Welcome to the joint meeting of the ICTMD Study Groups on Applied Ethnomusicology and on Sacred and Spiritual Sounds and Practices

Study Groups are widely considered to be among the most vibrant constituents of the global network of music scholars known as the International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance (ICTMD), which was founded in 1947. While the world conferences (next in Wellington, New Zealand, January 2025) draw most interest and participants, it is often in the more intimate setting of Study Group meetings that specific areas of study advance: scholars with a similar focus meet and present their current work and thoughts, with ample opportunity for formal and informal in-depth discussion, comparing notes, advancing theories and practices, and forging collaborations for joint projects or publications.

The Study Group on Applied Ethnomusicology (AE) focuses on ways ethnomusicological research and insights can benefit communities and societies beyond a purely academic focus. The Study Group has met on five continents since being founded in 2007 by the current President of the ICTMD, Svanibor Pettan. Over 17 years, it has helped define the field, embracing many new members and ideas in the process. Always interested in joining forces and exploring synergies with other study Groups, Applied Ethnomusicology has hosted joint meetings with the Study Groups on Music & Minorities, on Music Education and Social Inclusion, and now on Sacred and Spiritual Sounds and Practices.

The new Study Group on Sacred and Spiritual Sounds and Practices attends to sounds, music, movement and dance, and all practices related broadly to sacred belief systems, religious and spiritual doctrines, and their means of expression worldwide. It also investigates how the fluidity and intersectionality of such practices in contemporary times often engenders new developments that can blur and blend the sacred and secular, thus contributing to a deeper and broader understanding of religion and spirituality. A final focus of the group involves how sacred world views, ideologies, and rituals, as well as religions, faith, and spirituality can contribute to experiences of political and social repression, migration, refugee status, and diasporic and immigrant concerns among individuals, groups, and communities.

It is hard to think of a more appropriate place for these two Study Groups to meet than Istanbul: crossroads of cultures, ideas, music practices, and spiritual paths for over two millennia. Most of our sessions will take place in the historical courtyard of an 18th century Ottoman School, now the Istanbul University Institute for Turkology. Thanks to support from our main partners, Istanbul University and the Centre for Sound Communities (Cape Breton University, Canada) we have been able to put together a fascinating and diverse program with delegates from five continents, starting with a keynote by Anthony Seeger, and finishing with a Talking Circle facilitated by Svanibor Pettan. We are looking forward to a rich exchange of ideas, where new connections are made to further our work to understand and support traditions of music and dance worldwide.

ICTMD Study Group on Applied Ethnomusicology

Huib Schippers, Chair
Wei-Ya Lin, Secretary
Olcay Muslu, Local Arrangements
Zhang Boyu, Member

ICTMD Study Group on Sacred and Spiritual Sounds and Practices

Irene Markoff, Co-Chair
Marcia Ostashewski, Co-Chair
Daniel Avorgbedor, Vice-Chair

Wednesday

23rd

October 2024

9:00 – 10:30

Arrival delegates in Istanbul

All sessions -unless mentioned otherwise- will be held in the library of the Research Institute of Turkology of Istanbul University, located in Beyazıt, Fatih, the heart of historic İstanbul.

11:00 – 12:30

Registration

Address: Istanbul Üniversitesi, Türkiyat Araştırmaları Enstitüsü, Seyyid Hasan Paşa Medresesi Balabanağa Mah. Kimyager Derviş Paşa Sok. No:6 34080 Beyazıt/Fatih/Istanbul. Nearest Metro stop: Vezneciler/Istanbul University. Tramway 1: Laleli/Universite.

12:30 – 13:30

Registration ctd

(Various options for light lunch nearby the symposium venue;  e.g Café/restaurant Nebula is decent, affordable and next door)

13:30 – 14:00 (UTC+03)

Welcome

Moderator: Mehtap Demir Güven

Words of welcome by symposium host organisation MiRAS Centre for Cultural Sustainability, Director Olcay Muslu, venue host Istanbul University Research Institute of Turkology Director Ayse Zisan Furat and State Conservatory Director Sebnem Ünal. Short remarks by ICTMD President Svanibor Pettan, Applied Ethnomusicology Chair Huib Schippers, and SSSP Co-Chair Irene Markoff.

14:00-15:00 (UTC+03)

Keynote

ANTHONY SEEGER

Music of the Spirits, Communities, and Ethnomusicologists: Balancing Disasters, Seeking Opportunities, Forging Collaborations, and Applying Knowledge with Tact and Humility 

This keynote will describe the involvement of anthropologists and ethnomusicologists with two closely related Indigenous communities in Mato Grosso Brazil to discuss potential roles for applied involvement of researchers, the better understanding of the power of music of the spirits, and the possibilities of failures as well as successes. 

It builds on the speaker’s extensive experience with the Kĩsêdjê (Suyá) and Tapayuna in Central Brazil as well as his experience with political activism in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It will argue that facilitating and participating in alliances, following rather than leading, and seeking to understand the larger processes in the short period of the researcher’s presence are important aspects of applied ethnomusicology.

Tea Break

15:30 – 17:00

Panel 1:

Rebuilding Beyond Bricks: Applied Ethnomusicology after Human Conflict and Natural Disasters 

Chair: Huib Schippers

The opening panel of the Rebuilding Beyond Bricks workshop addresses how over the past three decades there has been increasing awareness of and research into the role of music projects after major disruptions of communities through human conflict, colonialism, racism, and natural disasters.

Panellists: Marcia Ostashewski, Graham Marshall, Gillian Howell, Olcay Muslu, Svanibor Pettan, Patricia Opondo.

