International Online Conference on Renewable Music on October 15-17, 2024 in Warsaw, Poland

Polish Composers’ Union (Poland) in partnership with Berg Orchestra (Czechia), Waves Bratislava (Slovakia), UMZE Association (Hungary) invite composers, musicians, musicologists, music theorists, representatives of musical organisations and institutions, environmentalists, ecologists and other experts interested in the subject to participate in an international online scientific conference devoted to the idea of renewability in music.

Renewable Music

The term ‘renewable music’ was coined in reference to ‘renewable resources’, aiming at focusing attention on global sustainability crisis and encouraging dialogue on this subject in the contemporary music community. One can state that all music is renewable at its core, as music material is inexhaustible. Each performance brings a unique artists’ interpretation and thus renews the listener’s perception of a piece. Going beyond this definition requires considering music’s renewability on the level of production, performance and consumption. This conference intends to open international dialog on this subject and delve deeper in the search for different meanings of this multidimensional metaphor.

The ’Renewable Music’ project partners feel that there is a huge need for music and culture in general to renew themselves after the period of stagnation due to COVID-19, and there are important changes to be introduced if we want to shape more sustainable future in the music sector. In the summer of 2024 four newly commissioned pieces of music inspired by the concept of renewability in music will premiere at open-air concerts in the Visegrad Group countries. What issues stand behind this concept for the composers participating in the project?

• renewal of human’s relationship to nature through music,
• renewed engagement of audiences through music that touches current issues such as sustainable development,
• renewal of tradition through reinterpretation and reinvention of its elements,
• renewal of musical form by challenging the boundaries of conventional forms,
• reuse of extra-musical elements which brings new associations,
• recontextualization of music in different spaces and environments, including open-air concerts, site-specific performances, immersive installations etc.,
• reassessment of the value and potential of everyday objects as instruments, including creation of new instruments from recycled materials.

Day 1: Theory and Aesthetics

• intersections of music, sound and nature
• acoustic ecology
• soundscape studies (R. Murray Schafer, his successors and opponents)
• eco-musicology
• humanistic geography

Day 2: Composers’ Perspectives

• incorporating nature into music
• environmental themes in contemporary works
• musical language and extended techniques
• extra-musical meanings
• recycling in music

Day 3: Social Aspects

• ecological responsibility of contemporary music
• eco-conscious solutions in music-making and consuming
• music education and sustainable development
• sustainable support for contemporary music
• green transition of the music industry

The conference language is English.

Submission Process

Please submit abstracts (no longer than 250 words) of your proposed contribution, together with a short biographical note via the Submission Form. The total duration of your presentation should not exceed 30 minutes (about 20 minutes for your talk and about 10 minutes for Q&A).

Fully Online Conference

The conference will be held fully online. Good accessibility (videoconference, recordings, closed-captioning) is foreseen, recognising the impossibility of a full match to the hours of the working day worldwide.

Conference fee and registration

No fees will be charged for the online conference. You will need to register to access the conference. Registration will be open on 1 October 2024 on the project website (www.renmus.eu).

Proceedings

Conference proceedings will be published online in open access.

Selected papers will be published in volume 21 of ‘Musicology Today’, a double-blind peer reviewed journal published since 2004 by the Institute of Musicology, University of Warsaw and the Polish Composers’ Union.

Important Dates

Abstract submission deadline: 31 January 2024
Abstract acceptance notification: no later than 1 March 2024
Conference registration: from 1 October 2024
Conference dates: 15-17 October 2024

Contact

Should you have any questions regarding the call, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] for any additional information and support.

You can find out more about the project at: www.renmus.eu