Keynote Speaker: Old is New: The Presence of the Past in the Music of the Present 24, 25, 26 novembre 2016, Lisbonne Portugal International Conference

Description

Composers Need Universities. Universities Need Composers.

Abstract

The status of composition in universities is a recurring topic of debate in the academic community. Recently this debate has tended to focus on the ontological questions as to whether composition is or is not research. Positions vary enormously: composition is research; composition is not research; some forms of composition are research whilst others are not; composition is only research if accompanied by written explication. Whilst such ontological questions might be necessary for the purposes of the presentation of composition for research degrees, peer-review for grants, and the assessment of composition for exercises like the UK’s REF, the more important practical questions - such as why we would want composition in universities in the first place - are often lost in the conversation. This paper will argue for the benefits of welcoming composers into universities, whilst touching on the ontological debates surrounding composition’s status within them.

Period	25 Nov 2016
Held at	CESEM/FCSH – UNL, Portugal
Degree of Recognition	International