Call for Proposals: 

Multipart Musicking, More-than-Human Interactions

A Joint Online Workshop of the ICTMD Multipart Music and Multispecies Sound and Movement Study Groups 

Date: November 6-7, 2025

We are pleased to invite submissions for our joint workshop, co-hosted by the Multipart Music and Multispecies Sound and Movement Study Groups of the International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance (ICTMD). This workshop seeks to explore the intersections of these dynamic fields, bringing together researchers and artists to engage in a dialogue that bridges human and other-than-human musicking, sonic practices, and the broader ecological and cultural landscapes.

Themes and Scope

Multipart Music:

Multipart music is a collaborative mode of music-making that emphasizes the intentional, coordinated participation of distinct voices. It encompasses practices rooted in shared knowledge and values, where individual contributions interact to create a collective soundscape. Multipart music studies explore how these practices emerge, evolve, and resonate within various sociocultural and ecological contexts.

Multispecies Sound and Movement:
This Study Group challenges anthropocentric perspectives in music and sound studies by centering the voices of other-than-human beings and their sonic ecologies. It examines how humans and non-humans co-create, communicate, and interact through sound and movement, deepening our understanding of interspecies relations and the ecological dimensions of sound.

Integration Topics

In this joint workshop, we aim to explore the synergies between multipart music and multispecies sound practices, examining how they inform and enrich one another. We welcome contributions on, but not limited to, the following topics:

• Multipart Musicking Beyond the Human: How can the principles of multipart music be expanded to include other-than-human participants? What can we learn from the sonic interactions of non-human species in collective sound-making?
• Ecologies of Multipart Music: How do environmental contexts and multispecies interactions influence the practices and meanings of multipart music?
• Interspecies Collaboration in Multipart Settings: Case studies of musicking that involve humans and non-humans engaging in multipart or polyphonic soundscapes.
• Cultural and Ecological Sustainability: How can multipart music and multispecies studies contribute to broader conversations about environmental ethics and cultural preservation?
• Activism and Pedagogy: Applied approaches to teaching and advocating for multispecies and multipart musicking in community and ecological contexts. 
• Methodologies for Cross-Species Multipart Inquiry: Innovative research methods that bridge human and non-human sonic practices, emphasizing inter-being, multispecies collaboration, and mutual learning.

Submission Guidelines

We invite submissions from scholars, practitioners, and artists working across disciplines, including (but not limited to) ethno/musicology, sound studies, anthropology, performance studies, ecology, ethology, and other fields beyond the humanities. Contributions may include:

• Short input presentations (10 minutes) on a question, concept, experience or idea to stimulate a group discussion
• Short project presentations (10-15 minutes) on recent or ongoing research, outreach, and collaboration projects
• Moderated discussions with panelists (30 minutes with 3-4 panelists plus 15 minutes of open discussion)

We also welcome the registration for participation in topical discussion groups. The preferred integration topics can be selected in the registration form. 

Abstracts should be no longer than 300 words and will be reviewed anonymously by the academic and artistic committee. Submissions should highlight the relevance of the proposed topic to the conference themes and its potential contribution to the integration of multipart music and multispecies studies. 

Please submit your proposals and register for participation in the discussion groups using the following online form. 

Workshop registration and participation is free!

Important Dates:

• Submission Deadline: July 15,  2025 
• Notification of Acceptance: August 15, 2025
• Registration for participation: September 15, 2025
• Event Dates: November 6-7, 2025

Academic and Artistic Committee:

• Dr. Robert O. Beahrs (Center for Advanced Studies in Music / MIAM, Istanbul Technical University, Türkiye)
• Dr. Alma Bejtullahu (Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Germany)
• Dr. Giovanni Cestino (Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy)
• Dr. Christian Ferlaino (Università della Calabria, Italy)
• Mitra Jahandideh (Australian National University, Australia)
• Dr. Yannick Wey (Bern University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland)

Contact Information

Any questions or comments should be addressed to Mitra Jahandideh (Mitra.Jahandideh@anu.edu.au) with the subject heading ‘Multipart Musicking, More-than-Human Interactions.’

Join us as we listen, learn, and create together in a world where every voice matters—human and beyond.

We look forward to your contributions to this exciting interdisciplinary dialogue!

Sincerely,

Dr. Robert O. Beahrs, Dr. Christian Ferlaino, Mitra Jahandideh, Dr. Yannick Wey (Organizing Committee)