Call for Proposals ORCiM Seminar 2014 'From Output to Impact'

More info on the Seminar

The integration of artistic research results into musical training.

One of the socially most relevant aspects of research is the passing on of newly acquired knowledge. At universities, where research and teaching positions are combined, such transfers are self-evident, even though they are not necessarily immediate. Musical training of Western canonical score-based repertoire as well as improvisation and non-Western music is traditionally built upon the master-disciple relation, with conservatoire students often being taught their trade by one teacher as the main influence, and with teachers profiles that favour concert careers over proof of how far they are up to date with (and apply) the most recent findings in their field of expertise. Conversely, instrument and composition teachers are not the most common contributors to the academic journals that are subscribed to by the libraries of their institutions.

With the recent developments in Artistic Research (AR), a type of knowledge is being explored that pertains very much to the music practitioner. While it focusses directly on the musician's practice, it applies the latter as part of the investigative method, and aims at impacting that practice, this type of knowledge has not previously been generated explicitly. Now, AR is supported and carried out with an ever-growing intensity and speed, and across educational and institutional levels: the European Association of Conservatoires considers AR as a gateway to the profession, implying that the impact of AR is to extend beyond the mere integration of AR skills in the curriculum (e.g. a Master in AR) to include the application of current AR output. As a consequence, a range of questions arises, enquiring into the possible modes of integrating AR insights into the instrumental and compositional practice being taught, all the while allowing for the realities of musical training being fed back into AR. Such enquiries touch upon the fundaments of the conservatoire biotope, targeting aspects such as the authority of the teacher, the structure and content of the lesson, the efficiency with which existing journals connect to students and teachers, the possible friction between the cutting edge AR output and the conservational reflexes that link up with the industry (often the orchestra) for which students are prepared, or between the goal of training students to be self-directed (cf. Dublin Descriptors) vs. the collective effort of building new knowledge through research.

The seminar will frame the debate in a wider perspective through the keynote by Prof. Dr. Dirk Van Damme, head of Innovation and Measuring Progress Division in the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills.

Details of the call for presentations

Proposals are welcomed from the global pool of interested experts, ranging from artist-teachers to artistic researchers, and from students to policy makers, in order to bring practices, concepts and innovation to the floor of a two-day conference. For the benefit of everyone involved in the artistic community, the seminar aims at scrutinizing at least the following aspects of the relationship between AR output and musical training:

The impact of AR in the processes and structures of knowledge transfer in artistic skill development;

• Mutual benefits in linking academic knowledge transfer (community-related, argument-based, innovation-oriented) and musical training (master-disciple hierarchy, authority-based, tradition-oriented);
• Integrating AR output in pre-conservatoire musical training;
• Channels and practices for disseminating AR output;
• The profile of the conservatory teacher;
• The relation between the value of AR output for instrumental and for compositional training;
• Practical case studies and pilot projects.

Proposals should consist of an abstract of c.300 words, providing a brief account of the paper’s rationale, method of investigation and findings. In addition, proposals should include the title of the presentation, name and institutional affiliation of each author, short curriculum vitae, contact information and required technical support. Please indicate whether your presentation includes live music. Presentations will be allocated 30 minutes; this includes 10 minutes for questions and discussion.

Deadline for Proposals: September 15, 2014.

Send us your proposal through info@orpheusinstituut.be