18:00 – 19:00

Evening Program

Welcome Reception

Pre-concert drinks and appetizers at Orient Institute Istanbul

Address: Galip Dede Cad. No. 65, 34421 Beyoğlu, Istanbul

19:00 – 20:00

Performance 1:

Harmonies for a Broken Earth – Orient Institute

Two seasoned musicians from areas affected by war and an earthquake share their music and stories: Ukrainian-American bandura master Julian Kytasty and Turkish regional bağlama artist and vocalist from Hatay, Asım Kuzuluk.

Thursday

24th

October 2024

9:00 – 10:30

Presentations 1:

Sacred Sounds: Intensification, and Survivals

Chair: Irene Markoff

Anne Rasmussen: Secular Humanism, the Conservative Turn, and the Intensification of MusiCultural Production in Muslim Indonesia

Guzel Sayfullina: Recitation of Devotional Poetry Among the Volga Tatar Muslims in the 20th Century: The Disappearing Tradition

Jakša Primorac: A Major Exception: Old Folk Liturgical Singing of Roman Catholics

John Plemmenos: The Fading Sound of Eternity: The Survival of a Sacred Musical Tradition on a Greek Island Community, and the Need for its Preservation

Coffee Break

11:00 – 12:30

Presentations 2:

Identity, AI, Digitization, and Digital Communication in Music and Dance

Chair: Wei-Ya Lin

Anthony Grégoire: Digitizing Performance: Artificial intelligence, Dance and Identity among the Noons (Senegal)

Gergana Panova-Tekath: Bulgarian Examples of Urban Folk Dance as the Subject of Digital Ecochoreology

Xiaoyi Yuan; Miaotong Yuan: Re-Imaging the Historical Soundscape of Dunhuang Music Heritage: A Study Based on Music Iconography Analysis of Digitized Cave Paintings

Razia Sultanova: Shamans and WhatsApp: The Intersection of Tradition and Technology in Central Asia

12:30 – 13:30

Lunch

(Own Arrangements)

Choose from many options within 200 metres of the Symposium venue. Café/restaurant Nebula is affordable, pleasant, next door

13:30 – 14:30

Presentations 3:

Aspects of the Spiritual and the Sacred in Soundworlds

Chair: Anne Rasmussen

Cenk Güray: Searching for Traces of the Khorosan School of Wisdom within Medieval Musical Sources in Anatolia

Donna A. Buchanan: Trademarks and Talismans: The Cosmological Iconography & Spiritual Economy of Bulgaria’s Cast Mumming Bells

Mary Stakelum: The ‘Sounding Bell’: Possibilities for Public Engagement in Music Education Research with Particular Reference to England

Tea Break

15:00 – 15:30

Workshop:

Lecture Room 2

“Singing Samoyilka: Byzantine Ukrainian Liturgical Music in Canada”

Roman Dusanowskyj, Julian Kytasty, Marcia Ostashewski

15:30 – 17:30

Panel 2:

Interdisciplinary Directions in the Study of Alevi Expressive Practices: Sharing Insider and Outsider Perspectives

Moderators: Irene Markoff and Melanie Pinkert

Ezgi Benli-Garcia: “Listening in Alevi Muhabbets: Spirituality and Community in Participatory Performance”

Maja Bjelica: “Listening and Breathing in Alevi Music”

Rumiana Margaritova: “Archiving Alevi-Bektashi Ritual Music from Bulgaria: Past Examples, Current Needs and Future Prospects”

Ulaş Özdemir: “Searching for Sounds of Alevi Lineage in 78 rpm Recordings: Gaziantepli Hasan Hüseyin and his Unique Music Repertoire”

Irene Markoff: “The Confluence of Traditional Roots and Transnational/Intercultural Routes in the “Becoming” of a Contemporary Alevi Aşık (Minstrel) and Composer: The Case of Ahmet Ihvani“

Melanie Pinkert: “Dernek Disrupted: A Preliminary Inquiry into the Impact and Aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Three Turkish Alevi Associations in the U.S”

15:30

Travel Time

Bus provided by sponsor IBB / Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality

19:00 – 22:30

Excursion 1:

Visit to Erikli Baba (Alevi Bektashi) Lodge Zeytinburnu; followed by Karagümrük Cerrahi Lodge; Male/Female Zikr Ceremony, Fatih

Friday

25th

October 2024

9:00 – 10:30

Presentations 4:

Action Research after Disasters

(Part of the Workshop Rebuilding Beyond Bricks)

Chair: Svanibor Pettan

Olcay Muslu: Rebuilding Beyond Bricks: Reconnecting to Community and Culture via Music in Post-Earthquake Hatay

Shang Wang, YiXiang Shan, ZiHan Li: Cultural Restoration and Musical Sustainability: Reviving Folk Instrumental Bands and Workshops in Xici Village Deng Yun Sheng Hui

Brett Pyper: Concert Programming as a Site of Knowledge production: Towards an Applied Scholarly Praxis

Christian Poske: Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Nagaland through Applied Ethnomusicological Research

Coffee Break

11:00 – 12:30

Presentations 5:

Fighting Inequality.

(Part of the Workshop Rebuilding Beyond Bricks)

Chair: Patricia Opondo

Wei-Ya Lin: Evaluating Creative (Mis)Understandings – Towards Sustainable Practices in Research

Xabier Adrien: Applied Ethnomusicology: Reflections from a Latin American Experience

Katharina Doring: The Cultural and the Musical in Ethno Bahia Music Residency: Practices and Discourses of Ethno World Pedagogy and Research in the Post-Colonial Debate of Applied Ethnomusicology in Latin America

Thea Tiramani: “I share, I listen, I sing, I create”: The House of Words as a Case Study of Collaborative Music Workshops Against Intolerance and Inequity.

