media release

Curtis Curtis

Tenor Joseph Calleja Champions an Initiative to Offer Music Literacy to the Entire Population of Malta Maltese Prime Minister Launches the Project on May 2nd

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April 11 , 2016 The Republic of Malta has entered into a unique partnership with the French web-based music learning nd platform, Meludia. Starting May 2 , 2016, access to the Meludia platform will be made available free of charge to every resident and visitor to this Mediterranean island nation of 425,000 inhabitants, offering music literacy to the entire population for an initial period of three years. The world-renowned Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja, upon discovering Meludia, immediately recognised its strong pedagogic qualities and novel, cutting-edge approach to developing music perception, auditory skills and acquiring the fundamentals of music. He saw in Meludia the ideal tool to bring music literacy to every resident in his homeland and brought this project to the attention of Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who agreed to a nationwide deployment. Joseph Calleja said, “Meludia is intuitively interactive, fun and it will bring musical education to a new level. I am thrilled that it will be available to anyone in Malta that wants to boost his musical education or start from scratch...” In connection with the launch in May, a Meludia team will spend two weeks visiting all regions of Malta, introducing the platform in public schools, private schools, music schools, the university, community centres, retirement homes, hospitals and prisons. This roadshow aims at raising public awareness of the importance of music literacy, introducing the Meludia platform and its more than 600 exercises to as many Maltese residents rd as possible, irrespective of their social status and music background. On May 3 , Meludia will be introduced to detainees within the Maltese prison system, following an agreement with the director of the Corradino th Correctional Facility. On May 4 , Meludia will be presented to nursing staff and patients in the pediatric oncology unit at The Sir Anthony Mamo Hospital.



Curtis Curtis

media release

Meludia CEO Bastien Sannac said: “We are extremely grateful to Joseph Calleja for having the vision and determination to bring this project to fruition. This unprecedented initiative by a major artist will raise global awareness of the importance of offering music education to all.” The Paris-based French company Meludia began operations in 2012 and has since received many prestigious awards, among them, the Gold Medal at the 2014 International Concours Lépine for Innovation, as well as placing as finalist for best music innovator at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas in 2015. Meludia’s revolutionary approach to music learning has been recognised and endorsed by a growing number of world-famous institutions, ensembles, musicians and educators, including the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music, the El Sistema programme and professors at MIT in Boston and the Sorbonne University in Paris. Among the many world-renowned artists who support Meludia are Nicola Benedetti, Joseph Calleja, Leonard Elschenbroich, Thomas Hampson, the duo Igudesman and Joo, Julian Rachlin and Linus Roth. The ‘Meludia Method’ was conceived and developed by French composer and pedagogue Vincent Chaintrier, based upon 25 years of research. It is unique, in that it aggregates several recognised music learning methods, including Orff, Willems, Dalcroze, Kodály and Martenot, as well as recent advances in cognitive science, including reinforcement learning and implicit learning. In developing the user’s ability to understand and better appreciate the language of music, the ‘Meludia Method’ naturally raises the level of engagement and motivation and, at the same time, develops innate music perception and the ability to listen better. What makes the Internet application of the ‘Meludia Method’ exceptional is that it is an interactive and progressive tool that is also fun to use. The Meludia platform has already attracted international media attention through its large-scale national deployment projects. In 2015, the government of the Republic of Estonia selected Meludia for its entire population of 1.3 million, offering an access to music education for every man, woman and child in the nation. Link to the Meludia website: http://www.meludia.com A video presentation explaining the ‘Meludia Method’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTTgrz5GRuY For further information, please contact: For Meludia: [email protected]