Floris Van der Veken, current DMA student and ALP certificate candidate was awarded an IML Special Opportunity Grant to attend the ‘impuls festival,’ the 14th International Ensemble and Composers Academy for Contemporary Music. Floris was able to connect, network, and collaborate with like-minded individuals from all over the world and have in-depth discussions on music and the ever-evolving state of the music industry. 
“I was able to discuss my career goals in length with Marcus Weiss; not only did we talk about the practical side of running a contemporary music ensemble, we went into more detail as to how an interdisciplinary collective could function. ​​The “impuls” festival allowed me to take an intimate look into the current new music scene and connect with many of the main figures in it. Thanks to the Special Opportunity Grant, I was able to attend and connect to more like-minded people in two weeks than I would otherwise meet in an entire year.”