12:30 – 13:30

Lunch

Note: Café/restaurant Nebula is next to the symposium venue

13:30 – 15:00

Presentations 6:

Decolonisation, Antiracism, and Embracing Indigenous Cultures

(Part of the Workshop Rebuilding Beyond Bricks)

Chair: Marcia Ostashewski

Patricia Opondo: The Role of Music in Building Resilience during the South African Liberation Struggle

Michael Frishkopf: Virtual Reality Soundscapes to Combat Islamophobia: from Istanbul to Edmonton

Fulvia Caruso: Culture in Dialogo as an Attempt Against Intolerance

Graham Marshall, Roman Dusanowskyj, Marcia Ostashewski:

Working with First Nation and Migrant Communities in Cape Breton, Canada.

15:00 – 15:30

Documentary showing

(While sipping tea)

Videos of applied work in Cape Breton and Southeast Turkey

Short documentaries on music initiatives to support communities

15:30 – 17:00

Presentations 7:

Social Transformations

(Part of the Workshop Rebuilding Beyond Bricks)

Chair: Olcay Muslu

Tan Sooi Beng: Community Music-Making, Social Cohesion, and Awareness of Place: ‘Music of Sound’ as Performance Praxis in Penang, Malaysia

Marija Dumnić Vilotijević: Should I Write or Should I Act?: Methodologies of Ethnomusicological Work with Asylum Seekers in Serbia

Marko Koelbl: Relocating Afghan Higher Music Education during Taliban’s Music Ban

Amanda Bayley: Transforming Lives Through Ethnomusicological Engagement in Kwando, Namibia

17:30 – 18:30

Panel 3:

Key Principles Summary

Chair: Anthony Seeger

To conclude the Workshop Rebuilding Beyond Bricks, this panel extracts key principles and success factors in working with communities after manmade or natural disasters. With Anthony Seeger, Patricia Opondo, Gillian Howell, Tan Sooi Beng, Svanibor Pettan, Marcia Ostashewski, Huib Schippers 

19:30-21:30

Evening Program

Conference dinner

(Optional)

Conference dinner with a view of the Golden Horn

(Note: not included in fee; please sign up and pay at registration)

Saturday

26th

October 2024

9:00 – 10:30

Presentations 8:

SSSP Worldwide: Music & Sacred Rituals

Chair: Anne Rasmussen

Christiane Strothman: Sacred chant and recitation of the Tibetan Yungdrung Bön tradition. The “Tropur“ ritual.

Shawar Kibria Maqhfi: Music Sessions in Sufi Shrines: Sites of Inclusion, Cultural Mingling, and Resisting Hate

Ameneh Youssefzadeh: Devotional Songs in the Zekr Ceremony of the Naqshbandi-Mojaddedi in Eastern Khorasan – Iran

Nana Amowee Dawson: Emotionality and Expression: A Comparative Analysis of Musical Interpretation in Ghanaian Classical Choral and Contemporary Gospel Ensemble

Coffee Break

11:00 – 12:30

Presentations 9:

SSSP Worldwide: Sacred and Spiritual Soundscapes, Spaces, and Expressions

Chair: Michael Frischkopf

Kinga Povedak: Christian Romani Musicking in Hungary

Mohamed Haseeb: Where the Sea Meets the Emotion: Translating the Sacred Sounds of Malabar

Pankaj Rawat: Sacred Ethnomusicology and Religious Music Practices in Uttarakhand Himalayas: Unveiling the Social Spaces of Identity, Belonging and Community Caste Roles

Shao Peng Wang: The Construction of Sacred and Spiritual in Traditional Malaysian Teochew Rod Puppetry

12:30 – 13:30

Lunch in café Nebula

Separate business lunch meetings for Study Groups on Applied Ethnomusicology / Sacred and Spiritual Sounds and Practices.

13:30 – 14:20

Presentations 10a:

Using Applied Ethnomusicology in Learning Situations.

Chair: Huib Schippers

Jennifer Walden: Applied Ethnomusicology and Today’s School Music Curricula: Building Awareness, Knowledge, and Appreciation through Engagement

Li Xinyang: Resonance with “Love” in Cross-cultural Music Exchange in the Post-epidemic Era: A Case Study of the “World Music Week” Project of the Central Conservatory of Music

Shireen Nabatian: “Spiritual Jam”: Tracing the Definition of Meşk from Ottoman Pedagogy to Summer Music Camp

14:30 – 15:30

Panel 4: 

Transmission Methods in Âşık Music

Chair: Hande Sağlam

Âşık Sinem Bacı, Sevilay Çınar, Hande Sağlam: Intergenerational Transmission Methods in Âşık Music

(Group presentation with the artistic input of Aşık Sinem Bacı)

Tea Break

16:00 – 16:30

Workshop

Graham Marshall: Wije’wi Mik’ma’ki / Come with me to Mik’ma’ki. Featuring North American Indigenous songs and stories.

16:30 – 17:30

Panel 5:

Applied Ethnomusicology at ICTMD: The First Two Decades and Beyond

Chair: Svanibor Pettan

Panel discussion with Zhang Boyu, Anne Rasmussen, Tan Sooi Beng, Anthony Seeger, Huib Schippers, delegates

At every gathering of the Study Group on Applied Ethnomusicology, we reflect on developments in approaches methodologies, ethical considerations, and applications of this important branch of ethnomusicology

20:00

Evening Program

Performance 2:

Concert night

Individual choice of performances of traditional Turkish music, or exploring the musical nightlife of Kadıköy (in Asia, 20 minutes by ferry from Eminönü).  Further details at Symposium registration.

