Irish Traditional Music and its Edges Symposium
Call for participation in symposium exploring experimental and boundary-pushing approaches to Irish traditional music. Multiple presentation formats welcomed.
This is a knowledge exchange, performance and discussion day organized by SARC (Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Sound and Music) at Queen's University Belfast, highlighting practices, considerations, and communities on the fringes of Irish traditional music tradition.
The symposium celebrates creative work that exists on the boundaries of what is understood as Irish traditional music. Artists are combining standard approaches with new technologies, improvisation, other art forms and other genres of music. These creative manifestations overlap with political, historical and social priorities, including questions of inclusivity and activism.
The event aims to celebrate, develop and strengthen the research and creative community around these questions and support opportunities for collaboration. It welcomes proposals from anyone working in these areas, whether outside or within academia, at all career stages, with diverse research methods and practices.
Proposals may be submitted in English or Irish, with bilingual presentations incorporating both languages also welcome. Relevant topics include improvisation, experimentalism, performance, technology/live electronics, traditional music on social media, issues of identity and access, and international perspectives.
Multiple presentation formats are accepted: papers (20 mins + 10 mins questions), performance-based presentations or workshops (20 mins-1 hour), lightning presentations (5 minutes), panels (1 hour total), roundtables (1 hour with discussion), posters, films or media presentations, and collaborative presentations with practitioners and performers.
The symposium takes place entirely in person on 24 July 2026 at SARC, Queen's University Belfast, in the week preceding Belfast Tradfest and Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann.