Call for papers: Sounding Sense of Community

Deadline for abstracts: January 15, 2026

Dear friends and colleagues,

The Finnish Musicological Society (MTS) and the Department of Musicology at Åbo Akademi University, in collaboration with the Department of Musicology at the University of Turku and the Finnish Society for Ethnomusicology, invite all researchers of music to participate in the Finnish Music Researchers’ National Symposium, which will be held in Turku on April 22–24, 2026.

The theme of the symposium is ”sounding sense of community.” The history of music research in Finland is closely linked to nationalism and the need to create a sense of community in a small country that was building legitimacy as an independent nation. At the same time, music research also supported the creation of other communities, a good example of which is the music department at Åbo Akademi University (the Swedish-language university of Finland), which is now celebrating its 100th anniversary.

Today, the idea that music and musicking have the ability to create community is widely accepted in research. This idea also means that music simultaneously separates and creates opposites and contains various power structures. In a broader sense, this also applies to our entire sound environment.

The concepts of ”sound” and ”community” should be understood broadly as themes of the symposium. From this perspective, sound can refer not only to music and, more broadly, to sound, but also to the soundscape, audiovisuality, the production, distribution, and listening of sound, the psychological and physical properties of sound, etc. Similarly, community can refer to the community of music researchers, but also, for example, to musicians or different audience groups, nation, minority, ethnicity or a gender community, groups formed by  institutions of musicking, etc.

The theme of the symposium is intended as a platform for discussions covering a wide range of research areas, methodologies, and research topics. Presentation proposals may be directly or indirectly related to the theme of the symposium. Proposals on topics outside the main theme will also be considered. We also welcome presentations that break with or renew the traditional presentation format, as well as presentations that combine research and art.

The year 2026 marks the 100th anniversary of the musicology department at Åbo Akademi University. The program will feature a panel discussion on the theme ”Why music research is important”. In connection to the symposium, an article workshop will be arranged by the publications Musiikki and The Finnish Yearbook for Ethnomusicology, as well as the The Finnish Doctoral Network for Music Research (Mutove). Information about the workshop will be announced later.

Keynote speakers

Yvonne Wasserloos, Mozarteum University Salzburg (https://www.moz.ac.at/en/people/musicology/yvonne-wasserloos)
Sanne Krogh Groth, Lund University (https://www.kultur.lu.se/en/person/SanneKroghGroth/)

Presentation proposals

The organizers welcome proposals for individual 20-minute presentations as well as panel sessions with 3–4 presenters organized around a unifying theme. We also welcome poster proposals from individual researchers. The maximum length of abstracts is 200 words for individual presentations and 300 words for panel sessions. Proposals and presentations may be in Finnish, Swedish, or English.

Please submit paper proposals using the online form: https://link.webropolsurveys.com/S/38FFB837D7F16B13

For panel and poster proposals please use: https://link.webropolsurveys.com/S/ECC948A1E98D14AF 

The deadline for abstract submissions is January 15, 2026. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by February 16, 2026, which is also when registration for the event will begin. Questions and inquiries can be sent by email to mts.toimisto@gmail.com. The symposium website will be updated in due course before the symposium at https://www.mtsnet.fi/symposium2026/.

Welcome!

Symposium Organizing Committee

Johannes Brusila, Åbo Akademi University
Meri Kytö, University of Turku, MTS
Markus Mantere, Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki
Inka-Maria Nyman, Åbo Akademi University
Iiris Olkkonen, MTS, symposium secretary
Saijaleena Rantanen, Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki