The newest issue of Action, Criticism & Theory for Music Education (ACT) 22.2 is out. This issue include papers based upon sessions shared at the 32nd MDG Colloquium and the 4th Symposium for LGBTQ Studies and Music Education. This issue includes the following:

An introduction by Brent Talbot

• "Activist Music Teaching: A Way Forward or a New Autocracy?” by Juliet Hess
• "'Unpacking the Keeper Current’ of Settler Colonialism: Why Decolonizing Work is Complicated for (White) Music Educators” by Jody Stark
• “Orange Juice, Milk, and the Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Choral Movement in the United States” by William Southerland
• “Reimagining Choral Identity: Challenging the Gender Binary of a Women’s Choir” by Jessica McKiernan and Colleen McNickle

Read the issue here

Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education is a peer-reviewed journal seriously committed to principles of open access. Authors do not pay a fee to be published in ACT. Founded in 2001, the journal publishes critical, analytical, theoretical, and policy development articles of international interest that illuminate, extend, or challenge the “Action Ideals” of the MayDay Group.



Critically-informed scholarship from a broad range of disciplinary perspectives is welcomed: music, education, philosophy, sociology, history, psychology, curriculum theory, and others. Please email manuscripts as attachments to the editor, Lauren Kapalka Richerme (lkricher@indiana.edu).

The late British philosopher, music critic, and political theorist Mark Fisher (1968–2017) coined the term capitalist realism to describe the ideological frame that undergirds our current social, cultural, economic, and political life-worlds. He summarized the concept with the phrase, “it’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.”^[1] As he explained, “That slogan captures precisely what I mean by ‘capitalist realism’: the widespread sense that not only is capitalism the only viable political and economic system, but also that it is now impossible even to imagine a coherent alternative to it.”^[2] Fisher further described the ideological nature of this concept thus:

Capitalist realism as I understand it cannot be confined to art or the quasi-propagandistic way in which advertising functions. It is more like a pervasive atmosphere, conditioning not only the production of culture but also the regulation of work and education, and acting as kind of an invisible barrier constraining thought and action.^[3]

After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, philosopher Francis Fukuyama famously claimed in 1989 that we had reached “the end of history”—that, with the defeat of “actually existing socialism” by capitalism, we had reached the “the end-point of mankind's ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.”^[4] The future development of political and economic systems was therefore, in his view, foreclosed. For Fisher, capitalism is “realistic” in that it serves as the unnoticed background within which we act. It seems to be the natural state of the world to those who have lived their lives in capitalistic societies. In this way, capitalist realism is ideological, in that it structures the parameters of reality while going largely unquestioned.

Similarly, American political theorist Wendy Brown sees our current predicament as one in which the market tenets of neoliberal capitalism have spread—without significant resistance or debate—from the economy proper to all areas of social, cultural, and political existence. Invoking Frankfurt School philosopher Herbert Marcuse, she describes this situation as the “closing of the political universe—the erasure of intelligible, legitimate alternatives to economic rationality.”^[5] Not only has neoliberal capitalism constructed a new economic and material reality, its advance marks “a new production of subjectivity.”^[6] Within this frame, all aspects of life, even those previously outside the economic sphere, are subjected to the model of the market as human beings are configured “exhaustively as market actors, always, only, and everywhere as homo oeconomicus,”^[7] even when direct profit-making is not enacted.

The capitalist base of society serves as the “pervasive atmosphere” within which music education exists in many nations. For example, in many contexts, teachers have developed a sense that organizing music education around competition is the only viable system, and it has thus become impossible for them to imagine alternatives to the competitive structures that undergird so many music programs, converting the use value of musical learning into the exchange value of competitive scores.^[8] In these school music contexts, structuring music learning as competition “seamlessly occupies the horizons of the thinkable”^[9] as an a priori, taken-for-granted substructure of music education.[10] In addition to this competitive structure, capitalist realism’s effects (market logic, business ontology, entrepreneurial ethos, instrumental aims, economic centering and marginalization, hierarchical structures, precarity and scarcity, etc.) appear in music education in myriad ways.

