Third International Conference of Students of Systematic Musicology (SysMus10): A Conference Report

Abstract

SysMus10, the third International Conference of Students of Systematic Musicology, was held at the University of Cambridge, UK, in September 2010. The conference was organised by PhD students at the Centre for Music and Science in the University’s Faculty of Music. SysMus10 brought together around 40 advanced students working in the field of systematic musicology representing 14 nationalities. The presentations primarily focused on the students’ ongoing research for their PhDs or Masters’ degrees. The conference included the presentation and publication of 25 peer- reviewed papers and posters, keynotes from top researchers in the field (Eric Clarke, Nicholas Cook, and Petri Toiviainen), a workshop and several social activities. Although the conference revealed that the concept of “systematic musicology” is still not known much outside the German-speaking research community, it served as an excellent exchange platform for students doing music research in various disciplines. SysMus10 successfully continued the strong work of the first two SysMus conferences (SysMus08, held in Graz, Austria, and SysMus09, held in Ghent, Belgium), and no doubt next year’s conference, SysMus11 (to be held in Cologne, Germany), will be just as enlightening and inspiring for young musicologists and students of other fields alike.

Keywords

• systematic musicology
• SysMus
• student conference
• science
• humanities