Philzuid not only conserves the sounding heritage of the symphonic music canon, it also wants to innovate the ways in which this canon is made relevant in today’s society. This requires experimenting with new concert formats for live performances, but also finding ways to reach new audiences through online projects.

This PREMIUM project will investigate how the orchestra can create meaningful links between works from the classical music canon and pressing societal issues, such as the climate crisis, artificial intelligence or social coherence through developing and producing innovative online content for new audiences.

The research themes are: How do classical music institutions use online media to connect to their audiences? What are international best practices of linking symphonic music to societal issues and problems? How can pilot online content be developed and what collaborations are needed?

Students are invited to do reflective and practice-oriented research that will help the orchestra to start producing the online content in the 2024-2025 season.

Working with the orchestra will give you an insider’s perspective on how musical organisations innovate, and will offer the opportunity to work with students from other fields that share an interest in the arts and music. The outcomes contribute to Philzuid’s strategic goal to connect to new audiences in innovative ways.

We welcome all students who have an affinity with the arts and (classical) music, and who wish to broaden their knowledge of the societal role of arts organisations. Organizational skills, enthusiasm and a pro-active attitude are required.

Philzuid is the symphony orchestra of the South of the Netherlands. From Eindhoven and Maastricht we are connected to all residents of Noord-Brabant, Limburg and Zeeland, but also far beyond, at home and abroad.

We are a versatile orchestra that is continuously innovating. We are known for our large symphonic concerts with well-known musical works in all concert halls in the South of the Netherlands and beyond, but we are also makers. We devise and create new concert formulas in unexpected locations.

We conduct research into changes in the world of classical music within the Maastricht Center for the Innovation of Classical Music (MCICM). The MCICM is an interdisciplinary research center in which the orchestra, Maastricht University and Zuyd University of Applied Sciences work together. The orchestra fulfils a laboratory function in this regard, it immediately puts new ideas into practice.