A young Cypriot, Maria Kramvi, PhD candidate of Educational Sciences at the Open University of Cyprus, has been awarded the Parsons Music Advocacy Award in cooperation with the International Society for Music Education (ISME) for the years 2022-24. The award-winning program that Ms Kramvi will run during the next academic year, Rhythm of Change, aims to promote Music Education for social purposes and to strengthen music teachers who teach students with an immigrant background. At the same time, community music workshops will be held in schools with the aim of massive presentation of the students in a public performance and the involvement of the local community.
The Parsons Music Advocacy Awards focus on music education practices and advocacy activities that support sustaining music education opportunities in schools and communities. There are 10 awards to be granted during this 2022-24 biennium; two awards are to be allocated to each of the ISME regions being – the Americas, Asia-Pacific, South Asia, Africa/Middle East and Europe. As one of the two winners in Europe, Maria Kramvi will have the opportunity to speak about her award at the conference of the European Association for Music in Schools (EAS) in France, and in the summer of 2024 she will present the results of her project in Finland at the International conference of ISME.
Maria Kramvi is a music professional who engages with community programmes that promote social justice, peacebuilding and inclusion through music and education. She was awarded a Bachelor degree by the City University of London with percussion lessons at the Guildhall School of Music, and she continued her studies at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, receiving an MA in Music Education and Performance. She is the co-founder of the bi-communal initiative “Rhythm of Cyprus” that uses music as a peacebuilding tool for connecting Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot children. She currently works at the Cyprus Music Schools as a Percussion Teacher, performs regularly with the TrakArt Pop Orchestra, and she leads Community Music Workshops all over Cyprus. Maria Kramvi has recently begun her PhD studies at the Open University of Cyprus, under the supervision of Professor Michalinos Zembylas, researching about music education and peace education. Through blending music, research, and practice, she aims to create a triangle of knowledge and experience with sides that will strengthen each other.