Sunday

27th

October 2024

9:00 – 10:30

Presentations 11:

Sound worlds, spaces, and community wellbeing

Chair: Gillian Howell

Xia Jing: Mindfulness in Guqin as a Way of Nourishing Wellbeing

Omny Nur Pratama: Dambus and Sawai: Mystical Dimensions of the Sound of the Dambus Musical Instrument

Olga Rotari Erikli: An Overview of Gagauz Church Chants

Atesh Sonneborn: Where does it come from? Searching for unity with music

Coffee Break

11:00 – 12:30

Presentations 12:

Museums, archives, institutions, publications

Chair: Anthony Seeger

Partner institution presents;

Wu Jie: The Chinese Music Museum from the Perspective of Applied Ethnomusicology

Zhang Boyu: Resolving Concrete Problems on the Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection through Publications

Lin Zigi: As the River Flows: Quanzhou Nanyin in the Context of Higher Education Intangible Cultural Heritage

Programs

Nihan Tahtaişleyen: Reading the Social Reflections of an Archive Exhibition through Applied Ethnomusicology

12:30 – 13:00

Closing session

Chair: Svanibor Pettan

Talking Circle: Final reflections on the Symposium from the delegates and words of thanks.

14:00 – 15:00

Tour of Instanbul

(Optional)

Guided tour of the historical centre of Istanbul, offered to delegates by IBB / Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

Program Committee

Huib Schippers
Irene Markoff
Olcay Muslu
Wei-Ya Lin
Marcia Ostashewski
Zhang Boyu

Local Arrangements Committee

Olcay Muslu
Mehtap Demir Güven
Urum Ulaş Özdemir
Abdullah Akat
Huib Schippers
Seyit Yöre
Ayşe Zişan Furat
Mehmet Sahit Turkhan
Sinem Yildiz
Irem Nur Soycan
Tanya Aktas
Resul Turan

Acknowledgments

The Joint Symposium of the ICTMD Study Groups on Applied Ethnomusicology and Sacred and Spiritual Sounds and Practices has been organised by MİRAS Centre for Cultural Sustainability, and Istanbul University State Conservatory Ethnomusicology Program; hosted by Istanbul University Research Institute of Turkology and Orient-Institut Istanbul with sponsor support from partnership with IBB (Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality) Kültür and Tourism, and financial support from SSHRC (Canada) through the Centre for Sound Communities (CBU) for the ‘Building Beyond Bricks’ workshop. International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance (ICTMD) has sponsored several delegate’s travel. Printing materials with the sponsorship of Ricoh Türkiye.

Keynote by Anthony Seeger

Professor Emeritus UCLA/Smithsonian Institution

Music of the Spirits, Communities, and Ethnomusicologists: Balancing Disasters, Seeking Opportunities, Forging Collaborations, and Applying Knowledge with Tact and Humility

During the past 100 years Brazilian Indigenous communities have experienced epidemics, massacres, loss of territory, climate change, and other natural and human-made disasters as well as interactions with anthropologists and ethnomusicologists, government agents, and missionaries.  Among other effects, these caused extensive depopulation, reduction of territory, language loss, poor health, and many deaths. Communities have responded to these disasters in many ways, including flight, open conflict, becoming invisible, new alliances, and the repurposing of sacred music to new ends. This presentation will describe the involvement of anthropologists and ethnomusicologists with two closely related Indigenous communities in Mato Grosso Brazil to discuss potential roles for applied involvement of researchers, the better understanding of the power of music of the spirits, and the possibilities of failures as well as successes. The keynote builds on the speaker’s extensive experience with the Kĩsêdjê (Suyá) and Tapayuna in Central Brazil as well as his experience with political activism in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  It will argue that facilitating and participating in alliances, following rather than leading, and seeking to understand the larger processes in the short period of the researcher’s presence are important aspects of applied ethnomusicology.

Distinguished Professor Emeritus Anthony Seeger is a leading figure in the field of ethnomusicology. He is an anthropologist, ethnomusicologist, audiovisual archivist, record producer and musician. His research focuses on music and social life, ethnomusicology, issues of intellectual property, and intangible cultural heritage. He has taught at three universities, worked at two national museums, headed three audiovisual archives, and served in leading positions in SEM and ICTM, the two leading international organisations for the study of traditions of music and dance. 

Seeger is the author of an iconic monograph on the Kisedje Indians of Brazil: Why Suyá Sing: A Musical Anthropology of an Amazonian People (Cambridge University Press, 1987/ University of Indiana Press, 2004). Other published articles address topics such as land and human rights for Indigenous peoples, archiving, and intellectual property, as well as ethnomusicological theory and method. He has co-edited numerous publications over the past four decades, from Early Field Recordings: A Catalogue of the Cylinder Collections at the Indiana University Archives of Traditional Music (Indiana University Press, 1987) to most recently Music, Communities, and Sustainability: Developing Policies and Practices (Oxford University Press, 2022). 

Panels and Roundtables

Panel 1: Rebuilding Beyond Bricks: Music after Humanmade and Natural Disasters

Moderator: Huib Schippers.

Participants: Marcia Ostashewski (Cape Breton University, Canada), Graham Marshall (Mi’kmaw), Gillian Howell (University of Melbourne), Olcay Muslu (MiRAS), Svanibor Pettan (ICTMD), Patricia Opondo (University of Kwazulu Natal).

