Peter Peters is endowed professor in the innovation of classical music at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Maastricht University. His background is in sociology and philosophy. He holds a PhD for his dissertation on mobilities in technological cultures, in which he combines insights from social theory and science and technology studies (STS) to analyze practices of travel. Before coming to Maastricht University, he worked as a classical music journalist and critic. From 2008 to 2013 he was professor in the research centre ‘Autonomy and the Public Sphere in the Arts’ at Zuyd University, Maastricht. Here, he developed research on artistic research and its relation to science and technology studies, as well as site-specific art, and art in the public sphere.

His current research combines a life long passion for music with an interest in how artistic practices can be a context for doing academic and practice-oriented research. In previous years, he worked on an ethnography of a project at the Orgelpark in Amsterdam aimed at building a baroque organ for the 21st century. It explores how this project draws on historical and contemporary practices of pipe organ building. More recently, his research focuses on innovating classical music practices, especially symphonic music. Together with Stefan Rosu, he developed the research lines in the MCICM: the role of classical music and its value for society; the ways in which the relationship between performers of classical music, such as symphony orchestras and their audience is mediated; and the ways in which classical music practices contribute to the preservation of our cultural and social sounding heritage. With Ruth Benschop and Stefan Rosu he wrote the application for the NWO/SIA funded Artful Participation project that combines strategic research into reasons for the declining interest in symphonic music with artistic research to innovate this practice in an artistically relevant way.

At the MCICM, Peter will play a leading role in developing interdisciplinary academic and practice oriented research that combines reflection with making and performing, hence its focus on artistic research. Together with the staff of the MCICM and of the partner institutes, Peter hopes to design experiments in practice that will lead to new models for the symphonic practice and build (Eu)regional and international research consortia and partnerships.

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Gerald Mertens is the editor-in-chief of the magazine 'das Orchester.'

Anna Bull is a lecturer in Education and Social Justice, in the Department of Education at the University of York.

Lukas Pairon is initiator and founding director of SIMM, the international research platform focused on the possible Social Impacts of Making Music.

Hannah Conway is a composer, presenter and music director and has been involved in projects such as Streetwise Opera and Sound Voice.

Stefan Rosu is CEO and artistic director of philharmonie zuidnederland. He is the initiator of the Maastricht Center for the Innovation of Classical Music (MCICM).

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The diversity and complexity of conditions in which the polish philharmonics function, constitute a set of challenges. One of them is the right management of people. Management is the art of decision making, which in such complex environment can determine the style of functioning and acting to build the future by skilful application of available limited resources and artistic teams.

Musicians belongs to the groups of professionals and so-called knowledge workers. That influence the way they should be treated to achieve the most dreamed goal – the highest quality of music performance. The evaluation of effective management must include worker’s satisfaction and musicians therefore, as the important stakeholders, require appropriate attention.

A lot of articles were dedicated in the past to the leadership styles of conductors and the psychology of the orchestra while the managerial issues were not enough touched. This may change with the idea of managing quietly of H. Mintzberg. He completed a concept of the managing quietly.

Quiet management creates the conditions that foster openness and release energy as the professionals require little direction and supervision. They do require protection and support. Considering the trends of professionalization of work and constant need of professional workers it should not be overlooked.

In my article/presentation I would like to investigate management method used by the orchestra managers and its impact on musician’s engagement, organizational identity, creativity and internal motivation. The correlations between performance, control and innovation would bring new light to the organizations, which consist mostly of highly trained professionals.

Małgorzata Kaczmarek - a PhD student at the Doctoral School of Social Sciences at the University of Łódź (faculty of management). Expert in the field of music with more than 20-years experience. Professionally connected with the Lodz Philharnonic - specialist in organization and programming of the institution's activities: coordinator and producer of over 1000 artistic projects, curator of the "Colors of Poland" Touring Festival of the Lodz Philharmonic. Her interests focus on effective management in cultural institutions, organizational culture, economics of culture and economic and social aspects of philharmonic and orchestras activity in Poland.

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The Artful Participation project was a four-year project, funded by NOW/SIA, in which researchers together with musicians and staff from philharmonie zuidnederland seeks to further innovate the practice of symphonic classical music by asking what it means to participate in it as an audience.

