FAQs Answers to frequently asked questions
Who can place his/her profile on this platform?
Members of the SMPV, the Swiss Music Pedagogical Association, can place their profile on the platform. All subjects in which the artists have a diploma are registered. For this purpose, the SMPV Central Board checks the dossiers of new members when they are accepted. In this way, the SMPV can guarantee that only professionally trained musicians are profiled on this platform.
What kind of education do the musicians you find on this platform have?
Almost all of them have a Master’s degree in Music Pedagogy or a teaching diploma in a certain instrument. Occasionally, there are students in the final semesters of a Master’s degree in Music Pedagogy Classical or Pop/Jazz, but all of them have successfully completed at least the Bachelor’s degree in the corresponding subject.
Many of our musicians have additional training such as a Master Performance, a soloist diploma, an opera studio, an orchestra diploma, etc.
What is the best way to search for a musician for a specific event?
Click on “Musicians” at the top of the page.
Narrow down the search as much as possible by entering precise information in the search mask: choose the type of event, the instrument you want to hear, the style of music, if necessary also the artist’s canton of residence and the area in which they are to perform (under “Perform in”).
Look at the results and browse through the profiles until you find the musician you would like to hire.
Contact them: in the profiles you will find the phone numbers and email addresses.
First check with the selected artists whether they are available on your desired date.
Then discuss your event and what music you would like to have there and for what audience.
If you can agree on the content, negotiate a fee together.
For short-term engagements such as performances at a funeral service, a verbal agreement is sufficient, although we recommend at least a brief confirmation by e-mail of the agreement.
For larger engagements, we recommend that you draw up a written contract in which the occasion, date, time and length of the performance, number of artists, agreed fee and, if desired, the program are recorded.
What costs should I expect when I hire musicians?
That depends very much on the amount of work the musicians have to do for their assignment.
Is it a performance of 15 – 20 minutes of music at a church service, various music blocks at a festival, a chamber music concert of about an hour or so? Does the program consist of common repertoire, or do the musicians have to go to great lengths to find sheet music of unfamiliar pieces and rehearse them, or are several rehearsals necessary for a chamber music program? What distance do they have to travel from their home to the concert venue, etc.?
For a performance in a church service with repertoire pieces CHF 400.- to 500.- are appropriate, for a large company event with, for example, an ensemble of 4 people who have to be present for one evening to perform in three to five blocks, costs (for the ensemble) of CHF 4’000.- to 10’000.- are to be expected.
When hiring orchestral musicians or singers to fill in, the collective agreement of the Swiss Musicians’ Association (SMV) should be taken as a guideline.
Who advises me on program questions?
The best people to ask are the instrumentalists and singers themselves. They all have a great deal of performance experience and a large repertoire, can present you with program proposals and can certainly put together a well-chosen program after consulting with you.
How does one become a member of the SMPV?
One must have a Master’s degree in Music Pedagogy, either vocal or instrumental, classical or pop/jazz, or a teaching diploma in a specific instrument, either classical or pop/jazz.
Student membership is possible for students in master’s degree programs in Music Pedagogy instrumental or vocal classical or Pop/Jazz.
Application for membership SMPV.
What guarantees does the SMPV give?
The SMPV guarantees that all instrumentalists and singers found on this platform hold a professional diploma in the subjects with which they are registered on the platform.
However, the SMPV declines all liability for any damage caused by the musicians. It strongly recommends that all freelance members take out business insurance!
Our musicians are very reliable, but they themselves are responsible for the fulfillment of oral or written contracts with their clients. Here too, the SMPV declines all liability.