I have often been thinking about Jazz Education during my years of studies and during my years as a teacher. We all know that Jazz is hard to teach and some of its essential qualities are hard to put in words, let alone systems. Focusyear is my attempt to create the most direct learning environment for talented musicians, one that bypasses the grey zones of academia and deals exclusively with the reality of sound and community of an ensemble. Inspired by the World Music Institute at Berklee and the Monk Institute in Los Angeles, and thanks to generous support from the Levedo Foundation, we can realize a dream in the heart of Europe. (Wolfgang Muthspiel about Focusyear)