CFP: After the Magic Flute (UCAL, Berkeley)

AFTER THE MAGIC FLUTE
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
5 - 6 MARCH 2010
CALL FOR PAPERS

Call for Papers (abstract deadline: September 1, 2009)

As Tamino stands before the three temple doors in Act I of The Magic Flute, he is about to embark on a humbling complication of the good-evil alignments he (and we) had previously assigned to the Queen of the Night and Sarastro. Interpretive work on Mozart’s enduringly perplexing Singspiel is currently at a similar threshold. Recent scholarship has shifted away from the Masonic and Enlightenment-allegory readings of past decades in favor of increasingly decentralized readings that consider the work’s implications with respect to race, gender, voice, and agency. In addition, new historical information has emerged regarding the immediate context of The Magic Flute within the Viennese theatrical tradition; a new edition of the autograph score is about to be published; and adventurous (often activist) productions set everywhere from South Africa, to a Berlin subway station, to the trenches of World War I have attracted the collaboration of artists as varied as William Kentridge, Julie Taymor, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro, and Kenneth Branagh.

The goal of this interdisciplinary conference is to take the measure of these new developments in the history and historiography of The Magic Flute, with the “after” of the conference’s title referring not exclusively to inquiries regarding adaptation or reception, but rather signaling a critical reevaluation of the persistent urge to “unlock” The Magic Flute with a single, symbolic key. The conference committee welcomes proposals from scholars interested in examining The Magic Flute from a range of disciplinary perspectives, including musicology, music theory, and ethnomusicology, film and media studies, performance studies, cultural and social history, literary and art history, and reception studies. Featured speakers will include Wye J. Allanbrook (Emerita, Musicology, University of California, Berkeley) and Jane Brown (Germanics and Comparative Literature, University of Washington).

Please submit abstracts of no more than 250 words by September 1, 2009 to conference organizer Adeline Mueller (aomueller at berkeley.edu). Notification of acceptance will be sent via email on October 1.

Adeline Mueller
Department of Music
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1200
aomueller at berkeley.edu

CFP: Comment Analyser L'Improvisation? (Paris)

COMMENT ANALYSER L'IMPROVISATION ?

COLLOQUE INTERNATIONAL

PARIS

12 - 13 FEBRUARY 2010

CALL FOR PAPERS

Société Française d’Analyse Musicale

IRCAM

Université de Strasbourg

EA 3402 – Approches contemporaines de la Création et de la Réflexion artistiques

APPEL À COMMUNICATIONS

Le moment de l'improvisation n'est-il pas celui où l'analyse lâche prise ? La musique

improvisée pose à l'analyste, plus directement que d'autres pratiques et répertoires, une question centrale : comment rendre compte de la singularité d'un phénomène musical sans l'abstraire a priori dans la régularité d'un système ni se perdre dans la description d'événements successifs ?

L'improvisation sera considérée dans tous les contextes où elle a sa part : on interrogera son rôle dans l'élaboration formelle, ses transcriptions, ses traces explicites ou implicites, jusqu'à une modélisation de ses parcours, de ses gestes et de ses motifs. Seront abordées les recherches sur la mémoire en acte dans les processus d'improvisation, aussi bien que leurs procédures d'invention spécifiques.

Les communications pourront traiter des thèmes et problématiques suivants, dont la liste n'est bien sûr pas exhaustive :

- les processus d'apprentissage : enseignement de l'improvisation, familiarisation du public avec des styles ou langages, apprentissage par l'improvisateur dans les situations d'exécution ;

- les savoirs implicites dans les musiques de tradition orale : frontières, censures, interactions ;

- les limites entre composition et improvisation y compris écriture de l'improvisation, composition en temps réel ;

- l’import de méthodes inspirées de paradigmes extérieurs à la musicologie (psychologie du développement, ethnométhodologie, linguistique, sciences cognitives, informatique ...) ;

- la dialectique entre système et situation ;

- l’histoire des pratiques et des théories de l'improvisation.

Les propositions de communication, d’un maximum de 700 mots (ou 4000 caractères, espaces non compris), accompagnées d’un bref CV, devront être envoyées par courrier électronique en double exemplaire à ColloqueImpro@ircam.fr et marie-noelle.masson@uhb.fr.

Date limite de réception des propositions : 25 septembre 2009.

Le comité rendra sa décision dans le courant du mois de novembre quant à l’acceptation des propositions. Une publication des actes du colloque est prévue.

Michael Jackson: Some Observations

MICHAEL JACKSON: SOME OBSERVATIONS

Michael Jackson (1958-2009) passed away yesterday and I find myself in awe of the coverage devoted to the more esoteric parts of his life (e.g. hyperbaric chamber, conversations with Bubbles, dangling of a baby outside a window, his infamous trial). All of this seems to distract from his contribution to popular music of the late 20th century. In the interest of full disclosure, I've liked his music but have always found his little sister, Janet's music the more interesting. Prior to yesterday I haven't bought an album since I forked out the cash for a cassette of Thriller.

I happened to be in HMV on Oxford Street where hordes of shoppers were congregating around a front-end display of his CDs and DVDs whilst his Billie Jean blasted away through the sound system. HMV had entrepreniuerally created an end of aisle display strictly on his music alone. As I've said I haven't bought one of his albums for a couple decades and was caught up in the moment and bought his album the '#1s' which is a compilation of his hits which went to the top of the Billboard charts, so not everything but many of the classics.

