Shifting Boundaries Revisited

09 November 2023 | 10:00 - 14:15 | Studio Tramkade

At New Music Conference 2022, seven professorships in the fields of music and art embarked on a journey together by initiating Shifting Boundaries – Situating Contemporary Music Practices, a multi-year research that enquires into the rapidly shifting boundaries in contemporary music.

Following an initial exploration of this vast landscape, which culminated in the eponymous publication Shifting Boundaries (November Music, 2023), the participating professorships are now gearing up for a more in-depth examination of key themes such as musical co-creation, collaborative processes, and the process of rehearsing.

Two panel discussions are featured during New Music Conference 2023:

Shifting Boundaries
Disembordering the Musical Field

10:00 – 11:15
This panel will focus on the conditions and dynamics of rehearsing new music. Usually, the ways concerts are prepared reflect the idea that a large part of the work has been done when rehearsal begins: a composer has created a musical piece, and now the performers must practice it together. As a consequence, rehearsal time is usually kept to a minimum – it doesn’t take into account the time needed to work on the artistic concept, other than regular technical conditions, and on good, if sometimes unconventional, working relations. In short, something as mundane as rehearsal time firmly delimits the very idea of co-creation.

All four musicians on this panel have experienced the pressures of staging work that demands the multilateral involvement of various partners: composers, performers, designers, videographers, and stage directors. And not to mention the audience: has it been confronted with a finished product or invited to become part of an exploration (implying a lowering threshold for it to participate)? The panelists will share their rehearsing experiences and discuss ideas for shaping new practices.

With:
Maya Verlaak (composer, teacher, curator, publisher, NL)
Thanasis Deligiannis (composer, teacher, GR/NL)
Heloisa Amaral (pianist, artist-researcher, curator, BR)
Aart Strootman (composer, guitarist, NL)
Michiel Schuijer (musicologist and music theorist, Conservatorium van Amsterdam, NL)
Click here for the bios of the panel speakers.

Shifting Boundaries
In harmony? How the co-creative wave inspires musical collectives

12:45 – 14:15
Musical collectives and organisations increasingly employ co-creative strategies to shape their collaborations within, across and through the arts. In co-creation, interaction and making processes are led by the notion of seeking value for all participants, this either being fellow musicians, other artists, non-professional musicians, societal partners or other stakeholders. Exploration, dialogue and negotiation are part of such processes by default. How can co-creative processes be shaped in a fitting way? What roles do musicians develop in devising co-creative collaborations? And what place do artistic incentives and needs have in the new collaborations that emerge? Such questions and others will be explored together with representatives from musical and cross-disciplinary collectives.

With:
Veerle Spronck (Associate professor Valuable Entrepreneurship in and through the Arts, HKU, NL)
Karolien Dons (Professor Music in Context, Research centre Art & Society, Hanze University Groningen, NL)
Falk Hübner (Professor Artistic Connective Practices, Fontys, DE/NL)
Stefan Rosu (Intendant PhilZuid and initiator Maastricht Centre for the Innovation of Classical Music, NL)
Teodora Nedyalkova (cellist, founder Kamerorkest van het Noorden, BG/NL)
Maite van der Marel (artistic director, musician, coach, NL)
Click here for the bios of the panel speakers.

Introducing Shifting Boundaries

Contemporary music practice is in a state of flux and is increasingly becoming a hybrid praxis in which music becomes connected to other domains. Not only do musicians, composers and sound artists work beyond the boundaries of their own discipline, their work and research also explicitly relate to social themes such as care, the ecological crisis, inclusivity, or the functioning of modern technology and media. Moreover, contemporary makers are not only active in the concert or music theatre hall, but also enter the public space with performances: from music-borne initiatives in care and educational institutions, to site-specific installations and community-art projects. Artistic research is increasingly the rationale of these hybrid making practices.

The examples mentioned above show a common dynamic in which the boundaries between music, other art disciplines and societal matters become fluid / permeable. Instead of focusing activities exclusively on the musical domain, today’s creators increasingly connect with other locales. This is a fascinating development, which at the same time raises questions: what are the implications of this repositioning of contemporary musical practice? Where does the 21st-century musician find himself in this undistricting playing field? How is contemporary music practice connected to its social environment? Where is music practice on the spectrum between artistic autonomy and instrumentalisation? How does music interact with and within other practices? And what consequences does all this have for concert and festival practice?

