The Lucerne Festival Academy was founded in 2004 by Pierre Boulez in conjunction with the Festival's executive director Michael Haefliger. Since then, some 130 highly gifted young musicians from all corners of the globe have gathered together every summer to study contemporary scores and modern masterpieces. Working together in daily rehearsals, workshops, and lessons, the participants receive the basic equipment for performing contemporary music. The teaching staff is made up of members of the Parisian Ensemble intercontemporain, one of the most celebrated ensembles in the field of modern music. The works in the "syllabus" are then presented to the public in orchestral concerts and ensemble recitals. The Academy Forum series allows audiences to glimpse behind the scenes and see the students and their teachers at work – in rehearsal, in master classes, or in moderated workshops. But it is not only instrumentalists who profit from the practical training at the Academy: the institute is also a springboard for budding conductors and composers. Every year includes a master class in conducting in which Pierre Boulez initiates highly gifted young conductors into the mysteries of the métier. In addition to that commissions are given to young composers.