Competition(s) in Music – Interdisciplinary Research Perspectives

Quelle: Cream Design, Cologne

From 1 to 3 September 2025, an interdisciplinary and international conference on competition(s) in the field of music will take place at the Berlin University of the Arts. Further information will follow very soon.

Organising team: Lisa McCormick (University of Edinburgh), Christoph Müller-Oberhäuser (Berlin University of the Arts), Tobias Werron (Bielefeld University)

Please write an e-mail to c.mueller-oberhaeuser@udk-berlin.de, if you have any further question. 

Conference Programme

Preliminary programme (status: 20-07-2025)

  • Start: Monday, 01.09. 14:00, Kammersaal

    Opening

    Lisa McCormick (Edinburgh), Christoph Müller-Oberhäuser (Berlin), Tobias Werron (Bielefeld):
    Competition and Competitions in Music – Mapping a Field of Research

  • Start: Monday, 01.09. 16:00, Kammersaal

    Chair: Christiane Tewinkel (Lübeck)

    Melanie Unseld (Vienna):
    Competition at 'Home': Musical Couples and Families

    Sean Powell (Dallas):
    The Real Subsumption of Music Education by Competition

    Charles McGuire (Oberlin):
    English Competition Festivals, Rational Recreation, and Social Control

    Martin Rempe (Konstanz):
    Of National Risks and Global Threats: Competition(s) at World Fairs in the 19th Century

    Alexandra Wilson (Oxford):
    When Stars Collide: Opera Singers in Competition

    Julian Caskel (Essen):
    Conductors as Rivals: Historical Debates and a "Discological" Case Study

    Klaus Nathaus (Oslo):
    'Say I'm Your Number One': Charts and Field-Configuring Competitions in Popular Music, 1934-2025

    Mari Pajala (Turku):
    Televising Music Competitions

  • Start: Monday, 01.09. 16:00, Fa 302

    Chair: Matthias Pasdzierny (Berlin)

    Trevor Herbert (London):
    The Centrality of Contesting in the Culture of the British Brass Band

    Christoph Müller-Oberhäuser (Berlin):
    Transnational Events? International Choral Competitions in 19th- and 20th-century Europe

    Ivan Raykoff (New York):
    Sameness vs. Difference in the Eurovision Song Contest

    Dietrich Helms (Osnabrück), Christoph Müller-Oberhäuser (Berlin), Tobias Werron (Bielefeld):
    X vs. Y: Rivalry and Competition in Pop and Rock Music

    Matthias Heyman (Brussels):
    Socialisation in Jazz Competitions: A Belgian Perspective

    Laurence Green (London):
    Karaoke as Contest: Competitive Singing Culture in Contemporary Japan

    Areum Jeong (Tempe):
    Creating the Idol: Competition in K-pop

    Oliver Kautny (Cologne):
    From Wildstyle to 8 Mile: Competition in Rap-Music and Its Representation in Hip-Hop Movies

  • Start: Tuesday, 02.09. 14:30, Kammersaal

    Chair: Dorothea Hilzinger (Berlin)

    Timothy Power (New Brunswick):
    Musical Competition in Ancient Greece and Rome

    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

    Joe Lockwood (Newcastle):
    Musical Competitions in 18th-Century England and its Colonies

    Christine Hoppe (Berlin):
    Between Myth and Reality: The Musical Duel in the 18th and 19th Century

    Fauve Bougard (Brussels) / Arthur Macé (Paris):
    Comparative Perspectives on the Paris, Brussels and Geneva Conservatories’ Concours during the Long 19th century

    Jeroen van Gessel (Groningen):
    The Impossible Task of Composition Contests: To Create a National Music of International Prestige

    Marcin Bogucki (Warsaw):
    Classical Agon: Modern Instrumental and Vocal Performance Competitions

  • Start: Tuesday, 02.09. 14:30, Fa 302

    Chair: James Rhys Edwards (Berlin)

    Helen Barlow (London):
    The Eisteddfod: Competition, Community and Welsh Identity

    Frank Gunderson (Tallahassee):
    Diamond Platnumz and Harmonize: The Art of Rivalry in Contemporary East African Music

    Thomas M. Pooley (Cape Town):
    Music Competitions and Democratic Ideals in Post-Apartheid South Africa

    Gavin Douglas (Greensboro):
    Myanmar's Sokayeti Competition

    Vivek Virani (Denton) / Anaar Desai-Stephens (New York):
    Antakshari, Individualism, and Aspiration: Competition in North Indian Music Cultures

    Tim Groulx (Jacksonville):
    Roots and Effects of Competition in School Bands in the United States

    Chris Goertzen (Hattiesburg):
    “Durang’s Hornpipe:” Refocussing Musical Styles of American Fiddling at Contests

    Klaus Näumann (Halle-Wittenberg):
    The Parang Competition of Carriacou: Roots, Nature and Functions

    Christopher L. Ballengee (Lublin):
    From Cacophony to Choreography: Traditional and Staged Tassa Drumming Competitions in Trinidad & Tobago

    Christian Spencer Espinosa (Santiago de Chile):
    Social Archetypes, Nationalism and the Festivalization of Latin American Traditional Music Competitions (1990-2025)

    Yuri Prado (Sao Paulo):
    “Ten! Score of Ten!”: Micropolitics, Online Scrutiny, and Juried Evaluation of Samba-Enredo

  • Start: Wednesday, 03.09. 09:30, Kammersaal

    Lisa McCormick (Edinburgh):
    Scandalous Choices: Moral Disturbances in Music Competitions

    Marc Law (Burlington):
    Strings Attached: Diverging Gender Gaps in Piano and Violin Competitions

    Alexander Sutton (Washington):
    The Color of Achievement: How Competition Shapes Diversity in Classical Music

    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

    Claudia Bullerjahn / Johanne Dziewas (Gießen):
    Fighting for the Flow? The Ambivalence of Youth Competitions

    George Waddell (London):
    The Future of the Music Competition: Perspectives from Performance Science

  • Start: Wednesday, 03.09. 16:00, Kammersaal