Multi-year research project
Shifting Boundaries – Situating Contemporary Music Practices is an initiative of November Music in collaboration with Buma Cultuur (New Music Conference). Over a three-year period (2022-24), seven art and music-related professorships will present their research results concerning the theme of rapidly shifting boundaries in contemporary music practice. Participating in Shifting Boundaries are:

Bios panel speakers Shifting Boundaries – session 1

Maya Verlaak (composer, teacher, curator, publisher, BE)
Maya Verlaak is a Belgian composer (Ghent, 1990) who is active as a performer, curator and teacher. She describes her compositional process as a scrutinising compositional position. She develops different compositional techniques for each creative endeavour, never taking anything for granted. This way of working opens up her compositional practice towards new methods, creative solutions and playfulness. Sharing her creative process is important to her so she develops new notation systems to communicate her concepts. Her compositions are written in such a way that the performers have insight into the compositional process. The works are intended to create space for critical thought; space for the individual audience members and performers to scrutinise the work.

Thanasis Deligiannis (composer, teacher, GR/NL)
Thanasis Deligiannis is a Greek-Dutch composer and theatre maker based in Amsterdam. He is artist-in-residence at the Onassis Air in Athens for the season 2022-2023, and has been artist-in-residence at Gaudeamus for the years 2017-2019 under the programme Nieuwe Makers by the Performing Arts Fund NL. In 2018 he was assistant to Heiner Goebbels at the Manchester International Festival, while in 2017-2018 he worked at the Tanztheater Wuppertal – Pina Bausch Company as a member of Dimitris Papaioannou’s creative team. In the years 2015-2017 he was artistic coordinator of the music theatre research platform REFUSE, hosted by the National Greek Opera and Gaudeamus. Since 2018 Thanasis teaches at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. He has worked as assistant artistic director for the Nieuw Ensemble from 2011 till 2014 and artistic coordinator of the Atlas Lab for intercultural music from 2011 till 2016. In 2013 he co-founded the Amsterdam-based company I/O together with a team of artists of various backgrounds, focused on the creation of cross-over performances.

Heloisa Amaral (pianist, artist-researcher, curator, BR)
Heloisa Amaral is a pianist, artist-researcher and curator from São Paulo, currently based in Brussels. Musical partnerships include Duo Hellqvist/Amaral and Ensemble neoN as well as collaborations with composers such as Joanna Bailie Simon Steen-Andersen, Phil Niblock, Helmut Lachenmann, Natasha Barrett, Jan St. Werner, Marina Rosenfeld and Catherine Lamb. Former curator at Ny Musikk and programmer of Ultima Academy at the Oslo Ultima Festival until 2015, Heloisa currently lectures in artistic research and curatorial practices in music at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague and pursues an artistic-research PhD at the University of Leiden (NL).

Aart Strootman (composer, guitarist, NL)
Pioneering guitarist and composer Aart Strootman (1987) throws a solid knock on the door of the music business of our times. His intellect and frank, fresh view on musical genres and styles justify a most prominent position in the music scene. He studied classical guitar and composition at Conservatory Fontys & Zuyd and at the University of Utrecht he obtained a MA in Musicology. Currently he is a PhD candidate at the university of Leiden via the DocArtes program.
Since 2009 Aart Strootman teaches music history, (advanced) ear training, analysis, philosophy and performance studies at the Fontys School of Arts in Tilburg. He is artistic leader of contemporary music ensemble F.C. Jongbloed. In 2012 he found his band TEMKO. As a core member/guitarist of ensemble s t a r g a z e he worked with Laura Mvula, John Cale,Terry Riley, Bill Frisell, Philippe Jaroussky, Shara Worden, Nils Frahm and many others.

Michiel Schuijer (musicologist and music theorist, Conservatorium van Amsterdam, NL)
Michiel Schuijer is a musicologist and music theorist currently head​ of​ the research division at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. In his research, he explores historical, sociological, and cultural perspectives on music theory. His book Analyzing Atonal Music: Pitch-Class Set Theory and Its Contexts (University of Rochester Press, 2008) was awarded the American Society for Music Theory Emerging Scholar Award in 2010. Recent research interests include evolving notions of professionalism in music and the role of heritage in musical culture. From 2020 through 2022, Schuijer was project leader of the Academy for Musicology and Musicianship (Amsterdam, Utrecht), a study program combining the strengths of conservatory and university education.