Rather than purchase a CD, I opted for this DVD as it had the videos of those covers. By no means was this an act of nostalgia, but thinking about Jackson's contributions to pop culture, it was really these videos which influenced a generation of pop music. What would the dance moves of Justin Timberlake or Beyonce look like without a Michael Jackson? What about his synthesis of R&B which form the undercurrent sound of boy band groups like NSYNC, Backstreet Boys and Blue?

It is easy for the media to focus on lawsuits over control of assets let alone child custody, but in time these will be overshadowed by his artistic contributions. At the time MTV was a fledgling network devoted to Cyndi Lauper, Duran Duran, a younger Madonna and Culture Club. With the Thriller album's hits of Billie Jean and Thriller, Jackson's dance moves indelibly made their mark on our collective consciousness. These dance moves which are highlighted in almost all of his videos coupled with savvy Quincy Jones R&B infused tracks was a revolutionary fusion of musical styles for the 20th century. It would serve as a structural constant for popular music of the past 30 years even outliving its antithesis found in the grunge music of Seattle's Nirvana in the 90s. In terms of musical importance, one could liken it to the 19th century cross-cultural synthesis which brought together antiphonal 'hollers' of the African-American slaves, the creation of the blues and the evolution into jazz.

Listening to this compilation, I'm struck in particular by the video to Man in the Mirror. Even though it cites many of history's notable events it doesn't seem dated. One of the most fitting images relate to the death of another artist, John Lennon. (I remember that date but his passing affected in particular one of my cousins who could play almost all of his and the Beatles' tunes by memory on the piano. I'm pretty sure she could probably do the same for MJ.) As with Jackson's passing it is his musical contributions which stay in the memory. Back to the video: although the Berlin Wall has fallen and Poland has joined the EU, there is still gender/racial/sexual inequality, conflict in the Middle East, nuclear proliferation still haunts us as does poverty in the Third World. Will it seem dated in another 20 years? I'm not sure, but thanks to digital technology Michael Jackson's music and video will continue to exist. Perhaps his influence will even be discussed in textbooks as are the origins of the blues and jazz today.

CFP: Beyond the Centres: Musical Avant Gardes since 1950 (Thessaloniki, Greece)

BEYOND THE CENTRES: MUSICAL AVANT GARDES SINCE 1950

ARISTOTLE UNIVERSITY OF THESSALONIKI, GREECE

DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC STUDIES

1 - 5 JULY 2010

CALL FOR PAPERS

In memoriam Yannis Andreou Papaioannou (1910 – 1989)

The notion of the avant garde in music has stereotypically been linked with the post-1950 internationalisation of early 20th-century modernist ideas, while the historical and aesthetic delimitation of boundaries between the musical avant garde and post-modernism is still under discussion. The ‘mainstream’ historiography attached to the avant garde quite expectedly focuses on the idea of innovation in the music and theoretical texts of specific pioneers, and on notions such as universality and the significance of time as parameters affecting the appraisal of the work of art.

The approach of this International Conference, as inferred from the first part of its title (‘Beyond the Centres’) can be perceived either with regard to places, times and individuals (i.e. beyond the places, times and individuals that have defined the starting points of musical avant gardes), or with regard to dominant categorizations (i.e., beyond the dominant, centric, perceptions of the avant-garde irrespective of places, times or individuals).

Thus the aim of the Conference is twofold:

1) To gather together research on widely unknown musical realizations of the notion of the avant-garde since 1950, and encourage the examination of multiple, heterogeneous currents built around the ideas of innovation and / or radicalism.

2) To stimulate theoretical critical discussion on how the notion of the avant garde can be assessed today ‘from outside’ (beyond the centric generic ideas of the time of its formation) and embrace problematisation of the very premise of a unified term for the avant garde. In other words, to motivate the critical appraisal of the function, reception, realization and dissemination of what was or is considered avant-garde in different geographical and cultural contexts. In this respect, the examination of the pedagogic methods that were developed by institutions or individuals for the establishment and dissemination of avant-garde techniques is within the scope of the Conference.

Historical, analytical, ideological, political, sociological,cultural, interdisciplinary, anthropological and other approaches are all welcome. The broad thematic categories of the Conference can be summarized as follows:

- Avant-garde techniques and aesthetics.

- Avant garde and politics / ideology.

- Compositional instruction, music theory and analysis and the avant gardes.

More specifically, the following list of possible thematic areas is intended not to be restrictive, but informative of the priorities of the Conference:

- Definitions and musical realizations of the idea of the avant garde

- ideological expressions of the avant garde

- avant garde and institutions

- avant garde and cultural identity

- reception of the avant gardes

- avant-garde pedagogies

- utopias of the avant garde

- avant-garde instrumentation – notation

- avant garde and post-modernism

- avant garde and experimentalism

- avant garde and the perception of time / space

- organicism and / or fragmentation in avant gardes.

The Conference is dedicated to the memory of Yannis A. Papaioannou,celebrating the centenary of the birth of the most influential figure in the dissemination of avant-garde ideas in post-1950 Greece through his musical, educational and institutional activities. In addition to being a stimulus for further research on Papaioannou’s life, music and ideas, the present Conference is inspired by the universality of his approach to music and teaching, thus aiming at a universal critical appraisal of different expressions of the notion of the avant garde.

The Conference is organized by the Department of Music Studies, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and will take place in Thessaloniki, Greece between 1 and 5 July 2010. The official language of the Conference is English.