Panel Abstract: The opening panel of the Rebuilding Beyond Bricks workshop addresses how over the past three decades there has been an increasing awareness of and research into the role of music projects after major disruptions of communities through human conflict, colonialism, racism, and natural disasters. This work can be divided into three major areas, which often differ in timeline but can have equally disastrous effects: natural disasters like earthquakes, extreme weather, or flooding due to climate change; short- or long-term disruptions of cultural lives through national conflict or war; and the often long-term and slow detrimental effect on community’s cultures caused by the interrelated forces of repressing (Indigenous) people, racism, political or religious suppression, and colonialism.This panel invites initial statements from participants who have lived or seen examples of these threats to cultural sustainability from close by, and a discussion on key methodological and ethical questions that arise from this type of work.

Panel 2: Interdisciplinary Directions in the Study of Alevi Expressive Practices: Sharing Insider and Outsider Perspectives

Moderators and Organizers: Irene Markoff and Melanie Pinkert.

Participants:  Ezgi Benli-Garcia (Indiana University, USA); Maja Bjelica (Science and Research Centre, Institute for Philosophical and Religious Studies, Koper, Slovenia); Rumiana Margaritova (Institute of Art Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria); Ulaş Özdemir (State Conservatory, Istanbul University, Türkiye); Irene Markoff (York University, Canada); Melanie Pinkert (Independent Scholar, USA).

Panel Abstract: This roundtable shares new interdisciplinary research involving Alevi expressive traditions by insider Alevi, and outsider non-Alevi scholars. The presentations range from how poetic-musical audition instills ethical values and practices and embodies an ethics of hospitality within sacred ceremonies (cems) and informal communal gatherings (muhabbets), to methodologies contributing to a deeper understanding of Alevi aesthetic-affective traditions, identities, and institutions through the study of archival recordings, the establishment of archives, the art and craft of a contemporary Alevi minstrel, and the effects of a pandemic on community cohesion.

The first presentation (Ezgi Benli-Garcia) illustrates how engaged audition in the muhabbet, as a form of spiritual tutorship, serves as a catalyst for ethical values and practices within Alevi communities in Istanbul, while the second paper (Maja Bjelica) echoes philosophical attunement in analyzing how communal listening and breathing practices to sung poetry with folk lute accompaniment in cems embody an ethics of hospitality that creates a sense of welcoming and strong bonding among believers and outsiders. The third presentation (Rumiana Margaritova) addresses legal, ethical, and technical issues in archiving Alevi-Bektashi liturgical songs in Bulgaria given recent changes in local performance styles precipitated by influences from Turkey, while the fourth presentation (Ulaş Özdemir) explores the legacy of Gaziantepli Hasan Hüseyin (d. 1966), a spiritual guide (dede) of the Kızıldeli spiritual lineage (ocak) and recording artist, through analysis of archival 78 rpm recordings.  The fifth presentation (Irene Markoff) investigates the path of self-discovery of Toronto-based Alevi minstrel, composer and virtuoso bağlama performer Ahmet Ihvani who balances Kurdish and Turkish identities through innovative collaborations with ethnically-diverse musicians, while the last presentation (Melanie Pinkert) probes the impact of COVID-19 on three U.S. Alevi cultural associations (derneks) and their efforts and discoveries in meeting the challenges of shutting down and restarting, in diaspora circumstances.

Panel 3: Rebuilding Beyond Bricks: Identifying Key Principles

Moderator: Anthony Seeger.

Participants: Patricia Opondo, Gillian Howell, Tan Sooi Beng, Svanibor Pettan, Marcia Ostashewski, Huib Schippers

Panel Abstract: This closing panel of Rebuilding Beyond Bricks aims to extract key principles and success factors in working with communities after manmade or natural disasters. Each panelist is invited to identify three key principles from their experience in working in the highly challenging circumstances caused by man-made or natural disasters.

Panel 4: Intergenerational Transmission Methods in Âşık Music

Chair and organizer: Hande Sağlam (University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Austria).

Participants: Âşık Sinem Bacı (Minstrel and Freelance Artist, Türkiye), Sevilay Çınar (Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University Turkish Music Conservatory, Türkiye), and Hande Sağlam.

Panel abstract: As living representatives of Anatolian oral history, the âşıks, the creators of Anatolian folk music and folk literature, have transmitted Anatolian cultural memory from generation to generation for hundreds of years. Since the 1950s, migration from rural to urban areas due to economic and sociopolitical factors has also enabled the âşık tradition to migrate to urban areas and to continue in partly traditional and partly hybrid forms in these urban areas. However, since the end of the 20th century, the âşık tradition, which has been “reshaped” in these new environments, has begun to experience significant changes and loss of semantic meaning in both traditional and new performance spaces. Within the above-mentioned framework, Âşık Sinem Bacı is one of the most prominent of the âşıks who have transmitted this tradition from rural areas to urban environments. Although her struggle for existence as a female âşık in an urban setting has been challenging, she was able to integrate her cultural and social capital from the rural areas into the social and aesthetic expectations of the urban environment, and her works have been highly acclaimed. It should be highlighted that Âşık Sinem Bacı has not been able to achieve the economic and symbolic recognition she deserved, which is the common fate of many of the âşıks in both rural and urban areas. In this one-hour presentation, we will analyze the current situation of âşık music within the framework of Bourdieu’s four concepts of capital and his definition of “accumulated history” (Bourdieu 1986).

Panel 5: Applied Ethnomusicology at ICTMD: The First Two Decades and Beyond

Moderator: Svanibor Pettan.

Participants: Zhang Boyu, Anne Rasmussen, Tan Sooi Beng, Anthony Seeger, Huib Schippers, delegates.

Panel Abstract: At every gathering of the Study Group on Applied Ethnomusicology, we reflect on developments in approaches methodologies, ethical considerations, and applications of this important branch of ethnomusicology.

Panel 6: Cultural Restoration and Musical Sustainability: Reviving Folk Instrumental Bands and Workshops in Zhuozhou, Hebei after the 2023 Flood

Panel Organizer: YiXiang Shan (Beijing Central Conservatory of Music, China).