Capitalism is the pre-given, taken-for-granted base upon which the global hegemonic economic system’s social superstructures—including music education systems— are built. The effect of this system reaches people in nominally non-capitalist nations. Given these dynamics, this special issue of ACT invites manuscripts that examine and critique capitalist realism as it relates to the theory and practice of music education. While we seek manuscripts that employ Fisher’s concept of capitalist realism as a frame, a direct, explicit engagement with Fisher’s work is not required (although it is certainly welcome). [11] Authors are also strongly encouraged to engage with scholarship previously published in ACT that addresses issues of capitalism and socioeconomic status.[12]

Possible themes may include but are not limited to:

• How can music education (and/or the arts in general) contribute to a critique and/or amelioration of capitalism’s effects? Given Fisher’s background as a music critic (aka the music blogger k-punk), how does music, in particular, factor into this theoretical matrix?

• What possible alternatives can we offer to capitalist realism? What are the conditions of possibility for conceiving of such alternatives? How could or should music education appear differently under such alternative scenarios?

• How does an intentional (re)focus on a critique of capitalist ideology within music education scholarship and praxis—with its centering of the class struggle—inform, augment, intersect, or potentially conflict with scholarly critiques centered on other oppressive social structures (e.g., racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism)?

• How can a return to the critical dimension (combating post-political ideology) offer space for envisioning alternative modes of music teaching and learning without succumbing to naïve utopianism? How can we combat “the commodification of political engagement and the reduction of politics to the performative signaling of political affiliation and support which forestalls an ‘actual’ political agency towards palpable material change?”[13]

• Given Fisher’s focus on post-Fordist finance capitalism as it manifests in the Global North (in the U.K. and U.S. in particular), how might the critique of capitalist infused music education practices appear different in other settings?

• What are the potential deficiencies within the capitalist realism concept of ideology critique as it relates to music teaching and learning?

• How have the technological, social, cultural, and economic changes that have occurred since 2009 (the publication year of Capitalist Realism) weakened or strengthened Fisher’s position, and what are the implications for music education?

• How can the explicit capitalist intervention in music education (e.g., corporate sponsorship of music education as a market-building strategy, public-private partnerships, outsourcing public education to private interests, the interpellation of music teachers and students as “entrepreneurs,” school choice, vouchers, charter schools) be critiqued and challenged, and what alternative models could be considered?

• How can an analysis of the capitalist commodification of music, which leverages desire by producing phantasmal objects for consumption, problematize the use of “popular” music in education?

• Can a renewed emphasis on economic class dynamics in music classrooms inform a re-conceptualized framework for music education philosophy, advocacy, and praxis?

• Do current (or historical) philosophies or approaches to music education knowingly or unwittingly support capitalist exploitation?

Submission Deadline: Please submit your manuscript as a Word document via e-mail no later than January 1, 2024 to Dr. Sean Powell at sean.powell@unt.edu, copied to the ACT Editor Dr. Lauren Kapalka Richerme at lkricher@indiana.edu.

Submission Guidelines

Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education is devoted to the critical study and analysis of issues related to the field of music education. ACT welcomes submissions from diverse perspectives (e.g. education, music, philosophy, sociology, history, psychology, curriculum studies), dealing with critical, analytical, practical, theoretical, or policy development concerns, as well as submissions that seek to apply, challenge, or extend the MayDay Group’s Action Ideals.

Article Length: ACT imposes no set restrictions on length. However, authors may be asked to shorten submissions where reviewers or the editor determine that an essay’s length is not warranted by its content.

