In 2007, a study group devoted to applied ethnomusicology was established within the International Council for Traditional Music. The intention to establish such a study group had been present among some ICTM members for several years. The symposium Ethnomusicology and Ethnochoreology in Education: Issues in Applied Scholarship that took place in September 2006 in Ljubljana, Slovenia (see report by Mojca Kovačič and Urša Šivic in the ICTM’s October 2006 Bulletin) served as a major boost in this direction. ICTM’s 39th world conference in Vienna (July 4-11, 2007) featured both a global double panel The Politics of Applied Ethnomusicology: New Perspectives with six participants, each from a different continent - Samuel Araujo (Brazil), Maureen Loughran (USA), Jennifer Newsome (Australia), Patricia Opondo (South Africa), Svanibor Pettan (Slovenia), and Tan Sooi Beng (Malaysia) - and a “preliminary meeting” aimed at the establishment of the study group. At this meeting on 10 July 2007, which was attended by 44 members, agreement about working definitions of applied ethnomusicology and the mission statement of the proposed study group were reached: 

APPLIED ETHNOMUSICOLOGY is the approach guided by principles of social responsibility, which extends the usual academic goal of broadening and deepening knowledge and understanding toward solving concrete problems and toward working both inside and beyond typical academic contexts.

The ICTMD STUDY GROUP ON APPLIED ETHNOMUSICOLOGY advocates the use of ethnomusicological knowledge in influencing social interaction and course of cultural change. It serves as a forum for continuous cooperation through scholarly meetings, projects, publications and correspondence.

According to the ICTMD’s rules, elections for three officers took place. Svanibor Pettan (Slovenia) agreed to serve as a Chairperson, Klisala Harrison (Finland/Canada) accepted the position of a Vice Chairperson, and Eric Martin Usner (USA) that of a Secretary/Treasurer. The proposed study group on applied ethnomusicology was approved at the Executive Board’s meeting in Vienna on 12 July 2007. 

The study group’s first meeting, titled Historical and Emerging Approaches to Applied Ethnomusicology, took place July 9-13, 2008 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. This study group meeting included an innovative format of talking circles, reports on which also are found on this webpage. Talking circles, in contexts of the study group, have been conceptualized as discursive meetings of minds around points of intellectual difference and current relevance in applied ethnomusicology studies. These helped to motivate the fast development of the field of applied ethnomusicology at the international level.  

The second meeting of the ICTM Study Group on Applied Ethnomusicology happened in Hanoi, Vietnam from 19-30 July 2010, in conjunction with a meeting of the ICTM study group Music and Minorities. This was the first time in the history of the ICTM that two study groups met at the same time. The overarching themes were ethnomusicological practices of community engagement, dialogue, advocacy and sustainability.  

Also in 2010, ICTM Study Group on Applied Ethnomusicology members published the first book specifically on the discipline of applied ethnomusicology. Applied Ethnomusicology: Historical and Contemporary Approaches is an anthology that was edited by Klisala Harrison, Elizabeth Mackinlay and Svanibor Pettan and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. The book features peer-reviewed articles on four themes: historical and contemporary understandings of applied ethnomusicology in international perspective, teaching pedagogies and research practices of applied ethnomusicology, building sustainable music cultures, and music’s roles in conflict situations. Authors of the articles, in addition to the editors, are: Ana Hofman, Bernhard Bleibinger, Muriel Swijghuisen Reigersberg, Eric Martin Usner, Katarina Juvančič, Vojko Veršnik, Huib Schippers, Jelena Jovanović, Ursula Hemetek and Margaret Kartomi. More details can be found at http://www.cambridgescholars.com/flyers/Applied-Ethnomusicology--Historical-and-Contemporary-Approaches1-4438-2425-9.htm. The book's Introduction, by Klisala Harrison and Svanibor Pettan, gives some theoretical perspective on applied ethnomusicology and locates at http://www.cambridgescholars.com/flyers/978-1-4438-2425-5-sample.pdf.  

In 2011, the study group elected a new executive. Klisala Harrison agreed to serve as Chairperson while Samuel Araújo (Brazil) accepted the position of Vice Chairperson and Britta Sweers (Switzerland) became Secretary/Treasurer.  

2012 brought the study group's exciting third symposium in Larnaca, Cyprus. Membership continued to explore the study group's focus on music and conflict, in the context of this meeting. The symposium program additionally addressed the themes of disability and music, and social activism. Talking circles discussed applied ethnomusicology in relation to institutions. These were highly successful discussions that informed the development of another edited volume (see below).

In 2014, the study group held its fourth symposium on the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The meeting's themes were applied ethnomusicology and institutions, music and media, and new work in applied ethnomusicology.

In 2015, Klisala Harrison was re-elected as Chair, whereas Adriana Helbig (USA) agreed to serve as Vice Chair and Pamela Onishi (Singapore), as Secretary.

The fifth symposium took place in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada in autumn 2016. Due to local arrangements demands and a high number of participants, there were consecutive sessions. The symposium themes were music, labour and exchange; research methdologies for the 21st century; and intangible cultural heritage.