The project ran from 2017 to 2021. Artful Participation was a collaboration between philharmonie zuidnederland, Maastricht University, and Zuyd University of Applied Science (the research centre for Arts, Autonomy & the Public Sphere, and Conservatorium Maastricht).

Veerle Spronck conducted ethnographic research in order to closely examine how four symphonic orchestras in the Netherlands are innovating participation in their everyday practices. In researching these orchestras, she questions how participation varies across actors and activities, how the materiality of symphonic music shapes the possibilities for participation, and how new meanings and values emerge when orchestras are innovating participation.

Ties van de Werff’s postdoc focused on learning from observing and experimenting. Together with musicians and staff from philharmonie zuidnederland, Ties worked on five experiments and observed three experimental concerts with the objective of learning what is needed to take the audience seriously as a potential artistic partner in orchestral practice.

Veerle Spronck is a PhD candidate in the Philosophy department at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences since September 2017. She works for the Maastricht Centre for the Innovation of Classical Music (MCICM). In her PhD research, ‘Listen Closely: Innovating Participation in Symphonic Music’, she ethnographically examines how symphony orchestras are experimenting with (audience) participation in their everyday practices. She is associate lector, researcher and professor at HKU and creator of the podcast Kunstmatig.

Trained as interdisciplinary scholar in Science & Technology Studies (STS) and practical philosophy, Ties van de Werff is interested in the ethics of societal engagement practices, both in the arts and in the sciences. He sees these practices as forms of encultured ethics. Ties's aim is to cultivate an ethical sensibility and responsive attitude among artists, designers, scientists and engineers.

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George Floyd’s killing in May of 2020 opened Pandora’s box on anti-Black racism across the globe. In the U. S. creative sector, headlines abounded disclosing ways in which the creative sector marginalizes and oppresses Black Americans. In June of 2020, an unidentified group used Instagram, @operaisracist, to share anonymous stories about their experiences with racism in opera (Chang, 2020).

The Black Opera Alliance (BOA) emerged after this to, “empower Black classical artists and administrators by exposing systems of racial inequity and under-representation of the African diaspora in all facets of the industry and challenge institutions to implement drastic reform.” BOA released A Pledge for Racial Equity and Systemic Change in Opera on September 14, 2020. The Pledge asked the opera industry to commit to manifesting racial equity for opera’s Black cultural workers. Still, on October 29, 2020, Black Administrators of Opera (BAO) released a Letter to the Opera Field from Black Administrators because the industry proved unready for change. In closing, the letter stated, “Certain members of the BAO elected to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.” Although the BOA and BAO have made progress using Blacktivism to advocate for racial justice, some levers of power remain obstructed by opera’s White supremacy culture.

Therefore, in this single presentation paper, I use phenomenology to explore the research questions, how and why do Black opera administrators censor or silence themselves when advocating for racial justice in response to White opera professionals’ fragility (DiAngelo, 2018) and rage (Anderson, 2017)?

Dr. Antonio C. Cuyler is the author of Access, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Cultural Organizations: Insights from the Careers of Executive Opera Managers of Color in the U. S. and editor of a forthcoming volume, Arts Management, Cultural Policy, & the African Diaspora. He is Director of the MA Program and Associate Professor of Arts Administration at Florida State University (FSU), Visiting Associate Professor of Theatre & Drama at the University of Michigan, and Founder of Cuyler Consulting, LLC, a Black-owned arts consultancy.

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Over the last four years, the AEC – European Association of Higher Music Education Institutions (HMEIs) – has worked intensely on the topic ‘Strengthening Music in Society’. The concluding position paper1 identifies an important topical assignment for HMEIs: "A balanced view that puts artistic and educational values firmly alongside the demands of a professional marketplace is vital. Maintaining a dynamic flow between artistic craft and imagination on the one hand, and societal relevance and engagement on the other, is a central and growing challenge.”

In order to take on this challenge, we want to explore the role of HMEI in inducing artistic progress within the professional artistic field, by actively and collaboratively connecting tradition with innovation in organisations, institutes, audiences, even politics. After all, Conservatoires hold a pivotal position as curators of the past and as breeding ground for the artists of the future.

Lies Colman is a (collaborative) pianist, performer and doctoral researcher with an academic background in cultural anthropology. She focuses her artistic, pedagogical and research activities on the innovation of the classical music profession, and connects this with pedagogy, performance and management. She is artistic director of the Classical Music Programme and the Educational Master of Music at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp, and is member of the board for the independent European Quality Enhancement body MusiQuE.