Abstracts are invited for presentation in one of the following formats:

• Papers (20 minute presentations)

• Panels, of up to four individual papers (preferably with explicit reference to one of the three main thematic categories of the conference).

Abstracts must address the conference theme and clearly state the aims and methodological approach of the proposed paper(s). Abstracts for individual papers should be no longer than 300 words. Panel proposals should include a general 100-word description of the panel’s proposed theme, accompanied by individual 300-word abstracts for all paper contributions.

All abstracts should be submitted as e-mail attachments to Kostas Chardas (kchardas@mus.auth.gr) or Danae Stefanou (dstefano@mus.auth.gr), by the deadline οf 30 November 2009, accompanied by the following information:

• Name(s) and Institutional Affiliation(s) of Author(s)

• Title of Proposed Paper or Panel

• Proposed Format of Presentation (Paper or Panel)

• Indicative List of Bibliographic References

• Brief (100-word) CV of Main Author(s).

All submissions will be reviewed anonymously by a board of international reviewers. Papers will be published on the conference website and on CD-ROM, accompanying a printed book of abstracts.

Details of submission deadlines, registration, reviewing procedures and other updates will shortly become available on the conference website at http://web.auth.gr/btc.

Organising Committee

Demetre Yannou (chair). PhD. Professor, Department of Music Studies –Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Nikos Athineos. Conductor. Artistic Director of the Thessaloniki Concert Hall.

Kostas Chardas. PhD. Lecturer, Department of Music Studies –Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (appointment pending).

Michalis Lapidakis PhD. Associate Professor, Department of Music Studies – Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Evi Nika-Sampson. PhD. Associate Professor, Department of Music Studies – Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Danae Stefanou. PhD. Lecturer, Department of Music Studies –Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Costas Tsougras. PhD. Lecturer, Department of Music Studies –Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

CFP: 3rd Workshop on Learning the Semantics of Audio Signals (Graz, Austria)

3RD WORKSHOP ON LEARNING THE SEMANTICS OF AUDIO SIGNALS (LSAS) 2009

SAMT 2009 CONFERENCE, GRAZ, AUSTRIA

4 DECEMBER 2009

CALL FOR PAPERS

http://lsas2009.dke-research.de

The Workshop on Learning the Semantics of Audio Signals (LSAS) focuses especially on researchers that are working on semantics, description, representation and understanding of music with the goal to intensify the exchange of ideas between the different research communities involved, to provide an overview of current activities in this area and to point out connections between them. Therefore, the topics of interest include, but are not limited to the following aspects with respect to music

information retrieval systems:

- Audio signal processing and feature extraction

- Content-based audio retrieval

- Music perception, cognition, affect and emotions

- Music structure analysis

- Semantic audio description and analysis

- Ontologies for music and sound description

- Standards for audio content description

- Machine learning methods for feature extraction and mapping

- Personalization of music retrieval systems

While our main focus is on music data, we are also interested on work related to other audio data such as speech.

Important dates:

- Deadline for paper submission: September 7, 2009

- Notification of acceptance: September 21, 2009

- Camera-ready paper submission: October 12, 2009

For the full Call For Papers and further information on the workshop, please visit http://lsas2009.dke-research.de

CFP: Forum on Music and Christian Scholarship (Boston University)

FORUM ON MUSIC AND CHRISTIAN SCHOLARSHIP

BOSTON UNIVERSITY

26 - 27 FEBRUARY 2010

CALL FOR PAPERS

The Forum on Music and Christian Scholarship seeks proposals for its upcoming annual meeting, which will take place at Boston University from February 26 to 27, 2010.

Papers on any topic pertaining to music and Christian scholarship are welcome. Likewise, we invite submissions representing a variety of approaches and perspectives: history, theory and analysis, philosophy and theology, ethnomusicology, critical theory, and the like. Papers will be 25 minutes long. Proposals for panels are also welcome. For more information about the FMCS and about previous conferences see the webpage: www.fmcs.us

Please send an approximately 300-word abstract which includes your name, affiliation, and contact information to the Chair of the Program Committee: Siegwart Reichwald (siegwart.reichwald at converse.edu)

Deadline: October 1, 2009

CFP: Workshop on Machine Learning and Music (Slovenia)

WORKSHOP ON MACHINE LEARNING AND MUSIC

ECML/PKDD-09 EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON MACHINE LEARNING AND PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF KNOWLEDGE DISCOVERY IN DATABASES

BLED, SLOVENIA

7 - 11 SEPTEMBER 2009

CALL FOR PAPERS

http://www.iua.upf.es/~rramirez/MML09/

This conference is taking place on September 7, 2009, as part of ECML/PKDD-09, European Conference on Machine Learning and Principles and Practice of Knowledge Discovery in Databases

http://www.ecmlpkdd2009.net/

Research on machine learning and music is gaining increasing popularity due to the rapid expansion of music in audio formats, increasing availability of social music tagging data, and the ongoing musicological interest in mining of symbolic music data. As complexity of the problems investigated by researchers on this area increases, there is a need to develop new algorithms and methods to solve these problems. Machine learning has proved to provide efficient solutions to many music-related problems. The goal of MML 2008 is to bring together researchers who are using machine learning in musical applications, providing the opportunity to promote, present and discuss ongoing work in the area. The workshop is planned to last one full day, and will feature paper presentations, panel discussions and open discussions.

