International and Interdisciplinary Conference
Berlin University of the Arts, 1–3 September 2025
Organizing team: Lisa McCormick (University of Edinburgh), Christoph Müller-Oberhäuser (Berlin University of the Arts), Tobias Werron (Bielefeld University), Tim Fatnev, Klaus Frenzel, Livia Esther Groth, Leonard Roggan, Elisabeth Weinmeister, Karin Zöllner (Berlin University of the Arts)
Today competitions of all shapes and sizes are booming in everyday life. On almost every television channel, people compete at cooking, modelling, singing or shopping. On the internet and social media platforms, people all over the world are collecting likes and are looking for evaluations of their videos and activities. It is therefore not surprising that scholars in the humanities and social sciences have been showing an increased interest in studying the subject. This trend has also arrived in musicology. Until recently little research was done on this topic at all, apart from a few studies focusing on individual competitions (for example, the Eurovision Song Contest or the French Prix de Rome) or the involvement of famous people as judges and competitors. Additionally, there was important research about competitive practices by ethnomusicologists (e.g. about competition in African music cultures or in the Caribbean) and experts in popular music or media studies (writing about casting/talent shows etc.). In the past few years, however, several new books and articles on music-related competitions have been published.
Nevertheless, as of now, research on music-related competition is largely disconnected from work on related topics from other academic disciplines. This is remarkable given that in recent years numerous researchers in sociology, cultural anthropology, and history have turned their attention to competition(s). Their findings suggest that musicological research on the specific format of ‘competition’ should be part of a wider interdisciplinary debate on competitive activity as a socio-cultural phenomenon.
As scholars based in sociology of the arts and music (Lisa McCormick), historical musicology (Christoph Müller-Oberhäuser) and social theory (Tobias Werron), we have therefore joined forces to organize a conference that brings together scholars from different disciplines to discuss competition in music. The purpose of the conference, that is connected to a handbook project (Oxford Handbook of Competition in Music), will be to give an overview of previous and current research and provide directions and suggestions for further research.
Please write an e-mail to c.mueller-oberhaeuser@udk-berlin.de, if you have any further questions.
Status: 15-08-2025
Monday, 01.09.2025 - Kammersaal
14:00 Opening
Signe Rotter-Broman (Berlin)
Welcome address
Lisa McCormick (Edinburgh), Christoph Müller-Oberhäuser (Berlin), Tobias Werron (Bielefeld)
Competition and Competitions in Music – Mapping a Field of Research
Discussion
Chair: Christiane Tewinkel (Lübeck)
Monday, 01.09.2025 - Kammersaal
16:00 Melanie Unseld (Vienna)
Competition at 'Home': Musical Couples and Musical Families [Abstract/Bio]
16:30 Sean Powell (Dallas)
The Real Subsumption of Music Education by Competition [Abstract/Bio]
17:00 Charles McGuire (Oberlin)
English Competition Festivals, Rational Recreation, and Social Control [Abstract/Bio]
17:30 Martin Rempe (Konstanz)
Of National Risks and Global Threats: Musical Competition(s) at World Fairs in the Long 19th Century [Abstract/Bio]
Tuesday, 02.09.2025 - Kammersaal
9:30 Alexandra Wilson (Oxford)
When Stars Collide: Opera Singers in Competition [Abstract]
10:00 Julian Caskel (Essen)
Conductors as Rivals: Historical Debates and a "Discological" Case Study [Abstract/Bio]
10:30 Klaus Nathaus (Oslo)
'Say I'm Your Number One': Charts and Field-Configuring Competitions in Popular Music, 1934-2025 [Abstract/Bio]
11:30 Mari Pajala (Turku)
Televising Music Competitions: The International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition on Finnish television, 1965-2025 [Abstract/Bio]
12:00 Final discussion panel 1
Chair: Matthias Pasdzierny (Berlin)
Monday, 01.09.2025 - Fa 302
16:00 Trevor Herbert (London)
The Centrality of Contesting in the Culture of the British Brass Band [Abstract]