Panel Participants: Shang Wang (Beijing Central Conservatory of Music); YiXiang Shan (Beijing Central Conservatory of Music); ZiHan Li (Beijing Central Conservatory of Music).

Panel Abstract: This panel focuses on the cultural recovery and musical sustainability in Zhuozhou County, Hebei, China, following the 2023 flood. It specifically delves into the reorganization and reconstruction of local folk instrumental music ensembles and workshops, which are crucial to the cultural identity and heritage of the local community. Through three case studies, this panel emphasizes the importance of cultural recovery, and the role played by folk instrumental music ensembles and music instrument workshops in the reconstruction of the folk music ecosystem in Zhuozhou after the floodwaters subsided.

The first paper (Zihan Li) explores both audio archives and self-healing and self-recovery of communities after natural disasters in Xici Village Deng Yun Sheng Hui. The second paper (Shang Wang) centers on various challenges faced by several local musical instrument workshops during the reconstruction process, including resource allocation, fundraising, and community mobilization. The third paper (YiXiang Shan) investigates innovative strategies that can be adopted in the face of the personnel vacuum in folk instrumental ensembles after the floodwaters subsided, such as promoting cross-generational transmission in the field of music, collaborating with cultural associations specializing in related musical genres, and leveraging technology to expand and  influence educational outreach, in order to ensure the sustainable development of different cultural institutions. By collectively discussing these issues, our panel aims to facilitate the reconstruction of the post-disaster folk music ecosystem in China through specific case studies.

Concerts and workshops 

Harmonies for a Broken Earth

On the opening night of the Symposium, we are pleased to invite you to a concert featuring two musicians from regions where humanmade and natural disasters have ripped away the cultural ecosystems that normally support communities engaging with the musical practices that connect them. We are thrilled to give the stage to two exceptional musicians affected by war and disaster, allowing them to share their music and stories: Ukrainian-American bandura master Julian Kytasty and Turkish regional bağlama artist and vocalist Asım Kuzuluk from Hatay who specializes in the barak genre of uzun havalar (free rhythm, quasi-improvisational folk songs) from the Amik Plateau (Antakya province). Julian Kytasty represents war-torn Ukraine; while Asım Kuzuluk hails from the earthquake zone in Southeast Turkey. They have each selected half an hour of songs and lyrics that represent their heritage and feelings, and will conclude the concert with a duet.

JULIAN KYTASTY

Julian Kytasty is one of the world’s premier players of the bandura (Ukrainian lute-harp), and the instrument’s leading North American exponent. He was awarded “Honored Artist of Ukraine” distinction from Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy in 2019 – though born in the USA and living between Canada and, the USA. A singer, multi-instrumentalist and third-generation bandurist, he has concertized and taught instrumental and choral music throughout the Americas and Europe. Kytasty is especially recognized for his expertise in epic songs and early bandura repertoire. In 1989-1990 Kytasty was one of the first North American-born bandurists to tour Ukraine, performing over one hundred concerts. He has often returned to tour in Ukraine; in the summer of 2014 he was invited to Ukraine to perform for celebrations of Taras Shevchenko’s life and poetry at the invitation of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine’s Shevchenko Bicentennial Project. Kytasty’s album “Songs of Truth” (2014) will be re-released by Smithsonian Folkways in 2025.

1- The Burial of Otaman Khvedir (Traditional Duma epic song)

2- Traditional Dance Tunes 1

3- Recruit Song (traditional XIX century folk song; duet with Marcia Ostashewski)

4- Traditional Dance Tunes 2

5- Truth and Lies (Traditional XVII century kobzar song)

6- Improvisation for Bandura Istanbul

ASIM KUZULUK

Asım Kuzuluk is a prominent representative of traditional Turkish folk music, earning a special place in the hearts of music lovers with his soulful voice and expertise in the regional repertoire of the region of his birth. Known for his artistry and profound knowledge and original interpretation of the Amik style of uzun havalar, Kuzuluk has been widely acknowledged as a major contributor to preserving the rich heritage of Turkish folk music. Known widely for songs such as “Dönem Zülüflerin Deste Deste”, “Sarı Çizmeli Beyler”, and Yorgunum Yokuş Çıkamam”, the artist has also established cultural bridges by masterfully performing folk songs from various regions of Anatolia. He has been working actively to keep the Amik region’s barak musical style and culture alive and contributing to the promotion of regional culture with his numerous albums, research projects, and compilations for decades.

1- Beymayıl

2- Bahçelerde Zerdali

3- İskan (Maraştan Öteye Ahır Dağları)

4- Zobalarında Kuru da Meşe Yanıyor Efem

5- Farımaz da Deli Gönül Farımaz

6- Üsküdara Gideriken..

Accompanied by a bağlama player Uğur Yücel

1, 3, and 5 are Uzun Havalar (free rhythm, semi-improvised folk songs), while 2, 4, and 6 are Kırık Havalar (folk songs in strict meter)

Partners & Sponsors

MİRAS Centre for Cultural Sustainability seeks to build greater social cohesion and individual wellbeing by (re)connecting people with their cultural heritage and creativity through educational activities, community engagement, and supporting creative work and infrastructure. As an NGO, it aims to benefit particularly those that are at risk of losing ‒ through natural disasters or human intervention ‒ active engagement with art and culture, with the well-documented individual and societal benefits that flow from such experiences. In doing so, MİRAS is committed to working with the highest levels of integrity and transparency, without discrimination on the basis of language, religion, nationality, race, cultural background, or gender. MİRAS’ first focus is earthquake-ravaged Southeast Turkey.