Formatting: Please format submissions using the most recent edition of the Chicago Manual of Style’s “author-date system” with the following three adaptations: 1) omit quotations marks around titles in reference lists, 2) follow APA conventions for capitalization in reference lists, and 3) use closed ellipses (necessary for html formatting). Endnotes are permitted. Audio and video materials are encouraged. Also, ACT encourages the use of “they” (and any derivation) as a singular, gender-neutral pronoun. Consult a recent issue of ACT or contact the editors for more information if required.

Abstract and Keywords: Submissions must be accompanied by a brief abstract (ca. 100–150 words) and a short list of keywords.

About the Author: Include a 100–150-word biography for each author.

Languages: Following ACT’s special issue guidelines on the Decolonization of Music Education, and with the purpose of actively diversifying knowledge creation strategies, this special issue also welcomes manuscripts that were originally published in a language other than English and in a venue not commonly accessible by all. Submitters are required to provide the English translation of their submissions.

Peer Review Process: ACT submissions are subject to a rigorous process of anonymized peer review. Final publication decisions rest with the editors (in consideration of reviewer recommendations).

Notes

[1] Mark Fisher, Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? (Winchester, UK: Zer0 Books, 2009), 2.

^[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid., 16.

[4] Francis Fukuyama, “The End of History?” The National Interest, no. 16 (1989): 3–18. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24027184.

[5] Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism’s Stealth Revolution (New York: Zone Books, 2015), 68.

[6] Rachel Greenwald Smith, Affect and American Literature in the Age of Neoliberalism (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015), 5.

[7] Brown, Undoing the Demos, 31.

[8] Joseph Michael Abramo, “The Phantasmagoria of Competition in School Ensembles,” Philosophy of Music Education Review 25, no. 2 (2017): 165.

[9] Fisher, Capitalist Realism, 8.

[10] Sean Robert Powell, The Ideology of Competition in School Music (New York: Oxford University Press, 2023), 29.

[11] For an example of the use of the concept of capitalist realism as an analytical frame in music education scholarship, see Chapter 2, “It’s Easier to Imagine the End of Music Education Than then End of Competition,” in Powell, The Ideology of Competition in School Music.

[12] For example, see (among many others) articles appearing in the special issue of ACT on neoliberalism and music education (volume 20, issue 3).

[13] Schutzbach, There is an Alternative, 47.

The Council for Research in Music Education is seeking nominations for the 2022 Outstanding Dissertation Award (ODA), which recognizes excellence in research by doctoral students.

Nominations for the 2022 ODA are due by November 1, 2023.

Nomination and Review Procedures

The Council for Research in Music Education invites individuals who have served as research advisors, supervisors, or committee members to nominate dissertations in the field of music education that were defended during the 2022 calendar year.

The emphasis of this award is on recognizing doctoral students whose dissertations:

• Advance overarching values of music education, broadly defined;
• Employ rigorous and/or innovative methodologies;
• Integrate research and theory grounded in a variety of intellectual traditions; and
• Offer insightful implications for improving practice or forwarding theoretical constructs.

The process of nomination requires that the nominating faculty member contact the dissertation author, who will be responsible for submitting the relevant documents by the document submission deadline noted below. These documents will be evaluated by a panel drawn from the Council for Research in Music Education.

Nominators should submit a signed letter of support on university letterhead that speaks to the importance of the topic addressed by the dissertation, the use of strong or innovative methodological approaches, sophisticated writing, and overall contribution to the field. Please confirm the year in which the degree was conferred.

There is no limit on the number of nominations that can be submitted by a faculty member or representative institution.

Please direct questions, comments, or concerns regarding the ODA to Music-ODA@illinois.edu.

Location: University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Brownsville, TX

Date: June 27-29, 2024

The 2024 convention theme celebrates the role of early childhood music and movement in providing foundations for both young children and the individuals who make music with them. The foundational areas include:

1. Increased global, interpersonal and intrapersonal connections through music and movement.
2. Music and movement pedagogical practices of tomorrow for all children.
3. Culture and language as the root of music and movement making.