We invite contributions describing machine learning approaches to music processing including, but not limited to:

Sound synthesis and analysis

Pattern discovery in music

Computational musicology

Folk song analysis and classification

Music genre classification

Music analysis

Music Information Retrieval

Knowledge Representation and Computational Models

Psychoacoustics and Music Perception

Cognitive Modeling

Adaptive Systems and Music Education

Algorithmic Composition

Interactive Performance Systems

Digital Audio Signal Processing

Submissions:

Papers of 4-6 printed pages must be in English and must be formatted according to the Springer-Verlag Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence guidelines. Authors instructions and style files can be found in the workshop webpage. Papers should include author names, affiliations, contact information, and an abstract of 70-120 words. Papers will be reviewed by at least two members of the Workshop Committee. Contributions should be in PDF format and submitted to the workshop email address mml@iua.upf.edu.

Dates:

Submission deadline: June 14, 2009.

Acceptance notification: June 30, 2009.

Final versions due: July 8, 2009.

Workshop: September 7, 2009.

Organizing Committee:

Rafael Ramirez (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain)

Darrell Conklin (City University London, UK)

Christina Anagnostopoulou (University of Athens, Greece)

José Manuel Iñesta (Alicante University, Spain)

MML09 webpage

http://www.iua.upf.edu/~rramirez/MML09

Upcoming Conf: International Conference on Music Performance Analysis 2009 (Switzerland)

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MUSIC PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS 2009
ICOMPA 2009
LUCERNE UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES AND ARTS, SWITZERLAND
1 - 2 JULY 2009

Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts Musikpavillon, Obergrundstrasse 9, Luzern (Switzerland)

Symposium 1: Perspectives on 'Body and Soul' (July 1)

The symposium explores several recorded versions of Johnny Green's famous Broadway show tune 'Body and Soul' (1930). Speakers: Martin Pfleiderer (Hamburg), Cynthia Folio / Alexander Brinkman (Philadelphia), Olivier Senn (Luzern), John Gunther (Boulder), José Antonio Bowen (Austin).

Symposium 2: Methods of music performance analysis (July 2)

The symposium addresses methodological questions in the analysis of music performance. Speakers: Richard Turner (Saint Julien de Jonzy), Olaf Eggestad (Oslo), Matthias Arter (Bern), Elena Alessandri (Lugano), Marc-Antoine Camp / Lorenz Kilchenmann (Luzern), Jürg Huber (Luzern), Claudia Di Luzio (Berlin).

Detailed conference programme and registration: www.hslu.ch/icompa.

The conference is organized by Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in cooperation with the International Association of Schools of Jazz (IASJ).

CFP: Social Behavior in Music (Vancouver, Canada)

SBM2009 - SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR IN MUSIC
VANCOUVER, CANADA
29 AUGUSTU 2009
www.infomus.org/SBM2009
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 17 MAY 2009

Workshop in the framework of IEEE Intl. SocialCom-09 Conference

Music making and listening are a clear example of human activities that are above all interactive and social. On the one hand, however, nowadays mediated music making and listening is usually still a passive,non-interactive, non-context sensitive, and non-social experience. The current electronic technologies have not yet been able to support and promote these essential aspects. On the other hand, new mediated forms of sharing music experience in a social context with local or remote users or as a part of a community are emerging. At the same time we observe an increasing need for paradigms for embodied and active experience of music where non-verbal communication channels, and in particular movement and gesture, play a central role. This workshop focuses on the social signals and their features that are most significant for a qualitative and quantitative analysis of social behavior and experience in music. The workshop will discuss computational models, algorithms, techniques for analysis of social behavior in music, their application in concrete test-beds, and their evaluation in experimental set-ups. We are interested in exploring many-to-many human interplay, such as the performer-listener, performer-performer, and listener-listener interaction, in novel scenarios where the distinction between listeners and performers fades out and users become producers and consumers of music experience.

WORKSHOP TOPICS
We encourage papers and demos addressing fundamental research issues including, but not limited to, the following topics:

- theoretical approaches to social behavior in music
- experimental methodologies for analysis of social behavior in music
- computational models of social behavior in music
- analysis of social signals in music
- synchronization of human behavior in music
- analysis of social roles in performers and listeners groups
- analysis of attention and salience in social music experiences
- multimodal interfaces for active and social music experience
- cooperative social environments for participative music experience
-multi-user systems and application for social music experience


ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS
Submissions should follow the IEEE conference paper format. Submissions should include: title, author(s), affiliation(s), e-mail address(es), tel/fax number(s), and postal address(es).

The contributions can be submitted at:
http://infomus.org/SBM2009/commence

Both accepted papers and demos will be presented at the workshop as oral presentation or in a demo session. The accepted contributions will appear in the Proceedings of Social-Com09 Workshops published by IEEE Computer Society Press. Authors of accepted contributions will be required to submit a camera ready version. At least one author for each accepted paper or demo is required to attend the workshop to present the work.

Papers submission:
Manuscripts should be 8 pages maximum, including references, tables, and pictures.

Demo submission:
Proposal for demonstrations should be submitted as a (max) 2-pages extended abstract including pictures and technical details.

