Swan Project Conference
The city of Parma is hosting the international conference of the European project SWAN – Singing With Additional Needs, dedicated to the inclusion of people with disabilities and special educational needs through choral practice. Two days of meetings, testimonials and in-depth discussions with experts, teachers, choir conductors and representatives from the world of associations and education, to share experiences, best practices and future prospects.
The conference, hosted in the Aula Magna of the University of Parma, represents a unique opportunity for international exchange and mutual growth, with the aim of promoting singing as a tool for participation, well-being and social inclusion.
PARMA
Main Hall of the University of Parma, Via Università 12
Saturday 4 October 2025
15:00 first part
► Introduction to the SWAN project - Singing With Additional Needs
Objectives, tools and prospects of a European initiative promoting the use of singing as a means of social inclusion, highlighting experiences and best practices in different countries.
Kjetil Aamann international contact person for the Swan project
► Singing and special needs: experiences and projects in Europe
The European Choral Association database collects and promotes choral experiences dedicated to people with additional needs, becoming a resource for knowledge and sharing at an international level.
Sonja Greiner Secretary General of the European Choral Association (Germany)
► Music: inclusion and accessibility
Presentation of the results of the questionnaire promoted by Feniarco APS to collect data on the inclusion and accessibility of people with special needs in musical contexts (particularly choirs) in Italy.
Vladimiro Vagnetti Feniarco Music Commission
► Every voice counts: inclusive singing in Ireland
Examples of programmes and activities developed by Sing Ireland to build inclusive projects aimed at both migrant communities and young adults with cognitive disabilities.
Jenny O'Connor-Madsen General Manager of Sing Ireland (Ireland)
[in remote mode]
► Accessible sheet music for visually impaired singers
The use of digital tools and open source software to make sheet music more easily readable and accessible, offering new opportunities for visually impaired singers to participate.
Kjetil Aamann Head of Organisation of Norsk Sangerforum (Norway)
► Building resilience through singing together
A series of psychosocial support workshops for music teachers in regions affected by earthquakes, where singing becomes a tool for sharing and community care.
Pelin Küçükerdoğan Project manager for Koro Kültürü Derneği (Turkey)
► Conducting choirs with people facing cancer
Resources and opportunities to discover how choral practice for people facing cancer can become a tool for strength, connection, emotional expression and growth in self-esteem.
Cora Honing President of Kanker in Beeld (Netherlands)
[in remote mode]
17:30 second part
► Alternative musical notation systems
An overview of approaches to music writing as tools to facilitate learning, promote innovative teaching strategies and encourage more inclusive pathways to traditional notation.
Emilio Piffaretti choir conductor and lecturer at the G. Verdi Conservatory in Milan
► The choir beyond the walls: singing in prison
The experience of the choir founded in Parma's high-security prison as part of Verdi Off, where collective singing becomes an instrument of beauty, socialisation and trust, capable of opening up spaces of humanity and new perspectives within the prison system. The project was awarded the 2024 Abbiati Prize.
Gabriella Corsaro choir conductor and teacher
► The thread of the heart
A collective workshop to explore the relational potential of choral singing as a tool for inclusion. Through voice, movement and mutual trust, participants will experience a journey of listening and empathy in pairs, guiding and being guided by a thread of the heart that unites beyond sight.
Vladimiro Vagnetti musician, choir conductor and teacher
19:30 third part
Emilia Romagna Youth Choir in concert
conductor Daniele Sconosciuto
in collaboration with AERCO Associazione Emiliano Romagnola Cori
Programme:
P. Caraba, Preludio
M. Da Rold, Vi adoro
G.P. da Palestrina, Kyrie e Gloria dalla Missa Brevis
I. Antognini, O filii et filiae
V. Miskinis, O salutaris Hostia
F. Barchi, Agnus Dei II
A.D. Consolacion II, Pange lingua
M. Trotta, Dies irae
Sunday 5 October 2025
9:00 first part
► Singing to listen to yourself again and feel moved
The experience of the Friuli Venezia Giulia choir for people with aphasia offers the opportunity to rediscover relationships and expression through music. The songs chosen by the choir members become sound identities, intertwining emotions and life stories that transform the concert into a message of hope and resilience.
Loredana Boito musician and music therapist
► Enriching the environment: music as a challenge to current neurodevelopmental risks
A music therapy project that supports neuroplasticity and development in premature babies or those at neurological risk. Experience has shown benefits not only for the young patients, but also for parents and carers, reducing stress and promoting early attachment.
Eleonora Briatore child neuropsychiatrist at Cuneo Hospital
► Free sounds: a polyphonic choir open to all
An inclusive project that brings together people with and without disabilities, promoting the educational and social aspects of singing. The choir offers a varied repertoire, original arrangements and collaborations with the Libera band, combining music, theatre and poetry in projects that unite inclusion and creativity.
Donatella Moioli choir conductor and teacher
► Healing choirs: experiences for aphasia and Parkinson's disease
The choir as a tool for continuity, participation and new social interaction: ‘La Voce dell'Afasia’ (The Voice of Aphasia) offers those who have lost their speech after a stroke the chance to rediscover it through singing, while ‘Parkinsong’ offers a choral music therapy programme for people with Parkinson's disease.
Maurizio Scarpa musician, music therapist and sound therapist
Costanza Di Leo music therapist, singer and singing teacher
► Singing Project: singing as respiratory training for children with congenital heart disease
An experimental project that uses singing as a therapeutic tool to improve the respiratory capacity, quality of life and self-esteem of children with complex congenital heart disease. The initiative involves doctors, researchers, musicians and conductors in a programme that combines music, health and social inclusion.
Pierluigi Festa Paediatric cardiologist at the Gabriele Monasterio Foundation, Tuscany Region, National Research Council (CNR)
11:30 second part
► Circle in music
Interactive concert produced in collaboration with the Arturo Toscanini Foundation in Parma
with Camilla Mazzanti and Anna Follia Jordan violinists of the Arturo Toscanini Philharmonic Orchestra
Martina Spagnuolo musician and music therapist
Musical repertoire:
S. Saajos, Behaviour of a bicycle, for 2 violins
W.A. Mozart, arr. Ernst Kovacic, Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja, from The Magic Flute
G.P. Telemann, Loure der gesitteten Houyhnhnms from the Suite for two violins I viaggi di Gulliver
J.M. Leclair, Sonata n. 5 per due violini: gavotte, graceful, andante
