BFE-RMA Research Students' Conference 2027

The British Forum for Ethnomusicology (BFE) and Royal Musical Association (RMA) Research Students’ Conference will be hosted by the University of Oxford on Wednesday 6 – Friday 8 January 2027. This will be an in-person event to allow networking and social interaction to take place, and to foster connections across a variety of music sub-disciplines.

The conference will take place in the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, an interdisciplinary building which opened in October 2025. It is home to the Faculty of Music, the Bate Collection of Historical Instruments, the Humanities Library, music studios and performance spaces. There is college accommodation nearby as well as many restaurants and cafes, all within a short walk from the bus and railway stations. We look forward to welcoming you to what promises to be a vibrant, supportive and diverse conference.

Presentations, workshops and events 

The Research Students’ Conference is an excellent opportunity to gain valuable experience presenting work, whether it be compositions, research-led performances or standard conference papers, in a friendly and welcoming environment amongst peers, established academics and publishers.

The conference caters for all areas of music research, including (although not limited to) performance, composition, ethnomusicology, sound studies, historical musicology, jazz and popular music, music analysis and critical editing.

Alongside presentations, the conference will feature a number of events catering to a diverse range of disciplines, including but not limited to: training workshops for postgraduate students wishing to pursue careers within and outwith academia, roundtable discussions, poster exhibitions, practice-based opportunities and composition talks. Delegates will have opportunities to engage with the Bate Collection of Historical Instruments as well as our performance facilities, with live and social musicmaking featuring as part of the schedule.

The winner of the Jerome Roche Prize, Peter Asimov, the BFE keynote speaker (tba) and the recipient of the Tippett Medal (tba), will be giving keynote addresses at the conference.

Call for proposals 

Proposals are welcome from postgraduate research students (e.g. PhD, MPhil, MRes) in any area of Music, including musicology, ethnomusicology, popular music, sound studies, music psychology, composition, audiovisual media, performance, and/or other creative practices, and research that cuts across disciplinary boundaries. For poster presentations, proposals are also invited from students enrolled on postgraduate taught programmes (e.g. MA, MSt, MMus) as well as research degrees. 

All proposals must be submitted by Friday 4 September 2026 via the conference submission form. (Link coming soon)

• Academic Papers

Papers should be of no more than 20 minutes’ duration. The proposal should include a title and abstract of no more than 250 words. 

• Lecture-Recitals

Lecture-recitals should last no longer than 30 minutes. The proposal should include a title and abstract of no more than 250 words as well as the name of participants, the repertoire to be performed and a sample recording (of no more than 5 minutes). 
 

• Themed Panel Sessions

Proposals for themed panel or roundtable sessions of 90 minutes are invited, to include at least 30 minutes of discussion. There is no restriction on the number of contributors, but panel organisers will be expected to ensure that the overall length of the session does not exceed the allotted time, and that space is left for discussion. The proposal should include a title and abstract of no more than 250 words for each speaker, and an indication of the length of each contribution. An additional 200-word rationale is required that makes clear the purpose of the panel, its theme, and the ways in which the individual contributions relate to each other. Please also indicate whether an independent chair will be required. 
 

• Poster Presentations 

Proposals are invited from students enrolled on postgraduate taught programmes (e.g. MA, MMus) as well as research degrees for a poster on their original research. The proposal should include a title and abstract of no more than 250 words. 
 
Please note that it will be the delegates’ responsibility to print their own posters. The local organising committee will assist with the display of posters. 

• Compositions

Student composers are invited to submit scores for a workshop with Brother Tree Sound (string quartet and percussion).

This is an exciting opportunity to have your composition performed and to receive valuable feedback on it. The score may be a full piece, a movement from a larger work or a section of a movement up to 5 minutes in duration when performed. 

Proposals should be submitted with a commentary of no more than 250 words outlining the work, including its research content. The score should be submitted in PDF format. Please ensure that the title of the work matches that given on the proposal form. 

Please note that composers whose work are selected will be responsible for producing performing materials at their own expense. All parts and, if required, a revised version of the score, must be submitted in good time ahead of the conference.  Further details to follow in due course. 

RMA/Musici Trust Prize for a paper on music before 1600

Speakers at the 2027 BFE-RMA Research Students’ Conference will be invited to submit their papers to the RMA/Musici Trust prize for a student paper on music before 1600. The winner will receive a £300 prize, be offered mentorship and also be invited to present their work at the RMA Annual Conference.

RMARC Student Paper Prize 

Speakers at the 2027 BFE-RMA Research Students’ Conference will be invited to submit their papers to the Royal Musical Association Research Chronicle (RMARC) student-paper prize. Participation will be open to all speakers. The winner will receive a £100 book token from Cambridge University Press, as well as mentorship from the editors of RMARC to develop and expand their submission for publication in RMARC.

Papers should fall under the remit of RMARC – i.e. to publish submissions from all areas of music research that make extensive use of primary sources widely conceived, such as recordings, digital-borne files, results of ethnographic work, and/or archival materials.

For any queries, please contact t.alexander@gold.ac.uk.

For all enquiries about the conference, please email rmabfe27@music.ox.ac.uk

Organisers 

Co-chairs (University of Oxford): Jim Hickson and Lorane Prevost

Host Management Team: Emma Arthur, Anna Braddick, Jim Hickson, Mark Murphy, Lorane Prevost, Holly Smith, Professor Jason Stanyek, Professor Laura Tunbridge

Programme committee: Emma Arthur (Oxford), Michelle Assay (RMA Flagship Conferences Coordinator), Anna Braddick (Oxford), Christopher Butler-Cole (Oxford), Jim Hickson (Oxford),  Luigi Monteanni (BFE Student Liaison), Günseli Naz Ferel (RMA Student representative) Noa Kurumi Nishizawa (RMA Student Representative), Lorane Prevost (Oxford), April Wei West (BFE Student Representative), Freya Jarman (Liverpool, RMA-BFE host 2028).