| dc.description.abstract | Conservatories, emblematic institutions of music education, symbolise a form of expertise
and sometimes even of excellence, which professional musicians inherit as a result of what
could be regarded as a “rite of passage”. Indeed, the conservatory has mainly guaranteed
access to the musical “field”1 and legitimated musicians for centuries in the entire world,
thus embodying the role of gatekeeper. This thesis explores the role of the conservatory in
the field of music education, and its potential structural challenges in relation to the
internationalisation of higher music education, the emergence of new technologies in the
music sector and a gradual decrease of national power on arts education. Based on data
collected during my ethnographic investigation (a multi-sited fieldwork in the Netherlands
and in Paris) and, on the other hand, on theoretical contributions regarding music
education, I will therefore intend to deconstruct the cultural legitimacy of conservatories
while highlighting epistemological issues encountered during my research. Considering
conservatories as the most legitimate path to become a professional musician implies
questioning the significance of musical practices occurring in these traditional institutions,
especially in a changing music industry.
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