24th International Conference Principles of Music Composing: Ethno- in Contempo invites scholars to explore the role of ethnicity in the modern world. The aim of the conference is to reassess the significance of ethnicity in the music of the 20th and the 21st century with a focus on highlighting the aesthetic and technical possibilities of its expression. 

It is easy to observe, that throughout the history of Western professional music, the function of ethnic aspects has often been reduced to mere recognition, while their development mostly relies on co-cultural structural principles. However, contemporary philosophic paradigms encourage us to reevaluate the relationship between the ethnos and a modern creative individual, which leads us into the search for more appropriate functional and structural approaches. In contemporary contexts, ethnicity can spread in the most unexpected assemblages: from a unifying or segregating factor of identity to commercial appropriations aimed at mass consumption.

The conference is woven into a triptych of events dedicated to the issue of interaction between globality and locality (nationality, nationality, ethnicity, minority, cultural boundaries). This year's event seems to build a bridge between the interaction of globality and nationality, which was examined last year, and next year's 150th anniversary of the Lithuanian creative genius M. K. Čiurlionis.

Topicalities of the conference are reflected in the suggested sub-topics:
1. Interactions and intersections between ethno- and contempo: theoretical, historical, philosophical discourses regarding the expression of ethnicity in contemporary contexts.
2. Ethno- in sociopolitical and sociocultural contexts: discourses concerning cultural politics, identity, protest, minorities.
3. Functions of ethno- in contemporary practice of music composition: recognizability, exoticism, conformism, protest, etc.
4. Technical solutions for the expression of ethno- in modern practice of music composition (aspects of timbre, rhythm, melody, modes, formal structures, aesthetics, communication, etc.).
5. Traditional means of ethnical expression (heterophony, monody, etc.) in modern practice of music composition.
6. Multidimensionality of ethno- in contemporary practice of music composition (aspects of audiation, notation, performance, communication).
7. Interdisciplinary nature of Ethno- in Contempo (syncretism, synthesis, multimedia, etc.).

Paper proposals (abstract of the presentation and a short biography) must be sent to the email pmc.lmta@gmail.com. Annotation must not exceed 500 words. The approximate duration of the presentation is 20–25 min.

The deadline for submitting the proposal is September 8, 2024. All proposals will be evaluated by the scientific committee. All applicants will be informed about the committee’s decision by September 20.

The conference will be in English. The participants will be given an option to present online.

Participation fee* (only once selected by the scholarly committee):
in person – 30 €;
online – 50 €.

Selected papers of the conference will be published in the annual peer journal ‘Principles of Music Composing’.

Organizers: Lithuanian Composers’ Union, Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre.

Scholarly committee of the conference:
Prof. Dr. Rimantas Janeliauskas (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre)
Prof. Dr. Antanas Kučinskas (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre)
Prof. Dr. Mārtiņš Viļums (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre)
Assoc. prof. Dr. Marius Baranauskas (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre)
Prof. Dr. Pavel Puşcaş (Music Academy Cluj-Napoca, Romania)
Prof. Miloš Zatkalik (University of Arts in Belgrade, Serbia)
Prof. Roger Redgate (Goldsmiths, University of London, England)
Dr. Bert Van Herck (New England Conservatory of Music, USA)
Dr. Jānis Petraškevičs (Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, Latvia)
Dr. Martin Vishnick (United Kingdom)

Coordinators of the conference:
Assoc. prof. Dr. Marius Baranauskas,
Dr. Andrius Maslekovas.

* If you are not able to pay the participation fee, please contact us.