IMPORTANT DATES
May 17, 2009: Submissions deadline
June 5, 2009: Notification of acceptance
June 15, 2009: Camera ready version due to electronic form
August 29, 2009: SBM2009 Workshop

WORKSHOP ORGANIZERS AND CHAIRS
Antonio Camurri
Donald Glowinski
Maurizio Mancini
Giovanna Varni
Gualtiero Volpe

PROGRAM COMMITTEE
Frederic Bevilacqua (IRCAM, France)
Roberto Bresin (KTH, Sweden)
Shuji Hashimoto (Waseda University, Japan)
Ben Knapp (Queen's University Belfast, UK)
Marc Leman (Univeristeit Ghent)
Anton Nijholt (University of Twente, NL)
Maja Pantic (Imperial College London, UK and University of Twente, NL)
Catherine Pelachaud (CNRS, France)
Isabella Poggi (Università Roma 3, Italy)
Xavier Serra (UPF, Spain)
Alessandro Vinciarelli (IDIAP, Switzerland)

The workshop is partially supported by the FP7 EU-ICT Strep Project SAME
(www.sameproject.eu).

CFP: First International Conference on Analytic Approaches to World Music (UMASS)

FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ANALYTICAL APPROACHES TO WORLD MUSIC
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS, AMHERST
20 - 21 FEBRUARY 2010
CALL FOR PAPERS

This conference seeks to expand the potentials for musical analysis from a cross-cultural perspective by applying diverse theoretical and analytical concepts to repertoires outside the Western art music tradition. It is our hope that by bringing together analysts from a broad range of conceptual and cultural traditions, new modes of musical description and understanding may emerge that are capable of navigating the multicultural soundscape of the twenty-first century.

We welcome submissions that examine world musical traditions from a wide variety of analytical and theoretical perspectives. These may include but are not limited to: the adaptation of analytical approaches usually associated with Western art music to address various world music traditions; the use of indigenous analytical tools and strategies to characterize particular musical styles and genres; and the development of "hybrid" analytical systems and theories that integrate the aforementioned approaches.

Papers in English, not exceeding 20 minutes duration (plus 10 minutes for discussion), should emphasize analytical and/or theoretical issues pertinent to a particular musical culture. Reflection should be backed up with concrete analytical examples.

Proposals for individual papers, not exceeding 700 words (excluding examples) together with a short biography should be sent or emailed to:

Margaret Farrell (Program Committee Chair)
Ph.D./D.M.A Programs in Music
The Graduate Center of The City University of New York
365 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10016
mfarrell at gc.cuny.edu

Submission deadline: October 1, 2009.

Notification of acceptance will be sent via email on November 1.

For additional information regarding conference planning and organization at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst please contact:

Kalin Kirilov (kkirilov at music.umass.edu)
Rob Schultz (rschultz at music.umass.edu)
Lawrence Shuster (lshuster at music.umass.edu)

Post-doc Opportunity: Research Assistantship in Music Psychology (King's College London)

RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIP IN MUSIC PSYCHOLOGY
KING'S COLLEGE LONDON
DEADLINE: 20 MAY 2009

Applications are invited for a three-year post-doctoral Research Assistantship in music psychology at King's College London. The project, which belongs within the AHRC Research Centre for Musical Performance as Creative Practice, will document through interviews, and analyse, performers' reported experiences of the way music ‘takes shape' and the ways in which a sense of shape influences detailed decision-making in performance.

Salary range: £25,623 - £33,432

Further details are available from
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/pertra/vacancy/external/pers_detail.php?jobindex=7806

Job Posting: Research and Development Position in Speech Recognition, Processing and Synthesis (IRCAM)

JOB POSTING: RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT POSITION IN SPEECH RECOGNITION, PROCESSING AND SYNTHESIS
IRCAM, PARIS

The position is available immediately in the Speech group of the Analysis/Synthesis team at Ircam. The Analysis/Synthesis team undertakes research and development centered on new and advanced algorithms for analysis, synthesis and transformation of audio signals, and, in particular, speech.

JOB DESCRIPTION:
A full-time position is open for research and development of advanced statistics and signal processing algorithms in the field of speech recognition, transformation and synthesis.
http://www.ircam.fr/anasyn.html (projects Rhapsodie, Respoken, Affective Avatars, Vivos, among others)

The applications in view are, for example,
- Transformation of the identity, type and nature of a voice
- Text-to-Speech and expressive Speech Synthesis
- Synthesis from actor and character recordings.

The principal task is the design and the development of new algorithms for some of the subjects above and in collaboration with the other members of the Speech group. The research environment is Linux, Matlab and various scripting languages like Perl. The development environment is C/C++, for Windows in particular.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCE:
O Excellent experience of research in statistics, speech and signal processing
O Experience in speech recognition, automatic segmentation (e.g. HTK)
O Experience of C++ development
O Good knowledge of UNIX and Windows environments
O High productivity, methodical work, and excellent programming style.

AVAILABILITY:
The position is available in the Analysis/Synthesis team of the Research and Development department of Ircam to start as soon as possible.

DURATION:
The initial contract is for 1 year, and could be prolonged.

EEC WORKING PAPERS:
In order to be able to begin immediately, the candidate SHALL HAVE valid EEC working papers.

SALARY:
According to formation and experience.

TO APPLY:
Please send your CV describing in a very detailed way the level of knowledge, expertise and experience in the fields mentioned above (and any other relevant information, recommendations in particular) preferably by email to:

Xavier.Rodet@ircam.fr (Xavier Rodet, Head of the Analysis/Synthesis team)
Or by fax: (33 1) 44 78 15 40, attention of Xavier Rodet
Or by post to: Xavier Rodet, IRCAM, 1 Place Stravinsky, 75004 Paris, France

TITRE DU POSTE :
CDD EN RECHERCHE ET DEVELOPPPEMENT EN RECONNAISSANCE, TRAITEMENT ET
SYNTHESE DE LA PAROLE

Le poste est disponible immédiatement dans le groupe Parole de l'équipe Analyse/Synthèse de l'Ircam. L'équipe Analyse/Synthèse mène des recherches et développements centrés sur des algorithmes nouveaux et avancés pour l'analyse, la synthèse et la transformation des signaux sonores, et en particulier de la parole.

