SIMM

17/09/2026

The deadline for applications to attend the SIMM research seminar on participatory opera and music theatre in Vienna from 24 to 26th February has as expected been postponed until 15th October. If you know people developing research in this specific field, please share this information and webpage:

SIMM-seminar #14: Vienna 2027 (research on participatory opera & music theatre projects) SIMM research seminar #14 on participatory opera and music theatre projects Vienna, 24-26 February 2027 @ the mdw-University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. The 14th SIMM research seminar will be organized....

28/08/2026

*Standing with Ghent University in the Cofnas case: *

As representatives of the scholarly network SIMM and members of the academic Chair Jonet (www.cesamm.eu), we wish to express our support for Ghent University, its Rector, and its academic community, in relation to the disciplinary proceedings concerning Dr. Nathan Cofnas.

For us, the central issue is clear: racist ideas and statements are not acceptable within academia. They are incompatible with the ethical standards and the fundamental respect for human dignity that universities have a responsibility to uphold. This is not primarily a question about academic freedom, it is about the responsibility of universities to respond when members of their academic community publicly disseminate racist ideas.

At a moment when the Ghent University is facing considerable external pressure, we wish to express our solidarity with them in upholding these principles.

For and on behalf of SIMM and Chair Jonet:

Prof. Dr. Lukas Pairon, Prof. Dr. John Sloboda, Prof. Dr. An De bisschop, Prof. Dr. Luc Nijs and Dr. Filip Verneert

21/08/2026

The call for applications is online for the 14th SIMM research seminar, which will take place at mdw-University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna from 24 to 26 February 2027 and will again focus on the developing practice of participatory opera and music theatre.
Please circulate this call among colleagues and researchers in your networks who might be interested in this field.
The deadline for applications is 15th September:

SIMM-seminar #14: Vienna 2027 (research on participatory opera & music theatre projects) SIMM research seminar #14 on participatory opera and music theatre projects Vienna, 24-26 February 2027 @ the mdw-University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. The 14th SIMM research seminar will be organized....

21/07/2026

A few last-minute places have become available for the upcoming SIMM Research Seminar in Luxembourg (7 to 9th September 2026):

Following two cancellations, we can welcome a small number of additional participants to this three-day seminar at the University of Luxembourg, exploring the roles different art disciplines can play in social and community projects.

More information:
https://www.simm-platform.eu/seminars/seminar-13/

Interested candidates are invited to contact Lukas Pairon at [email protected].

SIMM-seminar #12: Luxemburg 2026 (research on social art(s) practice) Social Art(s) Practice Research Seminar A Three-Day Research Exchange Dates: September 7-8-9, 2026 Location: Dpt. of Education and Social Work, University of Luxemburg, Luxemburg Overview This intensive three-day seminar brings to...

21/06/2026

Our friends of the International Journal of Music Mediation (IJMM) have decided for the 1/27 issue - instead of defining a specific thematic focus - to open to the full diversity of current research and practice in the field of music mediation.
See call for this open issue here (deadline for contributions: December 31, 2026):

For the 1/27 issue of the International Journal of Music Mediation, we have decided to refrain from defining a specific thematic focus and instead open the issue to the full diversity of current research and practice in the field of music mediation.

21/05/2026

A gentle reminder that the deadline for submitting article proposals for the special issue of the open access International Journal of Music Mediation (IJMM) on participatory opera and music theatre is 31 May 2026.

We invite scholarly articles that delve into the aesthetic, social, pedagogical, political, and institutional dimensions of this evolving field.

A fine international team of peer reviewers is already waiting to engage with the proposed articles.

More information:

SIMM-special issue of International Journal of Music Mediation (IJMM) Call for Papers International Journal of Music Mediation (IJMM) Special Issue 5 on Participatory Opera and Music Theatre Deadline for contributions: May 31, 2026 in collaboration with SIMM Guest Editor: Lukas Pairon, founder SIMM....

19/03/2026

Please help me disseminate the information about the upcoming calls for 2 SIMM research seminars and papers for 1 publication in 2026 (all details can be found on www.simm-platform.eu):

1. In 2026, we still plan the following 2 research seminars:

1. 1. For the 12th SIMM research seminar (7-9 September 2026) we will be invited in Luxemburg by the Institute of Musicology and Arts of the Department of Education and Social Work of the University of Luxemburg, to propose the 2nd edition of a 3-day research seminar which will again bring together socially engaged practice-researchers from diverse arts disciplines. Deadline for applications is April 15, 2026.

2. For the 13th SIMM research seminar, (11-13 November 2026) we will be invited in Ghent by the Chair Jonet (University of Ghent). This SIMM research seminar will again – following the 1st such seminar in 2021 in Porto at CIPEM/INET-md (Centro de Investigação em Psicologia da Música e Educação Musical) – focus on research on music programmes in detention centres and prisons. Deadline for applications is April 15, 2026.

2. In 2026 we will also co-edit 2 special issues of academic journals:

2.1. The Italian Journal Musica e Storia prepares together with SIMM a special issue on historical research on music as resistance and as oppression. I am guest editor together with Janie Cole (University of Connecticut). Deadline for contributions was December 31, 2025.

2. The International Journal of Music Mediation (IJMM) prepares together with SIMM a special issue (nr 5) on participatory opera and music theatre. Deadline for contributions is May 31, 2026.

Thank you in advance for sharing this information within your network!

Warm Spring greetings from Belgium,

Lukas Pairon, founder

21/12/2025

In 2026 the 12th SIMM research seminar will be organised from 4 to 6th May in Brussels at the contemporary music Ensemble Ictus and will welcome up to maximum 20 scholars interested in exchanging research findings on the role of music composition in social and community music projects and programmes. Deadline for applications is coming up soon: 5th February! See call for applications here:

Ensemble Ictus, Brussels, 4-6 May 2026 - SIMM research seminar #12 on the role of composers in social and community music projects: In 2026 the 12th SIMM-seminar will be organised in Brussels at the contemporary music Ensemble Ictus and will welcome up to maximum 20 scholars interested

21/12/2025

Please share this information: A CFP is until the deadline of next week 31st December open for an issue of the new series of Musica e Storia (2, 2026). It will be a special edition dedicated to historical research on music-making as resistance and oppression, which will focus on the interplay between music-making as both resistance and oppression in global contexts, preferably in the 20th– and 21st centuries. find the CFP here:

Call for Papers Musica e Storia Special Issue (n.s. 2, 2026) on “Music-Making Between Resistance and Oppression” in collaboration with SIMM and Music Beyond Borders Guest Editors are: Janie Cole (University of Connecticut and founder Music Beyond Borders),