Posted by Sam MacKay, Music PhD Student

Current and former City lecturers and students featured strongly in the recent annual conference of the British Forum for Ethnomusicology, held 14-17 April at the University of Kent. The 4 day event is the pre-eminent meeting for ethnomusicologists based in the UK and is among the most significant events in the field globally. This year’s conference took place at the Historic Dockyards in Chatham and brought together over 100 international scholars under the theme of “New Currents in Ethnomusicology”.

Presentations from City-based researchers included Dr Laudan Nooshin (Reader in Ethnomusicology) on music and cyberspace in Iran and Sam Mackay (PhD student) on music and the symbolic economy in Marseille. Dr Nooshin was also awarded the prestigious BFE Book Prize for her recent monograph Iranian Classical Music. The Discourses and Practice of Creativity.

In another success for the City research community, PhD student Stephen Wilford was elected as the BFE’s new Conference Liaison Co-officer. The role includes organising the BFE’s conferences, study days and other events and contributing proactively to the organisation’s strategies and initiatives.

The conference also featured presentations from numerous former City students including Barley Norton (current BFE Chair), Hwee San Tan, Andy Pace and Richard Lightman.

City Alumnus Andy Pace Presenting

Current Music PhD Student, Sam MacKay

Laudan Nooshin Receiving her Award