Project Overview
classicAscona’s Children and Youth Program 2026 is an interdisciplinary musical project that focuses on promoting creativity, cultural participation and artistic education of children and youth in the Ascona-Locarno region. With the title“Dreams ,” inspired by the world of dreams, hopes and imagination, an innovative stage program is born, combining music, theater and movement and creating new connections between the younger generation, local educational institutions and an international classical music festival like classicAscona. The goal is to promote educational exchange between generations and develop formats capable of sustainably strengthening the regional community.
It is being produced in close collaboration with the Accademia Teatro Dimitri (physical theater, dance, dramaturgy, theater pedagogy), the Scuola di Musica di Locarno (SMUS) and the Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana (CSI). The heart of the project is a stage production of about 45 minutes, based on a specially arranged suite from Sergei Prokof’ev’s Romeo and Juliet for young pianists and percussion ensemble, enriched with scenic and choreographic elements.
Key Points
- Format: Interdisciplinary musical and scenic project interweaving music, dance and movement theater
- Participants: about 30-40 children and young people from music schools and educational institutions in the Ascona-Locarno region
- Repertoire: a musical work designed to engage children and youth at all levels: instrumental, vocal, dance and movement
- Partner institutions:
- Dimitri Theater Academy
- Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana (Department of Schools of Music)
- Local schools
- Working method: Shared creative process, in which children and youth are actively involved, with the support of professionals in the fields of art and education.
- Performances: public performances as part of the program of the classicAscona festival
Calendar
- Summer/Fall 2025:Conceptual work of leaders, organizational preparation, coordination of artistic directions, first outreach and exchange activities in schools
- Spring 2026: Ensemble formation, joint workshops and rehearsals in music, dance and movement
- September 2026: Intensive rehearsal phase with professional coaching, integration of musical and stage elements
- Sept. 30 & Oct. 1, 2026
Public performances at Collegio Papio in Ascona, included in the program of the festival classicAscona 2026
A bridge with the people and the festival
The project acts as a bridge between the festival, the local education system and the population. It also has a significant cultural and social impact and contributes sustainably to the cultural education and regional rootedness of classicAscona.
- Active participation: About 30-40 children and youth directly involved for several months in a professional artistic process
- Fallout on families: the rehearsal and project phase, lasting about nine months, involves a broad social context and strengthens families’ identification with the festival
- Facilitated access: the interdisciplinary format makes classical music accessible in an open, contemporary context, even to audiences unfamiliar with classical music festivals
- Regional network: Collaboration between music schools, high schools of theater and local educational institutions unites regional expertise on the festival platform.
- First meeting with the festival: Through collaboration between music schools, theater academy and local educational institutions, the festival becomes a platform for convergence of regional expertise
- Early encounter with the festival: Children and youth experience classicAscona not only as an audience, but as an active creative space
Project 2026: “Dreams”
Under the title “Dreams” an interdisciplinary performance lasting approximately 45 minutes, inspired by the themes of dreams, desire and the future. Starting point is an suite arranged by Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev, enriched by additional musical works and scenic, choreographic and movement theater elements.
Young students from music schools and the propaedeutic course of the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana, as well as second-year Bachelor students from the Accademia Teatro Dimitri, participate. Together they develop a poetic format that makes classical music accessible to a wide audience and gives young people a voice within the festival.
The artistic process is designed in a participatory way: young performers are involved at different levels in the development of content, dramaturgy and stage form, gaining valuable experience in the interaction between artistic practice and collective work.
The goal is to promote creativity and stimulate children and youth through music, movement and imagination, while strengthening pedagogical value, artistic collaboration and intergenerational exchange, and classicAscona’s commitment to the community.
Location:
Papio College, Aula Magna, Ascona
Representations:
- Wednesday, 09/30/2026, 5:00 p.m.
- Thursday, Oct. 01, 2026, 5:00 p.m.
Accountable institutions:
- Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana, Schools of Music – Luca Medici
- Dimitri Theatre Academy – Daniel Bausch
Artistic direction:
- Luca Medici (Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana, Schools of Music)
- Alessandro La Rocca (rhythm)
- Luisa Braga (dance/movement)
- David Labanca (acrobatics)
Project direction:
- Suzana Gostimirović
