21st-century music practice
summary
Most academic research events or publications that use the term 'music' in their title (without an epithet such as 'popular') refer to western art music, but that is a tiny subset of the music that is played and listened to in the 21st century.
The musical lives of contemporary musicians are far more interdisciplinary than the academics who study them.
The research network
This research network was established as a contribution to several recent trends towards more interdisciplinarity in the academic study of music.
By organising a series of study days about quite broadly defined themes, the aim is to bring together academics and practitioners from a range of musical cultures - popular music, musical theatre, performance studies, music for visual media, recording, electronic and electroacoustic music, live sound, ethnomusicology and composition.
The focus on practice is also important as it highlights the idea that music is a process or an activity rather than a thing.
That doesn’t dismiss the music itself, but it does suggest a study of how listeners, composers and performers interpret the sound as opposed to the study of certain intrinsic features in a score. It is not an ideological attempt to oust this more traditional approach to studying music; it is an attempt to continue a trend to see both flourish.
The network is framed as relating to London and SE England because it is about face-to-face activities. Academics from elsewhere in the UK and abroad who happen to find themselves in the proximity of these events would be more than welcome to participate.
The London and SE 21st Century Music Practice Research Network was established by Professor Simon Zagorski-Thomas of the University of West London in 2016.
The aim is to encourage and disseminate research and scholarly collaboration that includes all areas of contemporary musical activity. In particular, the network will seek to stimulate discourse between disciplines: bringing together scholars from popular music, musical theatre, performance studies, music for visual media, recording, electronic and electroacoustic music, live sound, ethnomusicology and composition to discuss broad themes that are relevant across subject boundaries.
Research events
The London College of Music will be hosting and participating in a series of research seminars that underpin the university's continued ambition to be at the forefront of research in the 21st century. We will have guest lecturers, academics and events that will bring a fresh and insightful approach to research and education.
Contact us
For further details about the event or to be added to the JISC mailing list, please email simon.zagorski-thomas@uwl.ac.uk.
The Higher Education Institutions currently involved in the network are:
- British & Irish Modern Music (BIMM) Institute
- Brunel University
- Canterbury Christ Church University
- City, University of London
- Goldsmiths Collge, University of London
- Institute of Contemporary Music Practice (ICMP)
- Kingston University
- London South Bank University (LSBU)
- Oxford Brookes University
- Oxford University
- Portsmouth University
- School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London
- Southampton Solent University
- Surrey University
- Sussex University
- University of East London (UEL)
- University of Roehampton
- London College of Music, University of West London
- Westminster University
- Winchester University.
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