Practical Session Options:

• Option 1) Practical Workshop: Selected presenters will engage convention participants in an interactive workshop-style presentation focusing on the convention theme.
• Option 2) Practical Poster & Lightning Talk: Selected presenters will prepare a poster and a 1-minute lightning talk focusing on the convention theme.

Research Session Options (Reviewed by representatives from the NAfME Early Childhood Music Special Interest Research Group):

• Option 1) Research Talk: Selected authors will share findings from an original research project based on the convention theme. Research must be completed at the time of the submission to be considered for a research talk.
• Option 2) Research Poster & Lightning Talk: Selected presenters will prepare an original research poster and a 1-minute lightning talk based on the convention theme. Completed or in-progress research will be considered for this option.

Prepare to submit the following information:

• Author bio(s) (up to 300 characters, approx. 50 words). Up to five authors can be included on a single submission.
• Contact information for all authors (email, phone) and an indication of which author will receive all correspondence regarding the convention.
• Description of how your proposal connects with the conference theme.
• Intended audience(s) (early childhood classroom teacher, music specialist, researcher, etc.)
• Title as it would appear in the convention program (up to 150 characters, approx. 15 words)
• Abstract (up to 300 characters, approx. 50 words) as it would appear in the conference program
• Session format and type
• A summary of your session/talk/poster (up to 1500 characters, approx. 250 words)
• RESEARCH TALKS AND RESEARCH POSTERS ONLY: At least five relevant references need to be included.
• To submit a proposal, please click here: https://forms.gle/wNrabekocE4Ke4S7A

Deadline for proposal submissions: Sunday, October 22, 2023, 11:59pm PDT

Notification of acceptance: Wednesday, November 15, 2023, 11:59pm PST

Deadline for presenter acceptance: Friday, December 15, 2023, 11:59pm PST;

https://ecmma.org/2024-convention-announcement

Music and aging is an emerging interdisciplinary field whose growth is exemplified in an increasing interest by researchers in many fields, from lifelong learning to social work and from music therapy to medicine. Music as a verb and a noun involves a wide range of studies engaging cultures, communities, human behaviors and developments, modes of activities, psychological states, and quality of life, as well as diverse conception, understanding, and value of music. Like music, aging studies is also an interdisciplinary field, but it surrounds various aspects of the aging process from social, psychological, cultural, political, global, scientific, and well-being perspectives. As the aging population is a global phenomenon and music encompasses a multitude of traditions and practices, music and aging is a perfect combination for interdisciplinary studies that helps to address a global need to bring more life satisfaction to an increasingly prominent sector of the society–older adults–through an everlasting, intangible, and highly valued medium–music.  

The universal phenomena of music and the aging population prompted the question: What is happening with older adults and music across different areas of study and in different parts of the world? The current state and human experience of older adults’ music participation and their benefits are central in guiding future directions in policy making and infrastructure development. In this handbook, we aim at mapping out a sample of the current state of affairs in older adults’ musical experiences globally as informed by current theories and research. The proliferation of research literature on music and aging in various fields provides solid support for broad synthesis and new insights, which could become a foundation for practice and further research. 

We cordially invite contributors from different parts of the world who represent a variety of fields, including aging studies, gerontology, psychology, sociology, music therapy, and music education. We believe that a collective authorship across different disciplines will not only enhance the breadth and depth of the book’s coverage but will also appeal to a wide readership. Based on strong scholarship and research, contributors will be asked to address the following question: What is going on with older adults and music in the chosen research or geographic area? Contributing authors may choose one, two, or several perspectives to address this overarching question through synthesis evolving from philosophical, empirical, or practical lenses and make recommendations for future directions:

●   Creativity

●   Cultures and traditions

●   Earlier and current life influences

●   Growth and development

●   Homebound and non-homebound participants

●   Individual needs and experiences

●   Infrastructure and Support (e.g., social, financial, policy, personnel, tools, or facilities) ●   Musical genres

●   Nature of musical activities

●   Wellness and quality of life

The book will end with a synthesis of global observations based on the work of all contributors, aiming at a broader and deeper understanding of music and aging. 

