Waasser

From 30th October to 4th November 2017, a very special holiday camp will take place in Hosingen. For about 15 autists between 7 and 27 years the composer Ivan Boumans will write a composition which can be played with water sounds and water instruments.

"John's Traum" is a project for 15 autistic children and young people aged 7 to 27 during a holiday camp organised from 30 October to 5 November 2016. Throughout the week, the two music teachers, Christine Kristmann and Milena Hiessl, worked assiduously with the participants, focusing on the composer John Cage, his repertoire and his experimental working methods.

At first sight, the children are rather disconcerted by contemporary art. However, in the experience of the two teachers, it is precisely the most appropriate art form to work with them. Children who display "original behaviour" (as Ms Hiessl fondly puts it) as a result of illness or external influences are particularly receptive to contemporary art. The experimental forms of composition marked by Fluxus (ephemeral character) and aleatoric music (principle of chance), characteristic of Cage's work, are particularly well suited to introducing children to music and sound.

Together, they set out to understand when and where music begins and where it can be found in our everyday lives – a novel experience for them. They invented sounds, composed pieces using images or sounds from everyday life, and discovered their own bodies, with their functions and noises. They learned that music can be much more than just a melody or the sound of an instrument.

« … Wie klingt was auf dieser Welt? Was macht, dass es uns gefällt? »These are the last verses of the song composed by Milena Hiessl for the project. Some participants sing shyly, others listen, and still others let the music vibrate within them. What's certain is that everyone had the space and time they needed to get to grips with their own sounds while discovering new ones.

The question of the external visibility of music also takes on its full meaning in relation to Cage's work. The theme of silence, central to many of Cage's works such as Silence and 4'33, was also addressed during the week. Finding true silence was not easy for the children, who ended up wondering whether it really existed. Everyone had their own answer or idea of silence.

The week ended with a performance which, although part of the project, was never the main objective. This was much more about the children's development and their opportunities to rediscover the world and its sounds, to analyse them and to produce their own music, according to their individual aptitudes and conditions.

The EME Foundation organises a holiday camp! For the first time since its establishment, the Foundation will lead a music course for children with special needs. From 1 to 7 November 2015, EME will spend a week, together with the Fondation Autisme Luxembourg, in Hosingen at the Centre Écologique et Touristique Parc Housen, developing instruments for a sound installation. Under the leadership of a percussionist, the children will bring the instruments to life. At the end of the week, the participants will have the opportunity to try out the sound installation with their families and friends.