In the heart of the Brazilian Amazon, an unusual open art academy is taking shape. It brings together a local community of citizens and small businesses from an up-and-coming neighborhood with local artists, specialists from Switzerland, and friends from around the world to create a unique project within the global creative industry.
This includes courses in arts education and networking opportunities for art students from Manaus and their European counterparts.The activities of the cultural center and the Academia bring together cutting-edge research in the philosophy of music with inspiration drawn from the ecological and social characteristics of the Amazon rainforest and the distinctly multicultural society of the city of Manaus.
Manacanto is the resident ensemble of Academia Larte. It performs regularly throughout Europe and maintains a repertoire that blends local musical styles from the Brazilian Amazon with European traditions. The following video documents a performance by Manacanto at a car repair shop, a local partner of the cultural center. The soundtrack features an original composition by Seu Didico, a local folk composer.
The founder
The cultural center and Academia Larte were founded by the Swiss music philosopher Wolfgang Böhler. Born in Bern in 1958, he studied philosophy, musicology, and mathematics at the University of Bern under the analytical philosopher Henri Lauener, who introduced him to logic, epistemology, and the works of Willard v. O. Quine and Nelson Goodman.
Wolfgang Böhler has published books on Swiss cultural policy and digital journalism, and founded a successful online music journal during its pioneering years. He taught music psychology at an Austrian university of applied sciences in a master’s program in music therapy and served for several years as president of Swissmedmusica, an organization dedicated to the health aspects of music-making. He also worked as a choir director and music journalist (including for Swiss daily newspapers and the Schweizer Musikzeitung).The Larte Manaus Cultural Center emerged from a joint project between Böhler’s Swiss choirs and musicians from Manaus.
Become part of a unique community
Academia Larte is community-based, which means it creates spaces and events that foster mutual exchange. Locally, this includes Saturday classes for neighborhood children and teens, women’s groups, and neighborhood events.
Globally, Academia offers online courses, YouTube channels, and accompanying materials for the videos on those channels, as well as courses in Manaus that facilitate encounters between the local Academia Larte community and interested individuals from around the world. We keep the courses open to all interested parties whenever possible.
Upcoming Courses
In January 2027, we will once again offer courses in ear training and improvisation. More detailed information will follow here in the fall. However, those who are curious can contact us now via email at info@academia-larte.org. Our team is here to assist anyone wishing to participate with all questions regarding travel, accommodation, and so on.
Theoretical Foundations
Our theories build upon findings in the cognitive sciences of music, for which researchers such as Ernst Kurth, the Gestalt psychologists, Leonard B. Meyer, Nelson Goodman, Diana Deutsch, Ray Jackendoff, Fred Lerdahl, and Al Bregman. Academia Larte is a philosophical rather than a musicological project.