[Commlist] CFP International Interdisciplinary Conference: Music, Crisis, Memory

*Music, Crisis, Memory*
*An International Interdisciplinary Conference*
*School of Arts and Cultures, Newcastle University, 8-9 May 2026*
*Call for Papers*

Music can act as an essential tool for accessing and even shaping 
memories, particularly in times of crisis or when experiencing grief and 
loss. Music can also trigger vivid memories, including those related to 
specific events, emotions, or individuals. In various published studies, 
scholars demonstrate that music has long served as a powerful medium for 
communal mourning and remembrance in times of crisis, providing a way to 
process grief and make loss audible.[i]

When we discuss the relationships between music, crisis, and memory in 
depth, many questions arise: How does music support people through times 
of crisis and loss (e.g. global pandemic, fatal warfare and natural 
disaster)? How do we remember or forget crises musically? How can music 
function as a memory carrier as well as a healer? What remarkable crisis 
has the music industry dealt with? How does the crisis inspire music 
composition and create musical memory?

In the light of those questions, we would like to examine not only 
music-related and crisis-related memory, but also how people choose to 
remember and forget unfortunate experiences or pasts through musicking. 
We look forward to receiving abstract submissions on the following 
music-related topics, among others, whereby worldwide contexts can be 
considered:
§  Music as a response to crisis
§  Music-related remembering/forgetting about crisis
§  Selective memory and power
§  Crisis and memory in the music industry
§  Memorizing and reflecting with and through music
§  Musical objects, places and spaces of remembrance
§  Affective impact and emotion in musical memory
§  Music or musicking as a therapeutic medium or practice during crises
§  Politics of memory and identity through music-related practices
§  Remembering and nostalgia in different music cultures

*Formats: *The conference will be *onsite and in-person only*.
• Paper: 20 minutes + 10 minutes discussion
• Roundtable, panel discussion, conversation format or short workshop 
(30 minutes)
Conference language is English.

Please send an abstract (max. 300 words) stating the desired format 
(paper, project presentation) and a short biography (approx. 100 words) 
online via this form 
<https://forms.office.com/Pages/DesignPageV2.aspx?origin=NeoPortalPage&subpage=design&id=yRJQnBa2wkSpF2aBT74-h1Gutm5IVxdNlxSIdcDysW1UMlZESU1MOEw2RlAyTzVMMjZCS0g5MjhQWC4u&branchingelementid=r2b99e9ea489a4b66b14483aebd1e8732> by 
*16 January 2026*.
The decision on acceptance will be made by 20 February 2026.
Please contact us at this e-mail address if you have any questions: 
(numcm2026 /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(numcm2026 /at/ gmail.com)> (*Note:* No abstract 
will be accepted via this email address).

Conference organising committee:
Professor Ian Biddle, Professor Nanette de Jong, Dr Meng Ren, Dr Adam 
Behr, Dr Richard Elliott, Dr Larry Zazzo, Dr Joe Lockwood.

Supported by:
Newcastle UniversityA close-up of a logo AI-generated content may be 
incorrect.

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[i] Andrea Zarafshon Moore, /Audible Loss: New Music and the Crisis of 
Memory/. (New York: Fordham University Press, 2025).

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