PLEASE NOTE: The Call for Papers has now closed

The Call for Papers for the 'Power of Music' - the 34th National Conference of the Musicological Society of Australia and the 2nd International Conference on Music and Emotion has now closed. The conference will be held in Perth, Western Australia between 30 November and 3 December 2011.

Conference theme

The theme for this joint conference of the Musicological Society of Australia (MSA) and the International Conference on Music and Emotion (ICME) is the Power of Music - a broad theme which encompasses the many ways in which music is and has been powerful in human societies.

How musicologists respond to the notion that music has power will be explored in the broadest terms through performance-based, analytical, historical, cultural, social, behavioural and scientific perspectives.

The emotional power of music will be examined by analysing the ways in which emotion is encoded and mediated through musical sounds and structures, and through exploration of how musical emotion is conceptualised, modelled and measured.

Papers and presentations are invited from scholars and students representing a diverse range of disciplines, including:

• music performance studies
• composition
• ethnomusicology
• psychology
• anthropology
• evolutionary biology
• neuroscience
• historical musicology
• music theory and analysis
• aesthetics
• philosophy

This broad theme – the Power of Music - does not exclude papers of a more general nature that may be offered for consideration.

Submission process

Proposals should be submitted via the proposal submissions form. Before you begin the online submission process please review the information on this page.

All proposals are to include:

• Author(s) names as they will appear in the program
• Institute/affiliation and full postal address of each author
• Contact phone numbers, including country codes
• Email addresses of all authors
• Title of submission (20 word limit)
• Abstract in English of 250 words, as a single paragraph with no citations
• Five keywords
• Special requirements (eg. untuned percussion instruments for workshop; access to a harpsichord for a performance practice session.)

Where additional information is required this is noted under the individual ‘proposal types’, explained below.

Proposal types

The conference program will comprise numerous parallel sessions and selected keynote and plenary sessions. There are seven format options available to presenters:

1. Single paper

A twenty minute presentation, followed by five minutes of questions.

2. Themed panel

A series of themed papers, followed by questions, to be completed within a 1.5 hour timeslot.  A title for the panel and the name of the Chair should be provided, as well as an abstract for each individual paper.

3. Roundtable

A session for roundtable members to discuss a subject with each other and with the audience. Sessions should be 1.5 hours in length. A title and abstract for the roundtable should be provided as well as the details of all roundtable members.

4. Mini-presentation

A seven minute presentation, followed by five minutes of questions. This presentation format may be of particular interest to students and new researchers. These presentations will be scheduled in groups and will be chaired by skilled facilitators and experienced supervisors.

5. Poster session

Poster stations will be set up for the display of posters. Presenters will be allocated a 1.5 hour timeslot during which they must be in attendance at their poster. Posters are to be 840mm x 1189mm (A0) in size.

6. Performance / workshop

Sessions should be no more than 45 minutes in duration. The names of all participants and any special requirements should be provided.

7. Film / video

Sessions may include a spoken introduction and should allow time for questions after the film showing. The format of the presentation and its length must be provided within the abstract.

The Program Committee reserves the right:

• To offer applicants an alternate proposal type, such as a poster instead of a mini-presentation.
• To edit abstracts for the Conference Program booklet.

Awards

A number of awards are available to assist scholars and students in attending the conference.

MSA student travel grants are available to Australian and New Zealand students whose proposal is accepted.

MSA Indigenous bursaries are available to Australian and New Zealand Indigenous presenters. These include travel, accommodation and meals.

The MSA Prize for a Student Delegate at a National Conference of the MSA is available to Australian students whose proposal is accepted.

SEMPRE Conference Awards are available to full-time or part-time students who are non-wage earners.

British Academy Overseas Conference Awards are available to UK residents. Key dates for proposal submissions and acceptance vary for award applicants.

For other applicants with funding deadlines requiring proof of acceptance prior to the 1 June 2011 please contact the Program Committee to discuss individual deadlines. The Committee cannot guarantee the availability of early deadlines in all cases.

Key dates

2 March 2011

• Deadline for proposals for British Academy Award applicants ONLY

 2 May 2011

• Deadline for all other proposals
• Early notification of acceptance for British Academy award applicants ONLY

1 June 2011

• Notification of acceptance for all other proposals
• Early bird registration opens

2 September 2011

• Early bird registration closes

14 October 2011

• Registration closes