Bios panel speakers Shifting Boundaries – session 2

Veerle Spronck (Associate professor Valuable Entrepreneurship in and through the Arts, HKU, NL)
Dr. Veerle Spronck (1993) works as associate professor Valuable Entrepreneurship in and through the Arts at HKU (University of the Arts Utrecht). There, she empirically investigates the societal value(s) of artistic practices and experiments with what roles artists, musicians, designers, and other creative professionals (could) play in transdisciplinary collaborations. Between 2017 and 2022, Veerle conducted doctoral research at the Maastricht Centre for the Innovation of Classical Music, where she examined how Dutch symphony orchestras innovate audience participation in their everyday practices. During her PhD, she was a member of a team of (artistic-)researchers, musicians, and orchestra staff who created concert-experiments and a learning model with études for innovative classical music practice. Apart from her work as researcher, she co-creates the podcast Kunstmatig on art and technology, plays the double bass, and is an avid knitter.

Karolien Dons (Professor Music in Context, Research centre Art & Society, Hanze University Groningen, NL)
Dr Karolien Dons is professor (lector) Music in Context at the Research centre Art & Society and the Prince Claus Conservatoire of the Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen. Karolien’s expertise consists of innovative music practices in social contexts. Recurring themes in Karolien’s recent research activities are a.o. participatory making processes, the engaged musician and ethical aspects, for example about inclusion and autonomy. Karolien was connected to the research group Lifelong Learning in Music of the Hanze University where she substantially contributed to numerous research and innovation projects, such as Music and Dementia, Music at the Odense house, Meaningful Music in Healthcare (MiMiC) and Professional Excellence in Meaningful Music in Healthcare (ProMiMiC). Karolien studied musicology at Ghent University and music psychology at the University of Jyväskylä (Finland). In 2019, Karolien obtained her doctoral degree at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama (London) with an ethnographic study into the facilitation of co-creative musicking with vulnerable elderly people.

Falk Hübner (Professor Artistic Connective Practices, Fontys, DE/NL)
Falk Hübner (1979) is professor of Artistic Connective Practices at Fontys University of Applied Sciences, Academy of the Arts in Tilburg, The Netherlands. With a background as composer, theatre maker, researcher and educator, he is active in a huge diversity of collaborations within and outside of the arts. His research focuses on the social-societal potential of artistic research, research methodologies, and the relation of the arts and art education in relation to society. In 2019-2021 Falk conducted a post doctoral research at HKU University of the Arts on artistic research methodology and ethics. He is member of the board of Forum+, journal for research and arts, based in Antwerp. Next to his professional life Falk is a (ultra-)marathon runner. He lives in Rotterdam with his partner and their 5 children.

Stefan Rosu (Intendant PhilZuid and initiator Maastricht Centre for the Innovation of Classical Music, NL)
Dr. Stefan Rosu works for more than 25 years in the music business. Positions included the Schleswig Holstein Festival (artistic director) and the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg (director). Since 2013 he serves as the Philzuid’s first director general and artistic director (intendant). Rosu was lecturer for orchestral management until 2020 in Frankfurt/ Main and is a member of the jury for Germany’s most innovative orchestra. He is the initiator of the Maastricht Centre for the Innovation of Classical Music.

Teodora Nedyalkova (cellist, founder Kamerorkest van het Noorden, BG/NL)
Ms Nedyalkova is an experienced, professional cellist with a demonstrated history of working in the classical music industry. Skilled in performing, collaborating, pedagogy, entrepreneurship and with distinctive passion for music-making and creativity. Teodora was born in Bulgaria and in 2009 she moved to The Netherlands to study with Jan-Ype Nota and Michel Strauss. In 2014 she graduated “Cum Laude” (10!) with a Bachelor’s degree in Music and she was invited to continue her musical education and development in the Master of Music program of the “Prince Claus Conservatory”. In September of 2016, Teodora completed her Master’s Degree with distinction. Teodora has been awarded a spectrum of eminent prizes from international and national competitions, including recognition by the Minister of Culture of Bulgaria and the Royal Family of The Netherlands.

Maite van der Marel (artistic director, musician, coach, NL)
As a musician, artistic director and trainer Maite has experience with different target groups in an artistic, educational, cultural and social context. Based on the philosophy of ‘creative collaborative music making’ she looks for ways to connect people, art and society. She sees music as a powerful tool to bring about social change. To break down barriers between people, explore new perspectives, and enhance imagination and authenticity. In this she thinks it is important that the ‘Self’ is not cut off, but rather remains connected to the changing world around us. Over the past ten years, her work has taken place in the Netherlands in the cultural sector, education, care and business. Between 2017-2020 Maite also worked in the Middle East (from Sounds of Change). Recently she started a collaboration with Cuban violinist Mariana Hutchinson Siemers, to set up music projects and training in Cuba.

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