) is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation. It serves as umbrella organisation bringing together national music and art school associations from all European countries. Membership is not limited to member countries of the European Union.
The organisational structure of the EMU comprises the General Assembly, the Presidium, and the General Secretariat, which is based in Germany.
Member associations of the EMU are officially recognised as working in the public interest and generally receive public funding. Their role is to ensure nationwide support and to develop sustainable infrastructures for music and art schools. This includes curricular development, organisational support, and continuing professional training. In several countries, music schools are regulated by specific legislation. The criteria for membership in the EMU are defined in the EMU Statutes.
Music and art schools in Europe are educational institutions dedicated to musical and artistic training, with a strong emphasis on practical music- and art making. While the terms “music school” or “music and art school” are widely used throughout Europe, there are no binding international standards defining these institutions.
However, membership in a national music and art school association affiliated with the EMU implies compliance with specific criteria. These include public responsibility and public funding, quality standards in organisational structures and curricula, a broad range of subjects, qualified teaching staff, and opportunities for public performance.
Music and art schools are primarily attended by children and young people but are generally open to learners of all ages, including adults and senior citizens. They offer opportunities for cultural participation at all levels, from the provision of music education at large to the preparation for professional music studies.
Statutes of the European Music School Union (EMU)
Article I – Name, Address, Business Year
- The European Music School Union (EMU) is an association under private German law (§57 Z.1.BGB)) based in Bonn, Germany. The association shall be registered in the register of associations of Bonn, Germany.
- The association’s business year is the calendar year.
Article II – Objectives
The European Music School Union has the following objectives:
- to promote music education and music practice
- to co-operate by exchanging information on all questions concerning music schools
- to promote exchanges of student delegations, teachers, pupils, orchestras, choirs, other music groups and the like
- to raise the interest of the competent authorities and the public sphere on questions of music education in general and to encourage amateur music and music studies
- to help creating and developing nation-wide federations of music schools
- to keep up systematic contacts with interested international Institutions such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the International Music Council (IMC), European partners and other organisations
Article III – Purpose
The association follows exclusively and intuitive non profit intentions in terms of the paragraph of the “tax-deductible intentions” of the Tax Code. The association works selflessly; it does not pursue in the first place own economical purposes. All means flowing to the association have to be used to fulfill the objectives and tasks defined in these statutes and are not to be returned to members if they leave the association. The members do not receive allowances from means of the association. No person shall benefite from expenditures which do not correspond to the aims of the association or through inappropriately high allowances.
Article IV – Membership
- National associations or federations of Music Schools from all European countries or their national representatives may be ordinary members of the EMU. Only one organization per country may be member.
- Each ordinary member shall notify his designated delegate or deputy to the EMU.
- The General Assembly shall decide on the admission of new members.
- Membership ends by resignation notified in writing to the Board three months before the end of the business year.
- National music school associations or federations in the process of being formed and/or their representatives may be invited to EMU events, as well as institutions from non-member countries.
- Firms and private persons may be admitted as supporting members if they support EMU with a minimum annual contribution. Supporting members shall not have the right to vote. The duration of their membership shall not be limited in time.
- The General Assembly may appoint individuals as Honorary Members.
Honorary Members may participate in General Assemblies and other public EMU events. The Board may entrust Honorary Members with specific tasks.
Honorary Members shall not have the right to vote. The duration of their membership shall not be limited in time. - The General Assembly has the authority to admit national associations or similar organizations as observers. The definition of the observer status and the procedures for obtaining observer member status is established in an internal rule of procedure. Observer members shall not have the right to vote.
Article V – Organs
The Organs of the European Music School Union are:
- The General Assembly
- The Board
Article VI – The General Assembly
- The General Assembly consists of the delegates of the members and their deputies, as well as the members of the Board.
- The General Assembly has the following duties:
a. to elect the members of the Board for a term of three years
b. to approve the activity and business report of the Board
c. to give final discharge to the Board
d. to elect two auditors for a term of three years
e. to adopt a resolution on the working program on the basis of the tasks set out under Art. II
f. to admit new members
g. to fix the membership fees
h. to modify the Statutes
i. to appoint Honorary Members
j. to dissolve the Association - Once a year, and not less than every second year, the President shall convene the General Assembly to an ordinary session, by means of a written convocation including the order of business with a two months notice. Upon request of not less than a fifth of the members or upon decision of the Board, the President shall convene the General Assembly for an extraordinary session, not less than one month in advance.
- Any General Assembly duly convened forms a quorum.
- The session shall be chaired by the President, or in his/her absence, by the Vice-President.
- Each ordinary member has the right to vote, on condition his/her membership fee has been paid in time (see Art. VIII, 2). The General Assembly shall take its decisions by simple majority.
A three quarters majority of all voting members present is required to modify the Statutes, to fix the membership fees or to dissolve the association. Voting by proxy is prohibited. - The resolutions of the General Assembly shall be put on record and signed by the chairman of the session and by the recording clark.
- The General Assembly may fix its rules of procedure.
Article VII – The Board
- Executive board in the legal sense of §26 BGB are the President and the Vice-President. The Board consists of the President, the Vice-President and three to five additional members.
- The members of the Board shall be elected by the General Assembly for a term of three years. All members of the Board may be reelected twice.
- The Board is responsible for the implementation of the duties of the Music School Union in conformity with the resolutions taken by the General Assembly.
- Each member of the Board shall be given specific tasks. The Board shall attribute the task of Treasurer to one of its members.
- The Board may appoint a Secretary General, entrusted with the current business on behalf of the Board. He/she takes part in the meetings of the Board with advisory function.
- The Board may call on the advice of experts in the field of music education and may assign them to specific missions. These experts, appointed by the Board and no more than two a year, act on a voluntary basis. Their mission expenses are covered by the European Music School Union.
- The Board shall meet at least once a year.
- The President or Vice-President may sign individually with legally binding effect and represent the Association to the outside.
Article VIII – Membership fees
- The annual fee for members and observers shall be based on two factors: the size of the association (number of member music schools as indicated in the statistics) and the GDP per capita of a given country (as indicated by the International Monetary Fund). The exact amount is calculated upon a formula based on these two factors and fixed by the General Assembly in an internal regulation governing membership fees.
- The membership fee shall be paid in each case till March 31st.
- The annual minimum contribution to be paid by supporting members shall be fixed by the General Assembly. Honorary members shall not pay any contribution.
- Only the property of the association shall be liable for commitments; any personal liability of the members is excluded.
Article IX – Legally Binding Text Version
In case of uncertainties arising in relation with the interpretation of provisions contained in these statutes, the German version shall apply as the authentic version.
Article X – Liquidation
- For the liquidation of the association three quarters of the members with voting power must be attendant. If a meeting of members with the aim of liquidation of the association should not be quorate, then another meeting can be summoned which will be quorate in any case.
- If the association should be liquidated or terminated or if tax-privileged purposes should no longer exist, the capital of the association will be given to a juristic person of public law or to another tax-privileged corporation. Before this there will be a decision of the liquidating General Assembly on how to use the existing capital for charitable purposes of the music school system.
Article XI – Entry into Force
The present revised and amended statutes enter into force on 31 May 2024, replacing all former statutes.
St. Pölten, 31 May 2024
signed by Michaela Hahn (President), Romain Asselborn (Vice President)