Timeline

● November 1, 2023 - Contributors submit abstracts (300-500 words, no references required) to the editors: Lisa Lehmberg, lehmberg@umass.edu and Victor Fung, fung@usf.edu. In the cover email, the corresponding contributor should include the chapter title, projected number of words in the chapter, and author’s and co-authors’ (if any) full names, current affiliations, email addresses, and mailing addresses.

● December 15, 2023 - Contributors receive feedback from the editors, including whether the proposed chapter is accepted, needs revision, or is not a good fit for the publication.

● June 1, 2024 - Contributors submit full chapters (6,000-8000 words excluding references, the latest APA style) to the editors. Figures and other high-resolution visuals are welcome but must be cleared by the contributors prior to full chapter submission.

● September 1, 2024 - Contributors receive feedback from editors, including any requested revisions. The extent of needed revisions depends on the state of readiness of the submission. Chapter authors will then collaborate on peer reviews to ensure consistency within, and connection across, various parts of the book.

● December 1, 2024 - Contributors submit revised chapters to editors. This submission should be as close to publication-ready as possible.

It is important for all contributors to abide by the above timeline. However, the editors reserve the right to adjust this timeline to address unexpected circumstances and delays. 

Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA

Co-Sponsored by: University of Illinois Chicago and Northwestern University

Date: June 24-26, 2024

Call for Proposals:

In 2010, 2012, 2016, and 2021, LGBTQ Studies and Music Education Symposia I, II, III, & IV brought together students, teachers, college faculty, and researchers to discuss relevant research, theory, and practice from an LGBTQ perspective (for contextual information, visit the QMUE 4 website).

The purpose of these ongoing symposia is to encourage, promote, and disseminate discourse regarding the intersections of LGBTQ topics and music education. Held during Chicago Pride, we seek to further explore in this fifth symposium how Queer interests operate within music education in terms of research, curriculum, teacher preparation, and the musical lives and careers of LGBTQ music students and teachers.

Presentation Formats:

Scholars, researchers, and music educators are invited to propose a presentation in one of the following formats:

• Paper Presentations: Each presenter will be allocated 45 minutes, to include no more than 30 minutes for the presentation and no fewer than 15 minutes for discussion on a research topic that will stimulate discussion and debate.
• Panel Session: Two or three related papers by different authors addressing a single research topic or theme scheduled in one 45-minute session and hosted by a moderator or discussant proposed by the authors.
• Poster Presentation: A forum for dialogue about ongoing inquiry or works in progress. Conference participants are asked to interact with poster presenters during the forum.
• Lightning Talks: 5-minute research presentation as part of a 45-minute block (time shared with other presenters, culminating in group discussion)

Questions to Consider:

• How are LGBTQ identities reflected in the diverse ways that we make music as human beings?
• In what unique ways does music participation enrich the lives of LGBTQ individuals?
• In what ways can music education enrich the lives of LGBTQ teachers and students?
• In what ways can we support LGBTQ teachers and students to reach musical self-fulfillment or maximize their musical potential?
• How do Queer topics intersect with issues related to identity, such as socioeconomic status, ability, race, sexual orientation, age, gender, sex, ethnicity, and religion?
• How can we work towards increased accessibility and equity in music curricula for all music learners?
• How can we create continuously developing and sustainable partnerships for musical activity within our local communities that promote and support LGBTQ persons?