Susanne van Els (1963) is one of the leading musicians of her generation. She was known for undertaking adventurous collaborations with the other arts - significant composers like Louis Andriessen wrote new viola works for Susanne. After a truly satisfying international career as a soloist and a chamber musician, she started to work in higher education. Susanne is a member of the Learning & Teaching working group of the Strengthening Music in Society project of AEC, the European Association . She performs forward-thinking work on assessment and curriculum development in higher music education.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, many older adults living at home have experienced extreme social isolation and a lack of meaningful contact. Simultaneously professional musicians have been heavily restricted from carrying out their work. A group of classically trained musicians who specialize in participatory practices in healthcare settings with vulnerable audiences began reaching out to isolated older adults through virtual music-making online. Utilising their person-centred approach to participative music-making, the musicians learned about the challenges of migrating their physical practice online, which required balancing between the disembodiment of virtual contact and finding new ways to safeguard the humanity of person-centred music-making. The musicians learned to create a sense of ‘liveness’ to their virtual participants through careful consideration of (1) the musical approach, (2) building an appropriate social (virtual) space, and (3) managing their self-development.

This exploration of responding to the musical and social needs of isolated older adults during a global pandemic was documented in reflective journals by two teams of professional musicians and analysed by researchers of the research group Lifelong Learning in Music. The research outcomes were published in the Journal of Music, Health and Wellbeing in Autumn 2021.

This symposium presentation focuses on the possibilities of reaching vulnerable audiences in a meaningful way through virtual music-making. The presentation sheds light on the professional development of classically trained musicians migrating online during the global pandemic, and the role of classical music for establishing contact with isolated older adults in virtual settings.

Dr. Krista de Wit (née Pyykönen) works as a member of the research group Music in Context of the Research Centre Art & Society. She is a senior researcher in music in healthcare. She works as a teacher at Prince Claus Conservatoire of Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen (NL) and as a violinist in Foundation MiMiC Muziek, which provides person-centred music in various healthcare contexts. Krista earned her doctorate in November 2020 at the University of Music & Performing Arts in Vienna. In January 2021, Krista was a finalist for the Dutch Research Council’s Synergy’21 Research Award. Krista has studied her MA and MA in Music Education at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, where her master research into creating a participatory music practice for elderly people with dementia was awarded with the Kerstin Eliasson-prize of Excellence in Research in 2013.

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Gendered and sexual misconduct is a widespread problem in virtually every part of the society, including the classical music scene. This paper, based on interviews with fourteen Finnish white ciswomen professional musicians, offers an in-depth reading on how social fabrics and condition create predispositions for abuse of power, and gendered and sexual harassment.

I ask how understandings of gender and sexuality, traditional hierarchies, and common practices of classical music allow for gendered and sexual misconduct, and abuse of power. With gendered and sexual misconduct, I refer to harassment, and grooming, as well as bullying, and generalized sexist statements. With abuse of power, I refer to emotional abuse such as belittling, humiliation, intentional denial of attention, harsh and cruel comments, and setting up for failure. To understand underlying inequality, I use the notion of “social imaginaries” (Moira Gatens [1997] 2003) to examine how beliefs about gender and sexuality, power hierarchies, representations, metaphors, and images are represented in the experiences of misconduct, and abuse of power.

By drawing upon Jennifer S. Hirsch and Shamus Khan’s (2021 [2020]) understanding of power I analyse how power is distributed through associated imaginaries and in the socio-cultural conditions, such as social spaces specific to classical music practice. I argue understandings and values associated with gender, sexuality, and moral, partly normalize gendered and sexual misconduct, and abuse of power. Lastly, in this presentation I seek to outline ways in which gendered and sexual misconduct, and abuse of power can be prevented.

Anna Ramstedt (M.Mus. and M.A.) is a pianist, piano teacher and music research PhD student affiliated with the University of Helsinki, Finland. In her multidisciplinary dissertation she focuses on inequality, whiteness, and gendered and sexual misconduct, and abuse of power within the classical music scene in Finland. As an activist researcher she participates in the Finnish societal debate around inequality within classical music. Based in Amsterdam, she is currently a visiting PhD Student in University of Utrecht (NL).

