VOX early MUS aims to improve the quality and relevance of higher music education through creating a joint master program on vocal early music small ensembles, at the excellency level. Under this frame, prestigious teachers, students and professionals from European conservatories and potential employment institutions will gather in order to exchange good practices on innovative methods and approaches in teaching, learning, assessing and performing vocal early music, taking into account four important dimensions: internationalization, vocal pedagogy, artistic performance and professional integration. Having young specialized professionals in vocal early music appears as an evident need nowadays: quality, professionalism, true aesthetic values are the alternatives this music offers. There is a growing interest at the European level, shown by students, teachers and professionals, in exploring and understanding the richness of the early music repertoire, with its own particularities in terms of technical, aesthetic and stylistic aspects. Under these circumstances, implementing vocal early music for small ensembles in the university curriculum - as a joint master program - arises as a common need of the partner institutions. This new learning offer in music education leads the students and graduates to identify new professional competencies and wider career opportunities. Partner institutions in VOX early MUS: 1. National University of Music Bucharest - coordinator (Romania) 2. Den Haag Royal Conservatory (Netherlands) 3. "Joseph Haydn" Conservatory, Eisenstadt (Austria) 4. "Arrigo Pedrollo" Conservatory of Vicenza (Italy) 5. "Arrigo Boito" Conservatory of Parma (Italy) 6. Association of European Conservatories - AEC (Belgium) 7. Fondazione Italiana per la Musica Antica - Rome (Italy) 8. National Choir Association - Bucharest (Romania) VOX early MUS addresses both direct and indirect beneficiaries - as target groups. More than 90 students - from five European conservatories - who have the vocal skills, knowledge and a special interest in approaching and understanding vocal early music - will benefit of the intellectual outcomes of the transnational thematic meetings and will test the innovative teaching methods put in act during the Intensive Programs. 36 teachers from five European conservatories - who have a well-known expertise in the early music field - will be involved in the transnational thematic meetings and in the Intensive Programs - as the main activities of the project, elaborating two intellectual outputs: Curriculum design and development handbook on vocal early music small ensembles (O1) and "VOX early MUS mastering excellence" - an electronic didactic support (O2). Activities carried out: - Management activities - Specific activities: Comparative study on vocal early music ; Curriculum design; Research on vocal early music rare repertoires; Standardized assessment criteria; Methodology on small vocal ensemble techniques; Preparing Opening concerts (during the 1st day of the Intensive Programs); Progress report; Information and promotion - Steering groups (1/year) - Transnational thematic meetings (5/year) having as a result an intellectual output: Curriculum design & development Handbook: joint master program on Early music small vocal ensembles - Intensive Programs (1/year) having as a result an intellectual output: VOX early MUS - mastering excellence - electronic didactic support (DVD) comprising master classes, voice-labs, lectures, concerts, interviews with artistic personalities. - Multiplier event - will be organized by the AEC and hosted by the National University of Music Bucharest in the last year of the project. The project’s tasks and responsibilities will be evenly distributed among the partners. Every institution will play an active role in the activities carried out by the project and in the intellectual outputs' successful realization. The project management - shared between the coordinator institution and the partners - will be responsible for the quality assurance of the planned and implemented activities, expected results, impact on the target groups and project sustainability. The newly formed consortium on vocal early music pedagogy will continue to provide expert teachers and students in order to make functional the joint master program. Based on the principles and the intellectual outputs, this master program will ensure a clear and formalized structure, internationally-oriented towards the students and the employment market.