Submission Details:

• Proposal abstracts (up to 350 words) are due by email to QMUE5symposium@gmail.com before December 3, 2023.
• Responses regarding acceptance will be sent via email. Please send the manuscript from the email address you wish to be used for correspondence.
• Attach the abstract as a PDF document to the email. The submitted abstract should contain no clues as to author identity or institutional affiliation.
• In the body of the e-mail, please include the following information: (a) the author’s or authors’ names; (b) current position(s) and institutional affiliation(s); (c) mailing address, telephone number, and email address (submitter only); (d) the proposed presentation title; (e) the proposed presentation format (e.g., paper, panel, poster, lightning talk, working pod); and (f) prior presentation details (e.g., place, date), if applicable.
• Criteria for acceptance: relevance to LGBTQ interests; connection to music, education, and the arts; innovation and timeliness; theoretical/conceptual foundation; overall quality of proposal. Research that has not appeared in other physical or virtual venues may be given preference in the selection process.
• A panel of qualified scholars will screen all abstracts for presentation at the symposium.
• Authors of symposium papers will be notified of the reviewers’ decision no later than February 5, 2024.

Presenters must be registered to present in person at the symposium. Any questions related to registration and presenting can be directed to the planning committee.



Projectors, speakers, and screens will be available. It is also completely acceptable to use no supporting technology.

Symposium Planning Committee:

Matthew L. Garrett, Case Western Reserve University; Brent C. Talbot, University of Illinois, Chicago; Sarah Bartolome, Northwestern University; Jace Saplan, Arizona State University

The International Society for Music Education (ISME) invites submissions for the 36th World Conference from July 28th to August 2nd, 2024. 

The 2024 ISME World Conference aims to foster global understanding and co-operation among the world’s music educators. By strengthening ties and sharing ideas about diverse aspects and issues within music education, the 2024 ISME World Conference helps to promote music education worldwide for people of all ages.

The theme for the 2024 ISME World Conference is Advocacy for Sustainability in Music Education.

Music education has a crucial role in advancing the wellbeing of the individual, community and society. The uncertain times further highlight the importance of envisioning, exploring, and advocating for the many opportunities music education can offer for enhancing a sense of belonging, equity, and inclusion as well as ecological sustainability. What can we learn from the other arts, Indigenous traditions, and past and emerging musical practices around the world in our efforts of advancing resilient societies and ecosystems? And how could we ensure equitable access to music learning opportunities and participation within the wide variety of musics? The 36th World Conference provides a platform that invites music educators and other stakeholders to ask novel questions, imagine ways forward, and create new partnerships for change. The conference will open avenues to explore a sphere of possibilities for pursuing and advocating for sustainability in and through music education.

In addition to the World Conference each of the eight ISME Commissions will hold their own pre-conference seminars in the week prior to the world conference. Please note the deadline below.

Proposals for papers, posters, symposia, and workshops are invited from participants worldwide. ISME encourages submissions that align with the conference theme Advocacy for Sustainability in Music Education from researchers and practitioners at all career stages including graduate students and early career professionals.

Key dates

Call for submissions:

• Opens April 25th, 2023
• Closes October 2nd, 2023 - Extended to October 13
• Acceptances January 31st, 2024

Pre-conference seminars submission:

• Opens May 15th, 2023
• Closes November 1st, 2023
• Acceptances February 28th, 2024

Before starting your submission, please read carefully the instructions in Key Submission Information and Guidelines for Authors.

For more information, please visit: https://www.ismeworldconference.org/submission-instructions

The Association for Popular Music Education is pleased to announce our 2024 conference will be held at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA, USA, from June 5–8, 2024. The conference will be held in person and virtually in a hybrid setting. The theme for the conference is Come Together: Considering the Past, Present, and Future of Popular Music Education

Call for Participation

When considering the history of popular music education, what types of knowledge, experiences, and practices shape how we engage with popular music? As a community of teachers, researchers, students, and musicians, how do our diverse backgrounds in popular music impact how we approach the learning space? What is popular music education, who is popular music education for, and where does popular music education go from here?

When troubling the need for a concrete definition of popular music, Bowman (2004) noted that “popular music is not an ‘it’ but a ‘them’ – a vast, multifarious, and fluid range of musical practices with remarkably different in divergent intentions, values, potentials, and affordances” (p. 34). If we parallel this notion to the individuals and practices that embody the field of popular music education, one could suggest that those who engage in popular music education do not form a homogenous collective, but rather serve to fashion an interconnected group of “remarkably different” individuals and practices.

