The Kiwanis Music Academy is a single-purpose club focused on making Switzerland’s next pop star.
By Erin Chandler
The overture came from the late Kiwanian and photographer André Melchior: a bequest to invest in supporting popular young musicians in Switzerland. But the Kiwanis Club of Zurich couldn’t host such a program — it would compete with the annual Kiwanis Music Prize, the club’s signature project for 50 years, supporting up-and-coming classical musicians.
Zurich club members Thomas O. Koller and Robert E. Gubler had the answer: The Kiwanis Music Academy — a new, single-purpose club dedicated to preparing young artists for the music industry. Koller is the new club’s founding president, and Gubler its founding vice president.
“The goal is not for the young people to become better musicians,” Gubler says. “They need to possess that skill. The idea is to prepare the artists for the music market and help them succeed in the Swiss — and eventually international — music scene.”
For a handful of aspiring artists at a time, he adds, the club will cover “all aspects from the rehearsal room to the arena.” That includes professional coaching, concept development, songwriting camps, music business workshops, media training, release campaigns, staging and rehearsals.
Something money can’t buy
A training program for the aspiring artists has been developed by two of the Kiwanis Music Academy’s charter members: Reto Lazzarotto, a professional music promoter and network manager, and Johanna Jellici, who heads the Pop and Jazz Department at the Zurich University of the Arts.
Other members of the club will sponsor the talent, covering the costs of studio rentals, equipment and more. They also will play a hands-on role as stagehands, setting up and dismantling performance stages.
What motivates the club’s members, Koller says, is threefold: “Firstly, to support young people in their professional development. Secondly, a personal interest in popular music, and thirdly, to be part of a project that is unique — at least in Switzerland.”
“Club members also benefit from something money can’t buy,” Gubler says. “They have personal connections to up-and-coming artists and can get a behind-the-scenes look at a production or participate in talent selection.”
Gaining an audience
With its focus on popular music, the club works to appeal to a younger demographic. The club’s hybrid meeting format also helps — most meetings take place online, with an in-person meeting every six to eight weeks.
“We need to ensure they can balance their Kiwanis involvement with their professional and family lives,” Koller explains. Plus, the hybrid structure “unlocks a membership potential that extends far beyond the local catchment area of our club.”
The Kiwanis Music Academy has already partnered with Kiwanis clubs from across the country — not just the Kiwanis Club of Zurich, but also the Kiwanis clubs of Les Moraines Ouest Lausanne from French-speaking Switzerland, Mendrisiotto from Italian-speaking Switzerland and St. Gallen-Notker from German-speaking Switzerland.
For the sponsored artists, the Kiwanis Music Academy journey will culminate in a major concert event that will draw major outside sponsors and media attention. The concert will launch the artists into the next phase of their careers — and raise the profile of Kiwanis International, not just in Switzerland, but potentially around the world. The club hopes the first concert will take place later this year.
Next stop, stardom
“There’s a wonderful atmosphere in our club,” Koller says. “We feel like we’re driving something good and innovative forward. In short, there’s a pioneering spirit.”
And when it comes to the future, the club is shooting for the stars: “We will have achieved our goal when we produce a successful young artist who brings great joy to many people with their music.”
So don’t be surprised if one day you’re attending a sold-out stadium concert by an artist who got their start through Kiwanis International.