The Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana starts the year with the 2027 cuts ahead

The Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana (CSI) begins the 2026-2027 year with an open question: how to absorb the cuts in contributions that the federal government and the canton have planned from 2027.¹ The start-of-year press conference took place on Tuesday 8 September.¹

For the University of Music (Scuola universitaria di Musica, SUM), director Christoph Brenner pointed to cost-containment measures taken in response to the cuts planned from 2027.² According to tio.ch, the CSI already operates on a tight budget: “Lavorando comunque a poco più di metà dei costi medi svizzeri i margini in verità non esistono” (working at little more than half the average Swiss cost, there is really no margin left).¹ Neither tio.ch nor L'Osservatore gives the size of the cuts in francs.

The music school (Scuola di Musica, SMUS) is also under pressure. Its director, Luca Medici, said the new support framework from the Department of Education, Culture and Sport (DECS) does not adequately cover the overall cost of tuition.² The sticking point, according to tio.ch: the DECS funding principles consider only individual lessons, with a fixed contribution.¹

That framework stems from the counter-proposal to the popular initiative “100 giorni per la musica”, approved by the Grand Council in October 2025.³ Overall, more money is available: support for the associations and the other recognised music schools rises from around 1 million francs a year to more than 2.5 million for 2026-2028, funded by the Swisslos Fund.³ From the 2026-27 school year, the age limit for cantonal support rises from 20 to 25, and families receiving specific cantonal subsidies can get a reduction of up to 90 per cent.³ According to tio.ch, the SMUS also complains that the new framework gives no indication of how the contributions will be distributed.¹

Activity carries on: the Orchestra giovanile della Svizzera italiana (Pre-College) has already begun its concerts.² The SMUS is preparing Orchestriamoci on 8 December at the LAC and the Passeggiata musicale, which will take place in Lugano in 2027.¹

Who benefits? From the new cantonal model, families with subsidies and young people aged 20 to 25.³ Whether the school doing the teaching can cover its costs beyond individual lessons, the sources do not yet say.