16:30 Christoph Müller-Oberhäuser (Berlin)
Transnational Events? International Choral Competitions in 19th- and 20th-century Europe [Abstract]
17:00 Ivan Raykoff (New York)
Sameness vs. Difference in the Eurovision Song Contest [Abstract/Bio]
17:30 Dietrich Helms (Osnabrück), Christoph Müller-Oberhäuser (Berlin), Tobias Werron (Bielefeld)
X vs. Y: Narratives of Rivalry and Competition in Pop and Rock Music [Abstract]
Tuesday, 02.09.2025 - Fa 302
9:30 Matthias Heyman (Brussels)
“A Sense of Togetherness”: Socialisation and Sociability in Two Belgian Jazz Competitions [Abstract/Bio]
10:00 Laurence Green (London)
Karaoke as Contest: Competitive Singing Culture in Contemporary Japan [Abstract/Bio]
10:30 Areum Jeong (Tempe)
Creating the Idol: Competition in K-pop [Abstract/Bio]
11:30 Oliver Kautny (Cologne)
From Wildstyle to 8 Mile: Competition in Rap-Music and Its Representation in Hip-Hop Movies [Abstract/Bio]
12:00 Final discussion panel 2
Chair: Dorothea Hilzinger (Berlin)
Tuesday, 02.09.2025 - Kammersaal
14:00 Timothy Power (New Brunswick)
Musical Competition in Ancient Greece and Rome [Abstract/Bio]
14:30 Dietrich Helms (Osnabrueck)
Singing for Honour and Love: Music and Competition in Courtly and Urban Cultures of the European Middle Ages and Early Modern Times [Abstract/Bio]
15:00 Joe Lockwood (Newcastle)
Musical Competition in 18th-Century Britain and Its Colonies [Abstract/Bio]
16:00 Christine Hoppe (Berlin)
Between Myth and Reality: The Musical Duel in the 18th and 19th Century [Abstract/Bio]
16:30 Fauve Bougard (Brussels) / Arthur Macé (Paris)
Comparative Perspectives on the Paris, Brussels and Geneva Conservatories’ Concours during the Long 19th Century [Abstract/Bio]
17:00 Marcin Bogucki (Warsaw)
Classical 'Agon': Modern Instrumental and Vocal Performance Competitions [Abstract/Bio]
17:30 Final discussion panel 3
Chair: James Rhys Edwards (Berlin), Stefanie Alisch (Berlin)
Tuesday, 02.09.2025 - Fa 302
14:00 Helen Barlow (London)
The Eisteddfod: Competition, Community and Welsh Identity [Abstract/Bio]
14:30 Frank Gunderson (Tallahassee)
The Art of Rivalry in Contemporary East African Music: Diamond Platnumz and Harmonize [Abstract]
15:00 Thomas M. Pooley (Cape Town)
The Invention of African Music Competitions in Postapartheid South Africa [Abstract/Bio]
16:00 Gavin Douglas (Greensboro)
Myanmar's Sokayeti Competition [Abstract/Bio]
16:30 Vivek Virani (Denton) / Anaar Desai-Stephens (New York)
Antakshari, Individualism, and Aspiration: Competition in North Indian Music Cultures [Abstract]
17:00 Tim Groulx (Jacksonville)
Roots and Effects of Competition in School Bands in the United States [Abstract/Bio]
17:30 Intermediate Discussion
Wednesday, 03.09.2025 - Fa 302
9:30 Klaus Näumann (Halle-Wittenberg)
The Parang Competition of Carriacou: Roots, Nature and Functions [Abstract/Bio]
10:00 Christopher L. Ballengee (Lublin)
From Cacophony to Choreography: Traditional and Staged Tassa Drumming Competitions in Trinidad & Tobago [Abstract/Bio]
10:30 Christian Spencer Espinosa (Santiago de Chile)
Spatiality, Narratives and Impact of Traditional Music Competitions in Latin America (2000-2025) [Abstract]
11:30 Yuri Prado (São Paulo)
“Ten! Score of Ten!”: Micropolitics, Online Scrutiny, and Juried Evaluation of Samba-Enredo [Abstract/Bio]
12:00 Final discussion panel 4
Chair: Charles McGuire (Oberlin)
Wednesday, 03.09.2025 - Kammersaal
9:30 Lisa McCormick (Edinburgh)
Scandalous Choices: Moral Disturbances in Music Competitions [Abstract]
10:00 Marc Law (Burlington)
Strings Attached: Diverging Gender Gaps in Piano and Violin Competitions [Abstract/Bio]
10:30 Alexander Sutton (Washington)
The Color of Achievement: How Competition Shapes Diversity in Classical Music [Abstract/Bio]
11:30 Dörte Schmidt (Berlin)
"Let Us Come Down and Confuse Their Language": The ARD International Music Competition and the Challenges of the Compulsory Pieces with Special Reference to Mauricio Kagel [Abstract/Bio]
12:00 Claudia Bullerjahn / Johanne Dziewas (Gießen)
Fighting for the Flow? The Ambivalence of Youth Competitions [Abstract/Bio]
14:30 George Waddell (London)
The Future of the Music Competition: Perspectives from Performance Science [Abstract]
15:00 Final discussion panel 5
Wednesday, 03.09.2025 16:00, Kammersaal