SIN(G)ERGY – A Community Music Journey in the Italian Alps

In October 2025, twenty-four young people and four group leaders from Italy, France, Spain and Denmark gathered in Val di Chy, a small mountain municipality in the Valchiusella valley (Piedmont, Italy), for the Erasmus+ youth exchange SIN(G)ERGY. The project, hosted by AUDRA APS within the Yes to Sustainability network and rooted in the experience of the training course SYNC IN!, invited participants to explore how community music and collective singing can support inclusion, networking and groupwork among young people.

The Exchange: Voices Meeting in Valchiusella

For eight days, the group shared daily life in a community-run hostel and worked mainly in the municipal theatre and in nearby outdoor spots along the valley. The simple setting – chestnut woods, a mountain lake, small villages – created a frame where it was easier to slow down, share meals and spend time together beyond formal sessions.

The programme introduced participants to community music practices such as circlesinging, collaborative vocal improvisation, community-choir songs and body music. Sessions combined learning clear tools (such as how to create and conduct vocal improvisation sessions and how to use common objects to create a rythm-circle) with a lot of space for experimentation. No previous musical skills were required: curiosity and willingness to join were enough.

The focus was less on performing well and more on cooperating, listening and taking creative risks in a safe environment. Many participants arrived with some resistance around singing in public and left with a renewed sense of confidence and belonging, having experienced what it means to be held by a group while contributing their own voice.

Community Music and Inclusion

Music was used throughout the week as a practical way to work on inclusion, human connection and active participation. Non-formal education methods, sharing circles and small-group reflections helped participants connect what happened in the sessions with moments from their everyday lives.

Song-sharing sessions gave space to explore “root songs” from different countries and personal histories. Traditional and contemporary pieces brought by participants met newly created compositions and improvised circlesongs. This created a very concrete experience of diversity as something that enriches the common sound, instead of something that separates.

From Process to Performance

In the last part of the exchange, the group started translating the experience into a public sharing event in the municipal theatre of Alice Superiore, Val di Chy. Together with the facilitators, participants chose a sequence of sound actions composed collectively during the project.

Two local choirs connected to AUDRA’s work in the territory, the ZAC community choir from Ivrea and the Terra dei Canti women’s choir from Valchiusella, were invited to join the evening. The result was a meeting point between the international group, local community singers and the audience. People in the hall were invited to interact, listen actively and take part in a large final circlesong, experiencing first-hand what cooperative music can feel like.

The event was documented in a video, and participants co-created a logbook of their experience together. These materials now serve both as a memory of the mobility and as a small toolkit that can inspire similar activities elsewhere.

Seeds for Future Actions

The closing of SIN(G)ERGY was also a time to look ahead. Each national group was encouraged to think about how they could bring elements of the project back home: informal singing circles with friends, small workshops in youth spaces, collaboration with local choirs or simply new ways of creating welcoming spaces in their communities.

Participants left Valchiusella with songs, rhythms and new friendships, but also with the feeling that everyone has something to offer to a collective process.

SIN(G)ERGY was hosted by AUDRA APS in cooperation with partner organisations from Italy, France, Spain and Denmark, and co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

IN BRIEF:

• Location: Val di Chy municipality, Valchiusella, Italy
• Dates: 04–11 October 2025
• Duration & Team: 8 days; 24 participants; 4 group leaders; 2 facilitators
• Methods: community singing, circular music, non formal education.
• Countries: Italy, France, Spain and Denmark

THANKS TO:

• Comune di Val di Chy
• Ostello Casa di Alice
• Circolo San Michele
• ZAC! community choir
• Terra dei Canti women’s choir
• Partner organisations: Ecofairly, Makvärket, Creando Floresta
• Group Leaders: Jord, Stella, Manon, Gonzalo
• AUDRA team: Giulia Attanasio (project management + facilitation), Marco Lorusso (facilitation), Davide Giachino (administration + logistics), Valentina Corrado (video)