Royal Musical Association 55th Annual Conference: Programme announcement and opening of Registration

University of Manchester and Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester
11–13 September 2019

We are proud to announce the Programme and the opening of Registration for the 55th Annual Conference of the Royal Musical Association, which will be hosted jointly by the Royal Northern College of Music and the University of Manchester between 11 and 13 September 2019.

Full details of the provisional conference programme, accompanying special events, and everything you need to know to plan your visit to Manchester are available from the conference website, from where you can also access the online registration process.

The conference is the single event in the UK calendar that seeks to represent something of the entire range of current musical research in progress around the world in all its richness and diversity. We are delighted to have received a very large volume of high-quality proposals for the conference, and are very excited that we have been able to put together a stimulating and hugely varied programme that will involve over 150 presenters, including both leading figures and emerging scholars within the discipline.

Our intention in hosting the conference jointly between the University of Manchester and the RNCM has been to celebrate the interface between performance, musicology and composition, so we are particularly pleased that the programme will represent such a wide range of current international scholarly and creative research in music, including practice-based research in composition, performance and recordings, papers on topics in musicology, ethnomusicology, and with a wide interdisciplinary reach, as well as some thought-provoking sessions reflecting on a number of current issues being debated within the discipline.

Particular highlights include:

The Peter le Huray lecture, ‘Free Speech and Academic Freedom’, to be given by Prof. Tamara Levitz, Professor of Musicology at the Herb Alpert School of Music, UCLA The Edward Dent medal award lecture, ‘Materialities of Musical Knowledge’, to be given by the 2018 award winner, Prof. Inga Mai Groote, Professor of Musicology at the Musikwissenschaftliches Institut in the University of Zurich Twelve themed panel sessions including a special session designed to enhance the RMA’s links with its colleagues in European Musicological Societies, roundtable discussion of the emergence of critical self-reflection tools in practice-based research in response to research assessment mechanisms such as REF, and debate on the future of music publishing in an era of Open Access and digital technology Eighty individual papers placed within thematically linked sessions ranging from historical performing practices and historiography to harmonic analysis and music and time, and from transnationalism and music, politics and identity to environmental soundscapes and new technologies Eight lecture-recitals with performances ranging from period instruments to early recordings A composition workshop and concert with six new works performed by members of contemporary ensemble Psappha with guest singer Laura Bowler and the University of Manchester’s electroacoustic sound system, MANTIS (Manchester Theatre in Sound) Six free special events for delegates celebrating the diverse musical cultures of the city of Manchester, including a free concert given by a visiting international artist, a wellbeing workshop, a sonically enhanced city walk experience, and a chance to see the BBC Philharmonic orchestra in action, as well as two special training events for PhD students Two drinks receptions, including one sponsored by Boydell & Brewer in their 50th anniversary year, plus a conference dinner, providing excellent opportunities for research networking for both established and junior scholars.

You do not have to be an RMA member to give a paper or attend the conference, but members are entitled to preferential registration rates, as well as the many other benefits of RMA membership. You can easily join here.

Note that early bird registration closes on 2 August 2019 and that this is the registration deadline for those presenting papers.

We look forward to welcoming you to Manchester in September!

Rebecca Herissone, Co-Convenor, University of Manchester
Barbara Kelly, Co-Convenor, RNCM
Simon McVeigh, RMA President
Michelle Assay, RMA Flagship Conferences Coordinator
Jeffrey J. Dean, RMA Executive Officer

https://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/music/connect/events/rma2019/

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