Much like the modern-day portfolio musician, the popular music education field has developed over time into an interdisciplinary field to include various creative, performing, learning, research, and teaching practices that overlap and weave through one another, with each element of the field impacting the others to form a complex ecosystem. Thinking back to Bowman’s (2004) assertion of popular music, how do our community’s “divergent intentions, values, potentials, and affordances” contribute to the breadth and depth of an education in popular music? How are these seemingly divergent practices enacted in the classroom, in the rehearsal, and on the stage? Further, how might these creative practices break down and transform the attitudes and habitual silos often encountered in music education? How do we recognize and celebrate our community and, through this process, nurture a greater sense of belonging in popular music education?

The APME conference offers a space for our multi-faceted and fluid community to come together to learn from and with each other. In doing so, we serve as a vibrant ecosystem that helps to promote and advance popular music at all levels of education, both in the classroom and beyond. We invite you to connect with, learn from, and contribute to our community as we consider our past while looking toward the future of popular music education.

Information on the conference, including the submission portal for the conference and the APME LIVE Student Festival, can be found at  https://www.popularmusiceducation.org/conferences/usc-2024/

Submissions are due December 1, 2023

The American Choral Directors Association is pleased to announce the fourth international Symposium on Research in Choral Singing, a forum for the dissemination of research and scholarly activity. The 2024 hybrid Symposium is intended to be held for ACDA members from North America, and synchronously (no membership required) for members outside the U.S. on Thursday and Friday, April 25 and 26, 2024. The international Symposium will combine diverse presentational formats and break-out sessions with opportunities for in-depth conversation, inquiry, and consideration of future research directions of all types. Penn State University will host the conference in Chicago, in conjunction with Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain) and De Montfort University (England).

The intent of the Symposium is aligned with the purpose of the International Journal of Research in Choral Singing: to advance knowledge and practice with respect to choral singing, choir sound, choral pedagogy, and related areas such as equity and inclusion in choral singing, school community partnerships, adolescent development, vocal development, and singing and well-being. Like the IJRCS, the Symposium program committee welcomes proposals that reflect well-executed research employing, qualitative, historical, quantitative, performance practice, or philosophical methodologies. Proposals for research presentations, research-informed panels, and posters are welcomed.

Sessions will be presented in person or synchronously via Zoom; time allotments will be determined by the Program Committee and communicated to presenters in acceptance letters. Typical duration for spoken presentations will be 10–15 minutes plus 5 minutes for questions/answers; poster presenters will describe their work in a lightning talk. We anticipate a schedule of morning/afternoon in the Americas, afternoon/evening Europe and late night/early morning in Asia/Australia.

Proposals must comply with the following guidelines:

• Previously published research should not be submitted; however, unpublished findings from a published project may be submitted.
• Research previously presented at a Symposium should not be submitted.
• In-progress research is permissible for submission to the Symposium so long as preliminary data and findings can be discussed and the author plans to have completed the project by the symposium. Prospective research projects are not suitable for this particular Symposium.
• Proposal submission implies intent to register for and present at the Symposium if accepted. The Symposium registration fee will be approx. $100 USD.
• 400-word abstracts for presentations or for the poster session must be submitted to the following link: https://forms.gle/6Z4pEEBsuYW6DYQH7

The IJRCS Editorial Board will serve as the Program Committee and will rate each proposal according to relevance, originality, clarity, validity, and interest. The Program Committee reserves the right to designate accepted proposals for either paper or poster presentation.

Proposal Deadline: Friday, November 17, 2023 at 5:00 PM EST.

• All submissions will be blinded for review by the program committee.
• Applicants will be notified on or before January 15, and presenters will be asked to register by April 1.