DESCRIPTION DU POSTE :
Un poste à plein temps est ouverte en recherche et développement d'algorithmes avancés de statistique et de traitement du signal, pour le reconnaissance, le traitement et la synthèse de la parole. http://www.ircam.fr/anasyn.html (projets Rhapsodie, Respoken, Affective Avatars, Vivos, entre autres)

Les applications visées sont, par exemple,
- Transformation d'identité, de type et de nature de voix
- Synthèse de voix expressive, à partir du texte
- Synthèse à partir de corpus d'acteurs et de personnages.
La tâche principale est la conception et le développement de nouveaux algorithmes pour certains des sujets ci-dessus et en collaboration avec les autres membres du groupe Parole.

L'environnement de recherche et Linux, Matlab et divers langages de scripting comme Perl. L'environnement de développement est C/C++ pour Windows notamment.

EXPÉRIENCE ET COMPÉTENCE REQUISES :

O Excellente expérience de recherche en statistique, traitement de la parole et du signal
O Expérience en reconnaissance, segmentation automatique de la parole (e.g. HTK)
O Expérience de développement en C++
o Bonne connaissance des environnements UNIX et Windows
O Haute productivité, travail méthodique, et excellent style de programmation.

DISPONIBILITÉ :
Le poste est disponible dans l'équipe "Analyse/Synthèse" du département Recherche et Développement de l'Ircam pour commencer aussitôt que possible.

DURÉE :
Le contrat initial est de 1 an, et pourra être prolongé.

AUTORISATION DE TRAVAIL DANS LA CEE :
Afin de pouvoir commencer immédiatement le candidat DOIT AVOIR un permis de travail dans la CEE.

SALAIRE : Selon formation et expérience.

CANDIDATURE :
Priere d'envoyer un CV décrivant de façon très détaillée le niveau de connaissance, d'expertise et d'expérience dans les domaines mentionnés ci-dessus (ainsi que tout autre information pertinente,recommandations en particulier) de préférence par e-mail à :

Xavier.Rodet@ircam.fr (Xavier Rodet, responsable de l'Équipe Analyse/Synthèse)
Ou par fax à : (33 1) 44 78 15 40, à l'attention de Xavier Rodet
Ou par voie postale à :
Xavier Rodet, IRCAM, 1 Place Stravinsky, 75004 Paris, France

CFP: Present Perspectives on Tonality Assessment and Prospects (Tour, France)

PRESENT PERSPECTIVES ON TONALITY ASSESSMENT AND PROSPECTS

UNIVERSITÉ FRANÇOIS-RABELAIS, TOUR

26 - 28 NOVEMBER 2009

CALL FOR PAPERS

Université François-Rabelais
U.F.R Arts et Sciences Humaines
Département de Musique et Musicologie
5 rue François-Clouet
37000 Tours
Convenor: Henri Gonnard
Research Team ‘Lieux et enjeux des modernités musicales’

The aim of this conference is to survey the current state of research on the question of tonality. Epistemological issues are immediately raised as this question cannot be envisaged without specifying the distinction between ‘tonality’ as a phenomenon and ‘tonal system’ as a theoretical construction. Generally, the former is considered as having been gradually set up and, thereafter, established during the late Baroque era, expanded and destabilized from the 19th century, to be finally defeated by the appearance of atonality in the 20th century. The latter is represented through the system of major/minor opposites and in the structuring of harmonic progressions, as they are approached from a synchronic/diachronic point of view. Moreover, theory and analysis meet up in the relationship which occurs between the object under analysis and the analyst, between the observer and the object that is observed.

Thus, as its leading theme the conference will focus on the interaction between:

1. the theory and the analysis of tonal music,
2. theory or analysis and the objects to which apply.

Papers may wish to concentrate on either aspect from an epistemological, historical, or methodological point of view.

Proposal for papers (of no more than 20 lines) with a short CV should be sent to henri.gonnard at univ.tours.fr before 15 May 2009. Travel expenses are to be met by the participants or their institution of affiliation. The proceedings of the conference will be published. Information: +33 247 36 7727, or the above email address.

CFP: Music Analysis Today: Crisis, or (R)evolution? (Strasbourg)

MUSIC ANALYSIS TODAY: CRISIS, OR (R)EVOLUTION ?
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, STRASBOURG
19 - 21 NOVEMBER 2009
CALL FOR PAPERS

Université de Strasbourg Research Group ‘Approches contemporaines de la Création et de la Réflexion artistiques’ Société française d’Analyse musicale

With the support of Institut d’Esthétique des arts et technologies (Université de Paris-1/CNRS), IRCAM (Paris), & GATM (Gruppo Analisi et Teoria musicale, Bologna, Italy)

Musical research in general has undergone considerable transformation in the last decades, as concerns both its object and its methods. The respective breaking up of these, together with the calling into question of traditional approaches in the historical as well as in the theoretical domains have led to a situation amounting, for certain thinkers, to a crisis. However, it may be that beyond this ‘Babelization’ of music studies, a broader disciplinary field is emerging, at once more international and transdisciplinary, the diversity of which reflects an ongoing reconstruction and a transformation of epistemological status. Are we witnessing a global and lasting weakening of all norms, or, on the contrary, a change in dominant ideas and paradigms—but also biases?

