First step after gratuating: Visit Lucerne Festival

In 2024, Lucerne Festival launched its new initiative “Gschafft!” (“Made it!”) with the aim of inspiring the next generation of Lucerne residents to take an interest in classical music and providing them with the necessary access. As an integral part of Lucerne's cultural cosmos, our goal is to make exposure to classical music within the framework of Lucerne Festival a matter of course. Our vision: every Lucerne resident who has completed secondary education here should have been to Lucerne Festival at least once in their life.

As a gift for passing their exams, every graduate (Kantons-, Mittel-, and Fachmittelschule) receives an invitation to Lucerne Festival in the form of a voucher for a concert of their choice, for themselves and a companion.

In the summer of 2025, we got to distribute over 1'200 such vouchers as part of “Gschafft!”, of which around 400 were redeemed at the Summer Festival, representing a very pleasing rate of around 33%. In the future, we would like to gradually expand “Gschafft!” to include all secondary level II graduates.

“Gschafft!” has also been very well received by Lucerne’s education policymakers.

“The ‘Gschafft!’ project inspires young people. When the gift is announced at graduation ceremonies, a murmur ripples through the audience—the joyful surprise is palpable. Before the concert, the young people may be a little nervous because they don’t know what to expect.

In the concert hall, they sometimes stand out because of their choice of clothing – from very festive to their own uncomplicated style – and a certain tense anticipation. Such observations make me happy – because I feel transported back to the time when I attended my first concert. I will never forget that.

I am delighted that Lucerne Festival is thinking long-term and, with this project, is not only showing its appreciation for the achievements of young people, but also investing in a young audience for the long term. Because today’s first encounter with classical music, today’s enthusiasm for a top orchestra, is the foundation for regular visits tomorrow.”

– Armin Hartmann, Director of the Department of Education and Culture of the Canton of Lucerne