MusicSphere Kick-Off Meeting: Launching a New Journey in Digital Musical Heritage
MusicSphere has officially begun its journey. The project was launched during an inspiring and highly collaborative Kick-Off Meeting held in Thessaloniki, Greece, on 16–17 October 2025. Partners gathered in person at the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH-ITI), coordinated by the interdisciplinary team of the Brain, Health & Virtual Reality (BHV) Research Group, setting an enthusiastic and ambitious tone for a project dedicated to safeguarding the dynamic heritage of traditional musical instruments.
MusicSphere is funded by the Horizon Europe programme under the call HORIZON-CL2-2024-HERITAGE-ECCCH-01-01 and is part of the Cultural Heritage Cloud (ECCCH), developed by the ECHOES (European Cloud for Heritage OpEn Science). This European digital infrastructure is a shared platform that provides heritage professionals and researchers with access to data, scientific resources, training, and state-of-the-art digital tools.
The consortium brings together organisations from Greece, Spain, Germany, Cyprus, and Belgium, combining expertise in music, cultural heritage, acoustics, digital technologies, extended reality, and conservation, creating a strong interdisciplinary team.
The meeting focused on the shared mission of MusicSphere: to develop advanced tools for the digital preservation, analysis, and immersive experience of traditional musical instruments, with particular attention to pipe organs and the ancient hydraulis. Partners reviewed the project plan, discussed the two initial use cases, and explored the main technical and research challenges that will guide the development of nine innovative digital toolkits.
The Project Officer of MusicSphere provided guidance for the successful implementation of the project, ensuring alignment with Horizon Europe requirements and supporting the consortium in achieving its objectives. In addition, representatives from the ECHOES mother project introduced the Cultural Heritage Cloud (ECCCH) ecosystem, explaining its structure and functionalities, and welcomed MusicSphere into this growing community of initiative
Structure and Next Steps
Running for 42 months, MusicSphere is organised into 13 Work Packages covering technology research and development, integration with the ECCCH infrastructure, pilot demonstrations, an open call for third-party funding, as well as training, communication, and exploitation activities.
The common goal is the successful delivery of the project with maximum scientific, cultural, and societal impact. Through close collaboration with the ECCCH ecosystem, MusicSphere will promote early knowledge sharing, best practices, and long-term sustainability of its results, helping musical heritage resonate for generations to come.