27^e année, 9 novembre 2026

Early Music Now: Performance, production, promotion, partnership.

15th June 2027, Guildford

University of Surrey, Guildford, UK

As the second quarter of the 21st century begins, the ways in which early music, in all its manifestations, is responding to contemporary cultures and technologies comprises the focus of this one-day conference. Ensembles such as B-Rock, the Finnish Baroque Orchestra and Holland Baroque commission new music and work with performers from different traditions. There is a recognition amongst early music festivals that audiences need to be broadened and expanded; this is being driven by engagement with social media, multimedia presentation and the use of non-heritage venues. The abundance and ease of access afforded by the online consumption of music is serving to blur the boundaries between traditions and genres; this process raises the importance of curation, whereby necessary context, framing and critique can perform a mediating role for audiences.

Proposals are invited from across the early music community - not only performers and composers but festival directors/administrators, artistic directors of ensembles, venue programmers, curators, archivists/librarians, instrument makers and technicians. This conference aims to: take stock (descriptively, narratively, critically) of current practice (artistic, organisational, research), share responses to the current ‘state of play’ in early music vis a vis contemporary cultures and technologies and to look to the future.

Each of the areas of focus given below may be addressed theoretically, through case studies, commentaries on practice or through industry reports:

Historical instruments meet new technologies: what happens when the raw, acoustic texture of period instruments - such as gut strings, baroque woodwinds - mixes with live electronics, granular synthesis or close miking?

Exploring shared DNA between early and contemporary music: there are strains of both musics that bypass the standardised orchestral aesthetic inherited from the 19th century in order to locate, for example, transparency, microtonality or raw textures. There are traditions within both practices where the concept of the performer-creator re-emerges through improvisation, experiment and indeterminacy.

Reenacting versus reimagining: ‘historically informed practice’ is already a project that has tended to open up performance possibilities and introduce a more playful approach but this can be pushed further when contemporary creation is introduced. Historical archives can be looked at as potential creative playgrounds wherein the ‘ghosts’ of the past can be used to trigger completely new musical fictions.

The politics of urban spaces: historically early music is often caged in churches or palaces, while contemporary music is confined to more academic/institutional back boxes. What happens when such spaces are jettisoned in favour of unexpected urban spaces - industrial sites, underground venues or modern architectural projects? How does the concert environment change the audience and its connection with the music?

Rethinking commissions and funding: co-creation models, collaborative residences (composers and performers building a shared notation and vocabulary), unlocking double funding via heritage preservation and contemporary creation grants, forming international consortia to share production costs.

Three types of session may be proposed:

Single- or joint-authored paper with no more than two authors (20 minutes duration plus 10 minutes questions)

Panel of three to five members (30 minutes plus 15 minutes questions)

Poster presentation (A1 paper single-sided)

Key Information and Dates

Although the organisers warmly encourage presenters to attend the conference physically, we will be presenting it in a hybrid format.

To submit a proposal please send an abstract of no more than 300 words as well as a short biography (100-150 words) to Tom Armstrong to arrive by midnight on Monday 11 January 2027. Notification of acceptance will be sent by Monday 15 February 2027.

A modest registration fee of £15 (£10 for undergraduate/postgraduate students, unwaged and virtual attenders) will be payable once registration for the conference opens.

Conference website

Conference organisers: Dr. Tom Armstrong (University of Surrey), Dr. Matteo Gemolo (Artistic Director, Coudenberg Sound Box Fest, Institute of Advanced Studies Fellow/Artist in Residence, University of Surrey)

Musicologie.org, 56 rue de la Fédération, 93100 Montreuil. 06 06 61 73 41.

ISSN 2269-9910.

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Lundi 9 Novembre, 2026