Founded in 1989, the Professional School of Music of Espinho (EPME) was created with the purpose of providing training in two practically nonexistent areas in the panorama of music teaching in Portugal: the training of orchestral instrumentalists and the study of percussion. It was a pioneer in the implementation of professional music education in Portugal. Takes professional music courses from the 7th to the 12th years of schooling.
Founded in October 1989, within the scope of the Professional Schools creation program, then launched by the Ministries of Education and Employment and Social Security, through GETAP, and having as a promoter the Espinho Music Academy, the Professional Music School of Espinho (EPME) proposed from the beginning to enable the training of young candidates for musicians in two areas practically nonexistent in the panorama of music teaching in Portugal: the training of instrumentalists in the orchestra and the study of percussion.
The objective is to give the possible contribution to reduce the deficit of Portuguese musicians who can integrate the national orchestras. Over the course of almost two decades, EPME has managed to obtain extremely positive results that can be gauged either by the already significant number of graduates who exercise professional activity as instrumentalists and / or teachers, or by the public demonstration of the School’s activity, materialized in the presentation of hundreds concerts, all over the country and abroad.
EPME now offers the Basic Instrument Course (7th, 8th and 9th years); the String and Keyboard Instrumentalist Course and the Wind and Percussion Instrumentalist Course (10th, 11th and 12th years), resulting from the restructuring of the previous courses – the Orchestral Practice Course and the Percussion Course – within the scope of secondary education reform.
The Educational Project of the Professional School of Music in Espinho favors the permanent search for relevant professional experiences, namely through the realization of training internships and presentations in a real work context, while maintaining a strong concern in providing solid scientific training and integrated training that responds to different student needs. For this purpose, several artistic projects were created and developed, among which the Espinho Classical Orchestra, the Jazz Orchestra, the Percussion Group and the Camerata Orchestra stand out.