The Istanbul University State Conservatory Ethnomusicology Program was founded in 2015 and offers a wide diversity of nationally and internationally accredited courses leading towards an undergraduate degree. Courses enable students to gain a solid grounding for the in-depth study of Turkish and global musical culture, including research and fieldwork methods, transcription and analysis, academic writing, and detailed studies of the disciplines of musicology and ethnomusicology. Elective course offerings in Anthropology, Sociology, Philosophy, Psychology, History and Literature, etc. contribute further to the stimulating interdisciplinary nature of the program. One important objective of the program is to prepare students for postgraduate study and exchange programs, which will enable them to become qualified experts in both domestic and international arenas as ethnomusicologists.

The Istanbul University Research Institute of Turkology is the first national scholarly institute established by the decision of the Council of Ministers in the Republic of Turkey. It provides education in four separate branches of science within the Department of Turkology Studies: the Department of Eurasian Political, Social, Economic and Cultural Studies; the Department of Turkish Language and Literature; the Department of Turkish Art History; and the Department of Turkish History. The Institute aims to ensure national unity in the field of Turkology, to develop international relations, and to lead Turkish universities and research institutions of other universities in research in these fields. The Research Institute of Turkology has been most supportive and made available their beautiful venue in the heart of Istanbul for this Symposium at no charge.

Orient-Institut Istanbul (OII) is a research institute within the network of the Max Weber Foundation –the German Humanities Institutes Abroad– specialising in disciplines of the humanities and social sciences. In close co-operation with Turkish, German and international scholars, it covers a variety of research areas in Turkish Studies and their relationship to regional issues. Its research ranges from Ottoman studies and Turkological linguistics and literary studies to cultural anthropology, musicology and topics from Science, Technology and Society. In addition, the Orient-Institut Istanbul is active in the area of academic exchange between Germany and Turkey. The Orient Institute is graciously hosting the symposium opening reception and concert in their beautiful new venue.

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) holds a central place in the organisation of the local administration of Istanbul. Its scope of responsibility encompasses the entire provincial territory, which spans a total area of 5,343 square kilometres. IMM has 25 municipal enterprises and 43,500 employees in total. It is responsible for a wide variety of areas including the environment, natural-gas supply, energy, infrastructure, planning and development, IT, transportation, community services and vocational education, health-wellness, food & catering, culture and tourism. IMM‘s motto is “300 Projects in 300 Days,” which aims to lay the foundations for and initiate activities all over Istanbul.

Centre for Sound Communities is an arts-led social innovation lab at Cape Breton University (Canada), involved in: 1) carrying out research through artistic practices (mainly dance, music, theatre & digital media) as well as standard methods and strategies across a range of disciplines; 2) providing training for students, faculty and community partners; 3)working with communities to develop connections and access resources; and 4) building research teams and networks to meet partners’ needs and solve concrete problems. It seeks to address systemic inequalities through a focus on research that serves the needs of under-represented and under-resourced populations. The Centre for Sound Communities secured a grant in partnership with MiRAS from the Social Sciences and Research Council of Canada that enables several key presenters to join the Symposium, hired local student research assistants to support outcomes, and kept costs down for delegates.

Registration

Registration/payment details ICTMD Symposium for presenters and other participants

Thanks to securing support from our partners, the program and local arrangements committee have been able to keep the registration fees low to enable live participation by as many delegates as possible:

100 Euro for international delegates, and

1,000 TL only for those who live and work in Türkiye.

Online participation is 50% of the conference fee (50 euros / 500 TL).

Single day participation can be purchased on site for 30 EURO / 300 TL, subject to availability.

Please transfer the appropriate amount to host organisation MiRAS Centre for Cultural Sustainability (an NGO based in Istanbul) using the details below. For international participants: 100 EUR to the euro account number specified on the next page. For Turkish participants: 1,000 TL to IBAN TR030006701000000034665128. The payment should be marked with your Name, Surname, and “ICTMD 2024 Symposium Registration Fee.”

You can also pay cash at registration. In either case, MiRAS will provide a formal receipt so you can claim back expenses from your university. Please let us know if you have any questions.

 

PAYMENT DETAILS INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPANTS

AMOUNT: 100 EUROS

IBAN: TR30 0006 7010 0000 0034 6674 55

ACCOUNT NAME: Miras Kulturel Surdurulebilirlik Dernegi

ACCOUNT HOLDER ADDRESS:             Balat Mah., Kiremit Caddesi No:48

                                                                        Istanbul 43087, TURKEY

BANK NAME: YAPI VE KREDİ

BANK CODE (EFT): 0067

SWIFT CODE (BIC): YAPITRISXXX

BRANCH CODE: 374

BRANCH NAME: OSMANBEY

ACCOUNT NUMBER: 34667455 EUR

BRANCH ADDRESS: Şişli / İstanbul

STREET ADDRESS: Halaskargazi Mah. Halaskargazi Cad. No:90a

SUBURB: Şişli

CITY: İstanbul

Bank phone: +90 212 373-8920

Bank fax: +90 212 339-5826

 

PAYMENT DETAILS TURKISH PARTICIPANTS ONLY:

AMOUNT: 1,000 TL

IBAN NUMBER: TR030006701000000034665128

ACCOUNT NAME: Miras Kültürel Sürdürülebilirlik Derneği

 

For both Turkish and international participants, cash payment of the fee at the Registration Desk is also possible. Please alert us of your intention to join asap.

