The topic of the 2025 biennial symposium is Rethinking Landscape: Environment, Place, and Heritage in British Music Studies. Landscape and environment have been topics of perennial interest in British Music Studies, inspiring both celebrated and controversial readings of connections between British music, nature and climate, and identity.
Yet in the era of the climate change emergency, these issues are both taking on new urgency, and prompting new debates and compositional techniques. We thus propose a timely rethink of the scholarly terrain and thinking around landscape in British music.
We hope to address the following questions: how does the category of landscape continue to inform British music studies in the era of climate crisis? How are new generations of performers and composers responding to landscape in fresh and innovative ways? How can the traditional methodologies for discussing landscape in music be informed by techniques and perspectives from sound studies, environmental science, philosophy and heritage studies? How can fresh insights into landscape and environment inform our historical study of earlier British musical traditions? How might a new focus on place (ranging from the global to the local) challenge and reframe entrenched conceptions of British musical landscape?
With these initial questions in mind, we invite contributions within the broad field of British music studies, landscape, and environment, addressing any historical period and encompassing historical, theoretical, compositional, and performative perspectives. Topics may include, but are not limited to:
Landscape and representation: diverse and distinctive British landscapes in music (four nations, the sea).
Music heritage, museology and landscape
Global landscapes in British music
Precarious landscapes, climate change and music
New compositional and performative responses to climate change
British music and sound studies
Empire and environment: conquered and contested landscapes and sound studies
Climate catastrophe and natural threats in British music
Music and place: localism, community, institutions, festivals
Landscape in British popular musical traditions
Music, activism and politics around climate change and environment; traditions of protest and environmental disruption
We invite you to submit an abstract (200‒300 words) and a brief biography (100‒150 words) for a paper presentation of 20 minutes’ duration by 12 noon EST on 28 April 2025 to nabmsa2025@gmail.com. All participants will be notified by Conveners about the acceptance of their proposals by the end of May. Information about registration will be given in due course. Should you have any questions, feel free to contact the organizing team at the conference email address: nabmsa2025@gmail.com.
Convenors: Rachel Bani, Kirsten Barker, Joanna Bullivant, Rosemary Golding, Nicholas Jones