Transplanted Roots: Percussion Research Symposium 2027

Invention ↔ Re-Invention: Percussion and Musicianship in the 21st Century

Hosted by Christian Dierstein and Håkon Stene

Freiburg/Basel, September 23–26th, 2027

The 2027 edition will be hosted by Prof. Christian Dierstein from Musik Akademie Basel and Prof. Håkon Stene from Musikhochschule Freiburg. Together, they have been instrumental in hosting and organizing the international percussion studio at the Darmstadt Ferienkurse für neue Musik and have led numerous collaborative initiatives between their respective institutions. The Freiburg/Basel edition will bring together a distinguished international community of performers and lecturers, spanning leading innovators in percussion today, alongside artists whose work has profoundly shaped the field over recent decades.

Contemporary musicians increasingly operate at the intersections of multiple roles: performer, creator, curator, researcher, technologist, inventor, entrepreneur, educator, and producer. This artistic evolution unfolds within broader societal shifts, where emerging technologies, digital platforms, artificial intelligence, and evolving modes of dissemination continue to transform how music is created, experienced, circulated, and valued. Within these changing landscapes, percussion has long been an integral site of experimentation, innovation, and the reimagining of creative practice.

Invention ↔ Re-Invention: Percussion and Musicianship in the 21st Century invites critical reflection on what it means to be a musician today. From the development of new instruments and performance practices, to the emergence of digital forms of creativity, percussion has long been characterised by continual processes of invention and re-invention. As artistic, technological, and social conditions continue to evolve, how might musicians navigate, resist, or shape these transformations? What forms of knowledge, craft, and listening remain essential, and which are being fundamentally reconfigured?

Transplanted Roots invites submissions that explore how contemporary practices challenge and reshape the field of percussion. We invite proposals that critically engage with questions including, but are not limited to:

What does musicianship mean in the 21st Century, and how are processes of invention and re-invention shaping contemporary percussion practice?
How are digital platforms, emerging technologies, and artificial intelligence transforming the ways percussion is produced, shared, and experienced?
What forms of artistic agency emerge through interdisciplinary, DIY, collaborative, and technologically mediated practices?
How are changing modes of listening, participation, and cultural engagement contributing to the ongoing invention and re-invention of percussion practice?
How might artistic research help us critically understand and navigate these transformations?
What unique perspectives can percussion bring to broader discussions of creativity, innovation, embodiment, and culture in the 21st Century?

We welcome proposals in the following formats:

Paper Presentations (20-minutes): Submit a 250-word abstract outlining the proposed research presentation, and a short artist biography
Lecture-Recitals (20-minutes): Submit a 250-word abstract, a short artist biography, technical and instrumentation requirements with links to high-quality media samples (e.g. Youtube, Vimeo, Soundcloud etc.)
Concert Performances (maximum 10-minutes): Submit a 250-word abstract, a short artist biography, technical and instrumentation requirements, and links to high-quality media samples (e.g. Youtube, Vimeo, Soundcloud etc.)
Poster Presentations: An informal one-hour forum for the presentation and discussion of research projects. This format is particularly suited to emerging-career researchers, graduate students, and projects in development. Submit a 250-word abstract outlining the proposed presentation.

Please send submissions and inquiries to transplantedroots2027@gmail.com by February 15, 2027

Contact

Please direct all questions and submissions to the organizing team:

transplantedroots2027@gmail.com