Visitor Information

ISTANBUL Symposium 2024- ICTMD Joint Study Group Meeting: Applied Ethnomusicology (AE) and Sacred and Spiritual Sounds and Practices (SSSP) Istanbul, 23-27 October 2024

Airport arrival

There are two airports in Istanbul: Istanbul Airport (IST) on the European side, and Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW) in Anatolia. You can use either of them; however, we suggest that you use Istanbul Airport (IST) due to easy transfer to the conference venue. There are shuttle buses from both airports to Taksim, then you can use a taxi from Taksim to the conference venue. There is also a metro from Istanbul Airport to the City Centre, connecting to one that is close ot the venue. Taxis from the Airport to the historical part of Istanbul where we will meet cost approximately 30USD. We suggest using Turkish Lira for all payments of shuttle buses, taxis, shops, and restaurants.

Visa

For visa requirements, see:

Conference venue

Conference sessions will be held at İstanbul University, Research Institute of Turkology located in Beyazıt, Fatih.

Address: İstanbul Üniversitesi, Türkiyat Araştırmaları Enstitüsü, Seyyid Hasan Paşa Medresesi Balabanağa Mah. Kimyager Derviş Paşa Sok. No:6 34080 Beyazıt/Fatih/İstanbul

For more details and images: https://maps.app.goo.gl/cURZfhSGNzgV2DzK6

Please find the location of the main venue of the conference:

Accommodation

Below is a list of hotels that are recommended by the Local Organizing Committee. Other options can be found by using services like Trivago and Booking.com

Solis Hotel Beyazit Istanbul (3 stars)

Location: Mimar Kemalettin Mah. Mithatpasa Cad. No: 14/16 Beyazit, Istanbul, Turkey
Contact Number:+90 212 638 40 70
Email: info@thesolishotel.com

Solis Boutique Hotel (3 stars)

Location: Mimar Hayrettin Mah. Balipaşa Yokuşu Sk. No: 102 Kumkapı Fatih Istanbul
Contact Number:+90 212 638 40 73
Email: info@solisboutiquehotel.com

Beethoven Premium Hotel (3 stars)

Location: Gençtürk Caddesi Ağa Yokuşu Sokak No:6 Fatih/İstanbul
Contact Number: +90 212 520 59 90
Contact Number for Whatsapp: +90 539 853 28 14
Email: premium@beethovenhotels.com

Holiday Inn Istanbul – Old City (4 stars)

Location: Gencturk Caddesi Şirvanizade Sk No:5, Vezneciler  Fatih-İstanbul
Contact Number: +90 (212) 528 18 65
Email: info@hiistanbuloldcity.com.

Hotel Grand Washington (4 stars)

Location: Gencturk Cad. Agayokusu Sok. No:7 Laleli 34134 Istanbul
Contact Number: +90 2125116371
Email: info@grand-washington.com

Grand Hotel Gülsoy (4 stars)

Location: Şehzadebaşı Caddesi No:9 Fatih/ İSTANBUL
Contact Number: +90 (212) 512 58 42
Email: info@grandhotelgulsoy.com

Celal Aga Konagi (5 stars)

Location: Kemalpaşa Mah.Sehzadebası Cad. No:1, 34204 – Fatih
Contact Number: +90 212 511 15 79 or +90 212 511 15 66
Email: info@celalagakonagi.com or reservation@celalagakonagi.com

Wyndham Istanbul Old City(5 stars)

Location: Kemalpasa mah Sehzadebasi Cad Celal Aga Konagi No 1/1, Istanbul, Turkey 34204
Contact Number: +90 212 511 15 79

Crowne Plaza Istanbul – Old City (5 stars)

Location: Balabanaga Mah. Fethi Bey Cad. No:2 Laleli, Fatih 34134
Contact Number: 0212 514 90 00
Email: info@cpoldcity.com

Airbnb Options

Airbnb options in Balat

If you need additional assistanve for Balat airbnb options please contact Olcay Muslu at admin@mirasheritage.org.

Restaurants

Below is a map that shows restaurants within reach of the conference venue:

Language

Turkey’s official language is Turkish but at many hotels and tourist places English is also spoken.

Time zone

Turkey’s time zone is GMT+03:00. The current time in Turkey can be seen at the following link

İstanbul’s history

For some knowledge about the history of İstanbul, please look at this website:

The Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, Süleymaniye, Basilica Cistern, and others are within walking distance from the conference venue at the university.

Weather

The average temperature in İstanbul during October is 17-20 degrees Celsius. Weather is usually moderate and sunny with some possibility of rain. It is recommended to bring a raincoat, umbrella and sweater. You can check the weather forecast in https://www.mgm.gov.tr/tahmin/il-ve-ilceler.aspx?il=%C4%B0stanbul&ilce=Fatih

Electrical plugs

Turkey operates on a 230V supply voltage and 50Hz. The power sockets are of type F. It is recommended to bring power plug adaptors as they aren’t available everywhere.

The congress venue will have a number of charging sockets for delegates’ use. However, we urge everyone to fully charge their mobiles and laptops in their hotels before arriving at the conference venue, especially those that will be using their devices for presentations or for the English/Turkish translation service that we will offer on Zoom.

Health

It is recommended to get travel and medical insurance. Do not drink tap water, only drink bottled water.

The closest hospital to the venue is İstanbul Tıp Fakültesi Hastanesi https://hastane-istanbultip.istanbul.edu.tr/tr/_

Safety considerations

Turkey’s main emergency telephone numbers:

  • Police: 155
  • Fire: 110
  • Ambulance: 112

Currency and exchange rate

The official currency in İstanbul is the Turkish Lira. You can find 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 Lira bills in circulation alongside 1, 0.25, and 0.50 Lira coins. Money can be exchanged on your arrival at the airport (not recommended), or anytime at banks and exchange houses. It is usually easiest and least expensive to simply withdraw Turkish Lira from and ATM. For more about currency and exchange rates, visit:

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Donation

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