Ethnomusicologists from four continents in Ljubljana
23 Aug 2016
The last week of August is special every year, since the festival Nights in Old Ljubljana Town takes place. This year, the first symposium of the ICTM (International Council for Traditional Music) study group on audiovisual ethnomusicology will be held within the festival.
City Museum of Ljubljana © A. Peunik
City Museum Ljubljana Atrium © R. Baron
Prof. Dr. Svanibor Pettan © A. Peunik
Neanderthal flute, world's oldest instrument © Archaeological Park Divje Babe
Some fifty ethnomusicologists from Japan, Portugal, Iran, United States, Uruguay and other countries will meet from 24 – 27 August in Ljubljana’s City Museum. The main discussion will be around theoretical and methodological aspects of audiovisual ethnomusicology, use of A-V technologies in research and documentation, concluding with the prospects and challenges this new study field is facing.
Thirteen selected documentaries by different authors will also be shown to the public at the Film festival about musics of the world.
The main organiser of the event is the International Council for Traditional Music, a Non-Governmental Organization in Formal Consultative Relations with UNESCO. The study group, investigating the potentials of audiovisual media in a wide range of ethnomusicological activities, was recognized in July 2015. Prof. Dr. Svanibor Pettan, ICTM Secretary General and the chair of the local arrangements committee explains: “Ljubljana already hosted the first symposia of two ICTM study groups: on music and minorities in 2000 and on applied ethnomusicology in 2008. We are proud to be in a position to ensure the successful start of the study group on audiovisual ethnomusicology in the Slovenia's capital.”