This conference proposes to examine some of the orientations which have thus significantly modified analytical practice together with its theoretical foundations, taking as a symbolic reference point the 1989 European Congress in Colmar which sought to map the landscape of music analysis. Since that date, it may be considered that the geography of music analysis has been altered at least in a threefold way by: (i) the emergence of new corpuses, (ii) transformations in modelling, and (iii) the shifting of disciplinary boundaries.

Papers, in English or in French, of 30’ duration each, should develop one or more of the above themes through a non-exclusive, critical approach. Reflexion should be backed up with concrete analytical examples.

Topics may be chosen from the following, although other suggestions will be considered:
– new analytical methods (systematic or mathematic approaches, neo-Riemannian theory, transformational theory, computational musicology, computer-assisted analysis, etc.),
– new corpuses for analysis (improvised, traditional—notably non-Western—music, pop-rock, electro-acoustic music, etc.),
– new domains (performance practice, reception, etc.),
– new supports (visual representations, sound recording, digital support systems, etc.)
– the epistemology of analytical research (history of music analysis, the analysis of analysis, relation of analysis to other musicological approaches or to other disciplines, etc.).

Proposals for individual papers, of no more than 700 words, together with a short CV, should be emailed simultaneously to Mondher Ayari and Xavier Hascher.

The deadline for the submission of proposals is 3 April 2009.

Notification of acceptance will be sent by the end of April. It is intended that the proceedings of the conference shall be published.

CFP: Alfred Schnittke: Between Two Worlds (Goldsmiths, London)

ALFRED SCHNITTKE: BETWEEN TWO WORLDS
INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
GOLDSMITHS, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
21 - 22 NOVEMBER 2009
CALL FOR PAPERS

International Symposium presented by the Centre for Russian Music, the Alfred Schnittke Archive ( Goldsmiths, University of London) , in association with London Philharmonic Orchestra and Southbank Centre, London.

Saturday 21 November 2009 – Deptford Town Hall, London
Sunday 22 November 2009 - Purcell Room, Southbank Centre , London

Proposals are invited for papers (20 minutes) on any topic related to Schnittke and his work in its broadest context.

Suggested themed sessions:

--Schnittke, Soviet and Post-Soviet culture/Politics
--Shostakovich and Schnittke
--Schnittke and German culture
--Schnittke and Western post-modernism
--Schnittke , film industry and pop music
--Schnittke and music theory and analysis

Abstracts of up to 250 words for papers in English should be sent to Alexander Ivashkin (a.ivashkin@gold.ac.uk) The deadline for receipt of abstracts is 10 April, 2009. Abstracts may be sent as attachments (in Word documents in or in Rich Text Format) but please back up the attachment with a plain-text version in the main e-mail. They should be accompanied by information about the author under the following headings:

Name
Institution
Address of Institution
Position
100-word CV
Postal Address
Phone, Fax, E-Mail

The final decision on abstracts will be made by 11 May, 2009, and contributors will be informed very soon thereafter.

Selected papers will be published.

Dutch-Flemish Society for Music Theory International Conf (Leuven)

11TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
DUTCH-FLEMISH SOCIETY FOR MUSIC THEORY (LEUVEN)
20 - 22 FEBRUARY 2009

The Dutch-Flemish Society for Music Theory is proud to announce its Eleventh International Conference, which will take place in Leuven, February 20-22, 2009. The conference program, hotel information and a registration form can be found on the Society's website http://www.vvm.ahk.nl/.

CFP: Journal of the Alamire Foundation

JOURNAL OF THE ALAMIRE FOUNDATION

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

The Alamire Foundation is proud to announce the launch of a new journal, the Journal of the Alamire Foundation. The Journal aims to provide a critical forum for the most recent and outstanding research on music in or related to the Low Countries up to the end of the Ancien Régime. It will appear twice a year, as well as in electronic form. The first volume is scheduled for October 2009. The journal will be published by Brepols.

Contributions are invited in any area of musicological research, including analysis, music theory, palaeography and notation, source studies, archival research, music and institutions, and aesthetics. Interdisciplinary research, in fields such as music and iconography, literature, theology, politics, art history, emblematics, or philosophy is also particularly welcomed. The standard article length is around 5000 words, including footnotes and other supplementary materials, although both longer and shorter contributions will be considered.

In fulfilment of the Foundation’s mission to promote dialogue between the worlds of performance and scholarship, a section of each issue will be devoted to scholarly discussion of a recent performance event, production (such as a CD, DVD, concert, or festival), edition, book, or current burning issue. Proposals and contributions (of around 2500 words) to this section are also warmly invited.

The principal language of the Journal is English, but contributions are also possible in any commonly understood scholarly language. Articles may be submitted at any time, via email, at: jaf at alamirefoundation.be. Questions may also be sent to the same address. Further information, including the Journal’s style-sheet, will become available shortly at:http://www.arts.kuleuven.be/alamire/.

General editors:

David Burn – Katelijne Schiltz

Editorial board:

Barbara Haggh – Christian Leitmeir – Pedro Memelsdorff – Klaus Pietschmann – Dorit Tanay – Giovanni Zanovello

Advisory board:

Bonnie J. Blackburn – Jennifer Bloxam – Anna Maria Busse-Berger – Sean Gallagher – David Hiley – Andrew Kirkman – Karl Kügle – John Milsom – Emilio Ros-Fabregas – Rudolf Rasch – Thomas Schmidt-Beste – Eugeen Schreurs – Reinhard Strohm – Philippe Vendrix – Rob Wegman

CFP: 2009 Biennial Euro-Mediterranean Music Conference

2009 BIENNIAL EURO-MEDITERRANEAN MUSIC CONFERENCE
18-20 SEPTEMBER 2009
UNIVERSITY OF NICOSIA, CYPRUS
CALL FOR PAPERS

The Cyprus Music Institute is pleased to announce this Call for Papers for its inaugural 2009 Biennial Euro-Mediterranean music conference. While many Mediterranean countries have active and well-established traditions of music scholarship, as yet there has been no attempt to bring scholars from across the Mediterranean region together under the auspices of a single conference. By providing a venue for intellectual exchange between academicians across the region, as well as scholars from any area whose research relates to Mediterranean musical traditions, the conference is intended to establish a forum that will engender a sense of shared academic community, facilitate the creation of personal and institutional networks, and generally promote intercultural exchange and peaceful dialogue.

Since the purpose of the conference is to bring together the whole range of music scholars from Mediterranean countries, as well as any scholars with an interest in the region’s musical traditions, it will not limit topics to any particular theme. However, all proposals should fall under at least one of the following thematic categories:
Musicology, broadly understood to encompass historical musicology, ethnomusicology, music theory and analysis, sociology of music, and musical aesthetics.

Music Education, broadly understood to encompass research in applied classroom teaching, instrumental and vocal pedagogy, and the philosophy and sociology of music education.

Mediterranean Music, understood to encompass any category of research relating to any Mediterranean music culture, past or present. Proposals addressing intercultural and region themes will be regarded especially favorably.

PROPOSALS:
Proposals of no more than 400 words should be sent as Microsoft Word attachments to Kenneth Smith, chair of the organizing committee: smith.k at unic.ac.cy

Presentations may take any of the following formats:

--20-minute papers
--Sessions of 3 thematically related 20-minute papers
--90-minute workshops

All proposals should include the name, affiliation, and contact information of the presenter(s). All personal information will be suppressed in the version distributed to the scientific committee.

Deadline: 10 April 2009. Applicants will receive a response no later than 30 May.

CFP voiceXchange (Journal) (University of Chicago)

voiceXchange
CALL FOR PAPERS

voiceXchange invites original submissions that address this or a related theme for its upcoming special issue, entitled “OFFICIAL MUSICS.”

Musical practices and experiences are often deeply enmeshed in social institutions and conventions, shaped by formal, ideological, pedagogical, political, religious, and other regulatory entities. Such contexts­whether explicit or implicit­can both offer musical participants special privileges and constrain musical agency. Within these "official" discourses, institutions, and practices, hierarchies can dictate unequally beneficial relationships, both ascribed upon and inscribed within musical activity.

What might it mean for musical experiences, genres, histories, practices, theories, and works to operate within degrees of officiality?

We welcome work from varied academic perspectives, including but not limited to ethnomusicology, historical musicology, music theory, music cognition, popular music studies, music education, and the philosophy of music. Submissions from graduate students and junior scholars are particularly encouraged, as is work with multimedia elements that are unsuited to traditional print publication.

voiceXchange is a peer-reviewed online journal, published semiannually by graduate students in the University of Chicago’s Department of Music. The journal is committed to original scholarship on music, providing a forum for intellectual interchange across fields, generations, and nations.

Electronic submissions must be preceded by a cover page with title and contact information, and must include an abstract of 200 words or fewer. Submissions should follow guidelines set forth in the Chicago Manual of Style (15th edition), and should have a maximum word count of 10,000 words (including bibliographic information). Please send all submissions and inquiries to the editorial board, at voicexchange at uchicago.edu.

Submissions will be accepted through January 15, 2009.

For further information, visit our website at: http://music.uchicago.edu/gms/voicexchange/

Happy New Year to IMS!

Belated greetings to all after spending some weeks on the continent. As with death and taxes, there is no escaping the real or virtual world and a return to the blogosphere was inevitable. New Year's resolutions include building on some of the site's improvements.

Many of you will have noticed the new Meebo chat functionality and that entries are now individually posted rather than an über-post based on usability analysis. I think that this improves information retrieval as well as tag searchability.

I've received some positive feedback but as someone has put it, my tag 'cloud looks a little dirty.' I had no idea that it would become like the BBC Weather crystal ball due to the volume of tagging! I'm exploring several options to allow for easier searchability across the postings and tags with new site indexing. You can look forward to that upgrade in 2009.

When I started INTERESTING MUSIC STUFF over 4 months ago I had no idea if it would be of any use to anyone.  Having done a bit more usability analysis, it is clear that it is.  So, I would like to say thanks to the thousands of you around the world (in over 50 countries) who have already visited and the hundreds of returning visitors. I hope that you found and continue to find the blog useful and I will endeavour to keep it up-to-date with upgrades along the way.  

Over the holidays I re-read Walter Ong's Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word and was struck by the prescience of his observations.  In discussing the revolutionary influence of electronic typography, Ong wrote (in 1971) that 'secondary orality generates a sense for groups immeasurably larger than those of primary oral culture --McLuhan's 'global village.' From the internet to the blog, I don't think that either Ong or McLuhan could have envisioned the impact of technology and its ability to transform the dissemination of the written word. And in that spirit, here goes 2009.