Gesellschaft für die Volksmusik in der Schweiz

Biography

The society endeavours to study Swiss traditional music and further its recognition in the cultural life of our country. The GVS/SMPS was founded in 1979 on the initiative of the Swiss national commission for UNESCO in order to represent the interests of traditional Swiss music, both corporate and individual.
In spring 1987, the Swiss national commission for UNESCO organised a colloquium in Bern, chaired by Prof. Dr. Andri Peer (president of the culture department of the commission), about problems in traditional Swiss music. It was then decided to establish a "community of interests for traditional music in Switzerland".
On September 22-23 in 1979, the Society for Traditional Music in Switzerland was founded in Vissoie (VS).