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Livestreaming Classical Music Concerts - This session looks at how livestreaming has been used in the classical sector since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how artists and organisations can communicate with and build new audiences through livestreaming. Findings from Middlesex University's recent research project, Livestreaming Music in the UK (www.livestreamingmusic.uk) will be shared with the delegates.

Based on interviews and a large scale survey, the project examined musicians' and audiences' experience and expectations of livestreamed concerts during the pandemic. Topics such as emotional engagement during livestreams, making live music accessible through streaming, and income generation will be discussed, and conference delegates will be asked to share their experiences, to build up a picture of best practice from around the world. The aim of the session is to share new research on livestreaming concerts and to discuss livestreaming as a way of increasing audiences, in the wake of the pandemic.

Julia Haferkorn is the Programme Leader of the MA Classical Music Business at Middlesex University in London. Prior to joining academia, she worked in the music sector for over 20 years. Initially at Peters Edition, she promoted the music of John Cage, Rebecca Saunders and Brian Ferneyhough. Julia founded the artist management company Haferkorn Associates (1998-2014) and the production company Third Ear Music (2010-date). She has worked with a range of artists, including Apartment House and the Arditti Quartet, and has set up concerts and tours all over Britain and world-wide. Other posts include Artistic Director of the British Composer Awards (2014-16) and Artistic Director of the Chinese New Year celebrations on Trafalgar Square (2015-19). She recently led a research project into the livestreaming of concerts, funded by the Economic & Social Research Council in response to Covid-19 and is the co-editor of the 2018 book 'The Classical Music Industry'.

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In 2019, the danish orchestra organization, DEOO, asked RasmussenNordic to spearhead an investigation amongst ensembles and symphony orchestras on the subject: What are the danish orchestras practices and capabilities regarding audience development and business development? The investigation was a first step to boost innovation in the classical music sector. 10 organizations were investigated, 24 qualitative interviews were conducted and an analysis across data was carried out.

What did we uncover? The orchestras could develop new formats for new audiences, so in an artistic perspective, they were doing well. But the overall challenge was to turn this ability into innovation in the shape of strategic audience- and business development.

Søren Mikael Rasmussen is one of the founding partners of RasmussenNordic (2014). He is specialized in innovation, strategy, and leadership in the cultural sector. Over the years he has been working with orchestras and music halls in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. He has worked in the media business, where he has been an executive for a number of years in Danish Broadcasting Corporation and TV2 Denmark. Here he was head of cultural programming. Educated in both journalism and innovation, he has conducted many research projects over the years. The latest research projects have been within the field of digitalization.

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Recap of Day 1 with Denise Petzold, PhD at MCICM, Neil T. Smith, Postdoc at MCICM, and Peter Peters, chair of MCICM.

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The proposed paper refers to the concept of "music as activity" presented by Christopher Small in his book „Musicking. The Meanings of Performing and Listening”. According to Small, the meaning of music should not be found merely in the score. It also should be sought in the activities associated with the performance and listening of a musical work. („Music is not a thing at all but an activity, something that people do”; Small 1998; 2). Relationships between organized sounds are meaningful for music (in the musical score) and for humanity (for establishing purely human relationships).

A good example of such thinking and of the usefulness of classical music in enlivening social activity in its periphery is the Bach Festival in Świdnica (Poland), organized in 2000. The festival primarily focuses on the presentation of Bach’s music, showing it in different musical contexts and takes place in beautiful architectural churches and monasteries in Świdnica and nearby towns (one of them is an unusual timber-framed building known as the Church of Peace). For the 21 years of its existence, the festival has contributed to revitalizing social relations in these locations, restoring the significance of the historical-cultural heritage, and offering opportunities for attendees to become more familiar with classical music. I will explain how this remarkable project came to be.
Bogumila Mika – PhD, Assoc. Prof. in the Institute of Arts Studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland. She graduated from the Academy of Music in Katowice (music theory and composition). She earned a PhD in sociology of music at the University of Silesia, Katowice. She obtained her habilitation in musicology at the Jagellonian University, Cracow. She published three monographs, more than sixty articles and chapters in scholar’s books. She presented papers at many seminars and conferences in Europe and the US. Her research focuses mainly on 20th century music, intertextuality in music and social aspects of music

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