The Historical Ear: What Is Auditory History?
1st International Conference of the IMS Study Group “Auditory History”
The inaugural conference of the IMS Study Group “Auditory History” seeks to contribute to this momentum by asking how can we access and interpret auditory experiences in varied historical contexts? Additionally, do we treat them as direct remnants of sonic experiences or as traces of “auditory imagination” (Eliot 1933, Schmicking 2019). Building on foundational work (Schäfer 1977, Truax 1984; 2001) and more recent contributions (Rice 2015, Mansell 2021), the conference is particularly interested in the hearing-listening dichotomy and the diversity of listening practices—including those shaped by marginalised voices, non-elite actors, and sources that are difficult to grasp.
Music Migrations and the Opera in the Mediterranean
The IMS Study Groups “Music Migrations and Networking” and “Mediterranean Music Studies” will hold a joint conference on the topic “Music Migrations and the Opera in the Mediterranean.” It will take place in Hvar (HR) from 23 to 24 April 2026. The deadline to submit proposals is 28 February 2026.
If you would like to share a topic dealing with the theme, please contact the organizers (Maja Milošević, Dinko Fabris, or Vjera Katalinić).
Musical Heritage and Artificial Intelligence in the Middle East and the Mediterranean
The 5th Forum of the International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance (ICTMD) featuring the theme “Musical Heritage and Artificial Intelligence in the Middle East and the Mediterranean,” is planned together with the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres (IAML) and the IMS. We invite scholars, librarians, musicians, technologists, and cultural practitioners to explore the intersections of musical heritage, libraries and archives, and AI within the historical and contemporary contexts of the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
Directions and Aesthetics of the Digital Era
In 2026 the IMS Study Group “Music and Media” will organize its seventeenth annual conference. The gathering will take place at the University College Dublin and focus on “Directions and Aesthetics of the Digital Era.”
ARLAC VII
The IMS Regional Association for Latin America and the Caribbean (ARLAC) will hold its seventh conference in Rio de Janeiro (BR) from 10 to 14 August 2026. Further details will be announced soon.
IMS members are entitled to a reduced registration fee rate.
Cantus Planus 2026 Évora
The next meeting of the IMS Study Group “Cantus Planus” will be held in person from 3 to 7 September 2026 at the College of the Holy Spirit (Colégio do Espírito Santo), University of Évora (PT).
Music and the Moving Image: The Moving Image in Music
Association RIdIM will hold its 25th International Conference, “Music and the Moving Image: The Moving Image in Music,” in Berlin (DE) from 3 to 5 September 2026. The conference explores the aesthetic, cultural, historical, and technological dimensions of the moving image in music, addressing the many ways in which visual media and musical practices intersect. It invites contributions that examine how images function within musical contexts and how music, in turn, shapes the perception, interpretation, and circulation of visual material. A crucial requirement for all submissions is a clear and strong engagement with visual source material that is directly connected to musical subject matter, whether historical or contemporary.
Studying Music Across Time, Space, and Cultures
The Fourth International Conference on Computational and Cognitive Musicology (ICCCM 2026) will take place at the Centre for Philology and Digitality at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (DE) from 21 to 23 September 2026. Following editions in Athens (2023), Utrecht (2024), and Aalborg (2025), ICCCM 2026 invites researchers to explore the intersection of musicology, computational methods and cognitive science in advancing our understanding of music in all its facets.
92th Annual Meeting of the American Musicological Society
The 92nd Annual Meeting of the American Musicological Society (AMS) will be held on 14–15 November 2026 and 19–20 November 2026. The meeting will be held online as well as streamed from various locations around the world, and will include sessions and performances organized by the IMS Regional Association for Latin America and the Caribbean (ARLAC) and the IMS Regional Association for East Asia (IMSEA). The call for proposals can be found here.
IMS members are entitled to a reduced registration fee rate.
Comparative Perspectives on Genetic Criticism in Music
The IMS Study Group “Comparative Perspectives on Genetic Criticism in Music,” founded in 2025, invites proposals for its first international conference at the DHI Rome. The conference seeks to take stock of current research questions, methodological approaches, and terminological frameworks in genetic criticism and sketch studies in music, while explicitly exploring their comparative potential across composers, repertoires, and research traditions.
Musikgeschichte in Bildern 2.0
In 2026, the IMS Study Group “Musical Iconography” will celebrate its twentieth anniversary with the international conference “Musikgeschichte in Bildern 2.0,” hosted by the Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna (AT), 2 to 4 December.
IMS2027: “Musical Ecosystems”
The IMS will hold its 22nd Quinnquennial Congress in 2027: Five days of fresh research, inspiring keynotes, magic concerts, and a world of musicology at our centennial jubilee! The congress theme is “Musical Ecosystems,” and you can read the full call for papers on the website along with information on categories of presentation, languages, deadlines, and the venue. The submission portal will be active from 19 January to 15 June 2026.