22nd CHIME meeting, Beijing - call for presentations (Chinese music)

Call for abstracts and presentations on Chinese music themes for the 22nd CHIME - Worldwide Platform for Chinese Music meeting in Beijing, China, 19-22 September 2019. The meeting will be held at the Chinese Music Research Institute, Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing

Abstracts of around 300 words are invited for individual posters or for twenty-minute presentations on the conference theme. (Please indicate specifically if you are not willing to offer your presentation as a poster, and can only present it as a spoken 20-minute lecture). 

Proposers may also submit panel sessions of a maximum of 120 minutes (including discussion). In this case, an abstract of around 300 words should detail the focus of the panel as a whole, with abstracts of 100-200 words for each contribution.

The deadline for submission of abstracts is 31 March, 2019. Notification of acceptance or rejection will take place by 15 April, 2019. An early acceptance policy will be implemented for those in need of conference confirmation for grant or visa applications.

China is a country of contrasts. Its many musical traditions represent different, often opposite realms of culture and ways of life. From 19 to 22 September 2019, in the 22nd edition of the annual international CHIME meeting, we aim to investigate these musical contrasts, from as many angles as possible. Such as: ‘official’ musical stage and media concerts pitted against local or underground music events, high-brow ancient court music versus ceremonial state music today, popular versus elite and ‘low’ versus ‘high’ traditions, written versus oral music, composed versus improvised and inherited repertoires, art music as compared to functional music, and so forth. 

The challenge is to sort out not just what sets musicians, repertoires, pieces or musical gestures apart, but also to examine their possible hidden connections, in spite of all the evident contrasts.

As usual, we expect a lively event, with panels, films, paper sessions, concerts, and workshops. The evident nearness and availability of first rate Chinese performers is likely to secure us a first-rate programme of fringe concerts and recitals, with room for contemporary Chinese music, conservatory style performances , but also more local style traditional types of music of various kinds.