A violin can change the world
We created A violin can change the world to help as many disadvantaged children as possible. Our goal is to help them perform better in school by teaching them to play the violin—a challenging instrument—through regular, consistent instruction.
This sweeping experiment, launched in 2015 in Switzerland and in 2017 in France, will reach more than 8,000 students in 82 schools by the fall of 2024.
We co-created the program with national education officials in France, canton-level authorities in Switzerland, and our partner towns. We’re now working with education authorities to hand off the program and help them to deploy it on their own by 2025.
Fast facts: Fall 2023
young violinists
violin teachers
schools in France
schools in Switzerland
children helped by 2025
A violin can change the world
Explore our program
Project fundamentals
schools
in disadvantaged areasstudents
ages 4 to 8violin teachers
are highly qualifiedteaching method
is age-appropriate3 group classes
a week, during the school dayviolins
each child has their own instrumentopen classes
family members are welcomeevaluation
is independent & scientificAll the News
French television highlights neuroscientists’ study of A violin can change the world
Le Mag de la Santé, a health news program airing on France 5 television, recently spotlighted NeuroSpin’s study on the links between playing the violin…
Violin students compete in first reading contest
This year marked the first edition of a contest for very young readers at schools in Sarcelles, Garges-lès-Gonesse and Villiers-le-Bel, with a total of 327…
Joint symposium on the science of music, the brain and early education a success
The symposium Music, the brain and early education—what science tells us took place on 22 May 2024 at the Collège de France, as part of…
Music, the brain and learning at school: What science tells us
This day-long event, organized jointly by the Vareille Foundation and the Collège de France as part of its Agir pour l’Éducation* series, will offer insights…
Researcher Emmanuel Bigand speaks to 300 teachers
On November 22, world-famous researcher Emmanuel Bigand gave a talk on music and cognition in Gonesse, at the invitation of the Val d’Oise Office of…