The death of a lover, child, spouse, partner, parent, friend is the loss of someone unique and irreplaceable – a presence in our lives never to be seen, held, heard or felt again. The tragic loss of familiar, iconic, well loved public figures and celebrities, the unexpected deaths of people through murder, violence or terrorism, heart rending loss through illness, disease or natural disasters all remind us of the fragility and vulnerability of our lives. In times like these music is often our companion providing comfort in the incomprehensibility of loss.

Music &….Death is a continuing series of inclusive interdisciplinary and international projects focusing on the many roles of music within human living, thinking and feeling. This event is open to the exploration of all historical and contemporary genres of music to map the ways in which music imagines, expresses, confronts, wrestles and gives us ways of responding to and coping with dying, death, grief and remembrance. Subject to the presentations and discussions which take place at the meeting, there is a possibility for a publication to emerge with the aim of engendering further interdisciplinary collaboration and discussion.

This conference is open to all academic fields of inquiry from ethnomusicology, music, folklore, cultural studies, media studies, communication studies, sociology, anthropology, religious studies and so on. It is welcoming of graduate students and professors of all rank, as well as non-academic and independent researchers, writers, performers and media artists. It is anticipated that a broad number of participants will represent a variety of different nationalities, thus adding to the cross disciplinary nature of the discussions, presentations and conference as a whole.

Key topics, themes and issues for discussion may include, but are not limited to:

~ Music, mortality and the awareness of death
~ Music imagining death
~ Expressing dying and death
~ Cconfronting death
~ Tthe sounds of dying and death
~ Instruments, methods, techniques and tools used in grappling with dying and death
~ Recording and producing death
~ The death of the artist/musician
~ Music, grief and mourning
~ Music, funerals and memorials
~ Music and remembrance
~ Music, cultures and death
~ Music, pets, animals and other non-human deaths
~ Death, mourning and public figures; Diana, Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, Elvis, River Phoenix, Heath Ledger, Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, 2Pac etc.
~ Music subcultures and death (jazz, hip-hop, punk, metal, experimental music, club cultures etc.)
~ Music scenes and community
~ Music industry and death
~ Music and suicide
~ Music documentaries, representation and death
~ Live concerts, performance and death
~ Music and the affirmation of life
~ Taking-leave, saying goodbye, turning the page, moving on, holding in your heart
~ Music of death, music in death, music and death

What to Send
The aim of this inclusive interdisciplinary conference and collaborative networking event is to bring together academics, professionals, practitioners, media artists, performers, NGO’s, voluntary sector workers, in the context of a variety of formats: papers, seminars, workshops, panels, q&a’s, performances, media screenings etc. Please feel free to put forward proposals that you think will get the message across, in whatever form.

Whilst we welcome proposals for live performances, our options are unfortunately limited by the facilities available at the venue as well as any cost considerations relating to staging the performance. If you are interested in staging a live performance, please contact us and let us know what you have in mind and we will try out best to accommodate it.

300 word proposals, presentations, scores, compositions, mp3’s/flacs and other forms of contribution and participation should be submitted by Friday 4th October 2019. Other forms of participation should be discussed in advance with the Organising Chairs.

All submissions will be minimally double reviewed, under anonymous (blind) conditions, by a global panel drawn from members of the Project Team and the Advisory Board. In practice our procedures usually entail that by the time a proposal is accepted, it will have been minimally triple and quadruple reviewed.

You will be notified of the panel’s decision by Friday 18th October 2019.

If your submission is accepted for the conference, a full draft of your contribution should be submitted by Friday 17th January 2020.

Abstracts and proposals may be in Word, PDF, RTF or Notepad formats with the following information and in this order:
a) author(s), b) affiliation as you would like it to appear in the programme, c) email address, d) title of proposal, e) body of proposal, f) up to 10 keywords.

E-mails should be entitled: Music & Death Submission.

Where to Send
Abstracts should be submitted simultaneously to the Organising Chair and the Project Administrator:

Dr David Gracon: davidgracon@gmail.com
Len Capuli (Project Administrator): praguemusic@progressiveconnexions.net

What’s so Special About a Progressive Connexions Event?

A fresh, friendly, dynamic format – at Progressive Connexions we are dedicated to breaking away from the stuffy, old-fashion conference formats, where endless presentations are read aloud off PowerPoints. We work to bring you an interactive format, where exchange of experience and information is alternated with captivating workshops, engaging debates and round tables, time set aside for getting to know each other and for discussing common future projects and initiatives, all in a warm, relaxed, egalitarian atmosphere.

A chance to network with international professionals – the beauty of our interdisciplinary events is that they bring together professionals from all over the world and from various fields of activity, all joined together by a shared passion. Not only will the exchange of experience, knowledge and stories be extremely valuable in itself, but we seek to create lasting, ever-growing communities around our projects, which will become a valuable resource for those belonging to them.

A chance to be part of constructing change – There is only one thing we love as much as promoting knowledge: promoting real, lasting social change by encouraging our participants to take collective action, under whichever form is most suited to their needs and expertise (policy proposals, measuring instruments, research projects, educational materials, etc.) We will support all such actions in the aftermath of the event as well, providing a platform for further discussions, advice from the experts on our Project Advisory Team and various other tools and intellectual resources, as needed.

An opportunity to discuss things that matter to you – Our events are not only about discussing how things work in the respective field, but also about how people work in that field – what are the struggles, problems and solutions professionals have found in their line of work, what are the areas where better communication among specialists is needed and how the interdisciplinary approach can help bridge those gaps and help provide answers to questions from specific areas of activity.

An unforgettable experience – When participating in a Progressive Connexions event, there is a good chance you will make some long-time friends. Our group sizes are intimate, our venues are comfortable and relaxing and our event locations are suited to the history and culture of the event.

Ethos
Progressive Connexions believes it is a mark of personal courtesy and professional respect to your colleagues that all delegates should attend for the full duration of the meeting. If you are unable to make this commitment, please do not submit an abstract or proposal for presentation.

Please note: Progressive Connexions is a not-for-profit network and we are not in a position to be able to assist with conference travel or subsistence, nor can we offer discounts off published rates and fees.

For enquiries and further details please email: praguemusic@progressiveconnexions.net

Conference Web Page: http://www.progressiveconnexions.net/interdisciplinary-projects/music-and/music-and-death/conferences/

Sponsored by: Progressive Connexions