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Purpose of the DKSJ

The Directors' Conference of the Swiss Jazz Schools (DKSJ) consists of the heads and their deputies of the universities that offer recognized professional training as well as the heads of the precolleges that prepare young people and adolescents with professional ambitions.
The Conference is committed to a nationally and internationally recognized professional training as a musician with various fields of study. To this end, it works on and coordinates training and examination requirements throughout Switzerland.
It maintains contact in particular with the Swiss conservatories, music academies, the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK), and international organizations.

Requirements Bachelor/ Objectives PreColleges

The following documents (PDF) provide information about the objectives of the DKSJ PreColleges as well as the requirements and admission conditions of the Swiss jazz colleges.

The specific examination requirements and admission conditions of the Swiss jazz academies can be found under the following links:

DKSJ - Projects / Cooperation / Events

DKSJ All Stars feat. Louis Winsberg
Allstar-Projekt der Direktor*innenkonferenz Schweizerischer Jazzhochschulen

Under the DKSJ label, the five jazz departments of Swiss music academies unite every year for a joint project: the DKSJ All Star Project. For the 2025 edition, the academies have the privilege of welcoming renowned guitarist and composer Louis Winsberg, who will conduct and arrange the ensemble. Two students from each academie will be selected to form a temporary orchestra, which will rehearse under his direction for two intensive days before embarking on a five-concert tour in Lucerne, Zurich, Lausanne, Bern, and Basel.

Marseille-born Louis Winsberg is a key figure in European jazz. The Django d'Or winner has been developing a unique body of work for over 30 years, characterized by the intersections of jazz, flamenco, and Mediterranean music. As co-founder of the cult band Sixun and creator of Jaleo, he has collaborated with Dee Dee Bridgewater, Maurane, Claude Nougaro, and John McLaughlin and regularly performs on international stages.

JUGENDJAZZORCHESTER.CH

The JUGENDJAZZORCHESTER.CH was founded in 2015. In addition to existing classical youth orchestras, a continuous support platform for jazz was created on a national level, which enables the experience of a "large ensemble". The JJO offers talented Swiss musicians of youth age (16-25 years) the opportunity to work on a program written especially for the ensemble over a period of several months and then to perform it as part of a nationwide tour.

DKSJ Exchange Nights

The Directors' Conference of the Swiss Jazz Schools (DKSJ) is continuing a new partnership-based concert series with the Exchange Nights. Good music has to be heard: Selected bachelor project bands from the jazz departments of the five music academies in Basel, Bern, Lausanne, Lucerne and Zurich present themselves with concerts in the cities of the partner schools.
 
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