2016 saw the publication of a journal issue titled Applied Ethnomusicology in Institutional Policy and Practice. The volume features quality, peer-reviewed articles developed from papers presented at the 2010, 2012 and 2014 symposia of the ICTM Study Group on Applied Ethnomusicology via an open call distributed to all participants. It is freely accessable at http://www.helsinki.fi/collegium/journal/volumes/volume_21/index_21.htm. A Chinese-language book version of this collection will be published by Central Conservatory of Music Press, Beijing before July 2017. The volume explores the relationship between applied ethnomusicology and various aspects of institutional policy and practice via case studies from Germany, China, the UK, the USA, Zimbabwe, South Africa, the Seychelles and Australia. Questions addressed include: What are the types of institutional policies engaged by applied ethnomusicological work today? What is the relevance of music’s roles in addressing concrete problems, in the academy and ever-more frequently beyond, to different sorts of institutional policies? What are the benefits and problematics of applied ethnomusicological approaches, projects, theories and results in light of certain policies? The article authors are Sally Treloyn, Emily Joy Rothschild, Marie-Christine Parent, Muriel E. Swijghuisen Reigersberg, Zhang Boyu, Jennifer K. Newsmen, Bernhard Bleibinger, Dave Dargie, Jocelyn Moon and Klisala Harrison; the editor is Klisala Harrison.

The study group holds general assemblies (business meetings) as well, usually on an annual basis. These, together with the symposia, are detailed in annual reports published on this webpage and in the ICTMD Bulletin.

Symposium 2024- ICTMD Joint Study Group Meeting

Applied Ethnomusicology (AE) and the Sacred and Spiritual Sounds and Practices 

Istanbul, Turkey, 23-27 October, 2024

Dear members of the ICTMD Study Group on Applied Ethnomusicology, 

Thank you all for your submissions.

The program committee is proud to announce the schedule for the joint meeting of the ICTMD Study Groups on Applied Ethnomusicology and on Sacred and Spiritual Sounds and Practices in Istanbul, Turkey, 23-27 October 2024.

We have a very full and exciting program, with over 50 presentations from five continents, including Anthony Seeger's keynote: Music of the Spirits, Communities, and Ethnomusicologists: Balancing Disasters, Seeking Opportunities, Forging Collaborations, and Applying Knowledge with Tact and Humility.

Please see the attached program! (scroll down the page)

Dear delegates of the the joint Symposium of the ICTMD Study Groups on Applied Ethnomusicology and the Spiritual Sounds and Practices Study Group, Oct. 23-27, 2024.

Registration for the Symposium is now opened.

The deadline for the Symposium Registration is the 20^th of September

Please see the attached file for details. (3^th file)

Cash payment of the fee at the Registration Desk is also possible if you alert us beforehand.

ADVICE TEXT

Please see the `advice text` document attached at the end of the page where you can find important informations about accomodation options, restaurants, currency etc for The ICTMD ISTANBUL 2024 AE & SSSP SYMPOSIUM

If you have any questions, please contact us at ictmsgist2024@gmail.com and follow the updates on Study Group`s Facebook Page.

We are looking forward to seeing you all in Istanbul!

Symposium 2022-ICTM Joint Study Group Meeting

Applied Ethnomusicology (AE) and Music and Dance in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAT CAR)

AE - From Sep. 19 to Sep. 24 in Brasil (Pedro II School - Rio de Janeiro)

LAT CAR - From Sep. 26 to Oct.  1st in Chile (Alberto Hurtado University -Santiago)

Full Program Applied Ethnomusicology Rio September 2022!

We are proud to present the full program of the Joint ICTM Symposium 2022 - Applied Ethnomusicology & Music and Dance in Latin America and the Caribbean in Rio de Janeiro - a meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from September 19th to 24th, 2022 (with emphasis on AE), and from September 25th to to Oct 1st in Santiago de Chile (with emphasis on LatCar). 

These twelve days will enable delegates to discuss contemporary perspectives and practices in ethnomusicology from Latin America and the Caribbean, with an emphasis on Black and Indigenous cultures and new knowledges. 

Both conferences will be offered in a hybrid in format. To enable equitable access to both events, no registration fees will be charged, but delegates from institutions and stronger economies are invited to make a voluntary contribution. All the sessions will have simultaneous translations between English, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Full information about the program, activities and accommodation are here: https://www.even3.com.br/simposioictm2022/

Please join us live or online for this exciting gathering.

Please do not forget to register on the event platform below and select the dates and times of the sessions you want to attend.

https://www.even3.com.br/simposioictm2022/?fbclid=IwAR3NAfJQRYDAg1c8fpcp...

If you have any questions, please  contact us at simposioictm22@gmail.com

Chairperson
Huib Schippers (Netherlands)
Email: huibsfr@gmail.com

Vice Chairperson
 Zhang Boyu (China)                                                                                                                                                                                         Email: zboyu@ccom.edu.cn

Secretary/Treasurer
 Wei-Ya Lin (Austria)
 Email: weiyalin@gmail.com

Executive Member 

Olcay Muslu (Turkey)                                                                                                                                                                                      Email: olcaymuslu76@gmail.com