THIS YEAR’S INTERNATIONAL MULTIDISCIPLINARY SYMPOSIUM IS ALMOST UPON US

We are coming upon the start of this year’s symposium titled Sound and Music in the Lived Experience of Infants, Babies and Vulnerable Groups, which will take place 24–26 August 2023 at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana (Kazina Palace, Kongresni trg 1), Slovenia. Being part of the traditional international festival Nights in Old Ljubljana Town, its programme will be enriched by lively musical activities across town.

The symposium will examine the role of sound and music in sensitive life periods and situations such as the earliest developmental stages or vulnerable situations (e.g., marginalised individuals and groups, senior citizens, those with various conditions, asylum-seekers). The discussion will run within a broad interdisciplinary framework among artists and renowned international experts in the fields of developmental psychology, neurophysiology, neuropsychology, psychoacoustics, music therapy, music pedagogy, anthropology. The discussion will focus on questions such as: How does music enter and cocreate the human experience from the earliest ages onwards? Why do we even create in the first place? How can we address largely overlooked audiences and encourage listeners and those involved in music – especially creators and performers of music, sound artists and producers – in the broadest sense? What dilemmas arise from the dichotomy between the desire to satisfy the aesthetic expectations of young listeners and the necessity for an ethical, profound and lasting relationship between artists and young audiences? How can an individual become a dialogic partner in hearing the inner world of another person? What are the concepts and experiences of medical ethnomusicology or applied ethnomusicology with regard to the role of music among children and underprivileged individuals and groups? What social or psychological effects are encouraged by including such people in musical activities?

The topic of the symposium is closely related to the three-year B-Air project researching the role of sound in the development of the human being in the earliest period of human life. The project is headed by Radio Slovenia in collaboration with nine partner organisations from eight European countries. An important part of the project is the production of new radiophonic and musical works for the youngest and most vulnerable individuals and groups.

The symposium is open to the public, admission is free.