MMRC - Music and Minorities Research Center

** Event invitation **
TODAS. Latin American Women* Musicians in Vienna.
Concerts, Lecture, Dialogues.

Date: 8 and 9 May 2026, F***y-Hensel-Saal at mdw

TODAS is a two-day academic and artistic festival addressing the unique position of women musicians from Latin America in Europe, alongside the associated challenges of categorization, presentation, and marketing. Our aim is to illuminate how discourses on belonging and identity intertwine with national classifications, musical expectations, and cultural "othering."

In cooperation with the Institut für Volksmusikforschung und Ethnomusikologie and Opera Trip Cultural Association.

Please register here (free entry):
https://forms.mdw.ac.at/frontend-server/form/provide/251/?lang=en

More about the event:
https://www.mdw.ac.at/ive/events/todas/

The MMRC stands in solidarity with ZARA - Zivilcourage und Anti-Rassismus-Arbeit. Please sign the petition to support ZARA's important work and raise awareness of this issue. This association's future funding is vital for its continued work against discrimination in Austria.

Link to the petition in the comments.

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We warmly invite anyone interested to this year's "Lange Nacht der Forschung/Long Night of Research" at the mdw.

On 24 April 2026, a total of 42 events will be presented from 5.00 pm to 11.00 pm, giving the public the opportunity to learn about the many different research projects. The MMRC will be represented by two projects, offering insight into the centre's various areas of work.
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🚩'"Songs and Dances of the Devadāsīs of Bengal"' with Bisakha Goswami, Christian Poske and Gerhard Rosner.

A lecture demonstration on the songs and dances of the devadāsīs (Sanskrit: “female servants of deities”) of Bengal. The devadāsīs, an abandoned religious and social tradition that originated in the 9th or 10th century AD, were historically dedicated to the service of patron gods and goddesses in temples across eastern and southern India, where they worshipped deities by fanning their central image, offering lights, and performing devotional songs and dances. The lecture demonstration will include practical demonstrations of these songs and dances.

📍F***y Hensel Hall, Lecture-Performance, 24 April 2026, from 07:30pm until 08:30pm
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🚩"Objects and the Archive: Episodes in the Development of Music and Minorities Research” a contribution by and with Benjamin Fox-Rosen, Elnaz Mohammadzadeh und Hande Sağlam.

Engage with the history of music and minorities research in Vienna and take a glimpse behind the scenes of ethnomusicological fieldwork in this hybrid exhibition! Look and listen to interviews with scholars and musicians, recordings from the department's archive, the Austrian Phonogrammarchiv, and researchers' private archives, and get your hands on historic recording devices!

📍Banquet Hall, 24 April 2026, 17:00–23:00 Uhr

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We'd also like to take this chance to point out all the other events on the mdw programme. We are looking forward to welcoming many of visitors.

Reminder regarding submissions: Advancing Music and Minorities Research (AMMR)!

Seed Money Initiative, Deadline: 3 May 2026

We would like to take this opportunity to remind you all of the current open call for project proposals for the next round of the AMMR seed money initiative. The MMRC invites postdoctoral researchers with innovative and promising project ideas to seize this unique opportunity and submit their applications.

https://musicandminorities.org/seed-money/

After a relaxing and sunny break, the MMRC is happy to share this event with all of you. Kolo Slavuj has been a long-standing partner of the MMRC and has regularly participated in various MMRC events. 🤩🤩

Filmska premijera “Oganj gori” / Premiere des Dokumentarfilms über Kolo Slavuj.
Režija & Kamera: Stefan Domnanovich 🎥 | AT 2025 | 52 min | OmdU
🔜 Ned./So. 12.4.2026., 11:00 Filmcasino

Ov dokumentarni film daje uvid u naš nastup u HNK Zagreb iz perspektive naših članov; put do tamo - u stvarnom i u prenošenom smislu, kroz prizmu već od pedesetljetnoga djelovanja, pripreme iza scene i ono najvažnije - zač je ta nastup bio od tako velikoga značenja za sve nas.

Dieser Dokumentarfilm gewährt einen persönlichen Einblick in unseren Auftritt im Kroatischen Nationaltheater Zagreb – erzählt aus der Sicht unserer Mitglieder. Er zeigt den Weg dorthin, sowohl im wörtlichen als auch im übertragenen Sinn, beleuchtet mehr als fünf Jahrzehnte unseres Wirkens, gibt Eindrücke von den Vorbereitungen hinter den Kulissen und macht vor allem deutlich, warum dieser Auftritt für uns alle eine so große Bedeutung hatte.

Najava/Anmeldung ➡️ https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/9sb8FFqZvH

!!!New research fellow at the MMRC!!!

In early February, Chae-Lin Kim joined the MMRC team to work on her FWF-ESPRIT research project, “Music for the Eye? An Ethnographic Study of Sign Choirs”. Her research addresses questions such as: How do deaf people sing together, and what does their singing voice look like?

This project is the first scientific study of sign language choirs in German-speaking countries which are mostly or entirely made up of deaf people and perform songs in sign language.

Chae-Lin Kim was handed the official recognition for her research project at a ceremony organised by the FWF. A significant part of the event focused on raising the profile of women in top-level research.

We would like to take this opportunity to officially introduce Chae-Lin to the MMRC community and look forward to a successful collaboration with many exciting insights and important additions to the research taking place at the MMRC.

Welcome, Chae-Lin! 😊😊

FWF-project:
https://www.mdw.ac.at/musicandminorities/projects/music-for-the-eye-an-ethnographic-study-of-sign-choirs-in-german-speaking-countries/

(c) Klaus Ranger

📢 OPEN CALL: European Seminar in Ethnomusicology (ESEM)! 🎨
Are you looking for a platform to showcase your research?

We are pleased to share this open call from our colleagues at ESEM with you. As in previous years, submissions can be made in several categories. This results in a diverse range of topics and approaches to participating in the conference and getting to know the research community better.

Whether you’re an established artist or a rising talent, we invite you to submit your work and join the special conference in september 2026.

How to Apply:
Visit the website for all the details on themes and formats.

📅 Deadline: 15 April, 2026
🔗 Apply here: https://esem-music.eu/2026/01/21/the-next-seminar-will-take-place-in-palanga-lithuania-on-17-22-september-2026/

Don't miss out on this opportunity! 👇

📢📢📢Open Call 📢📢📢
Advancing Music and Minorities Research (AMMR)
A Seed Money Initiative for Research Project Development
Deadline: 3 May 2026

The Call for Applications for the next round of our AMMR seed money initiative is now open! The MMRC invites postdoctoral researchers with innovative and promising project ideas to seize this unique opportunity and submit their proposals.

AMMR is an initiative of MMRC that provides financial support and expert advice to postdoctoral researchers from all around the world who intend to develop their cutting-edge project ideas in the field of music and minority studies into competitive funding applications for mid- to large-scale research projects. If these funding applications are in turn successful, MMRC will serve as the host institution of the AMMR fellows’ research projects.

More info:
https://www.mdw.ac.at/musicandminorities/seed-money/

🤩🤩🤩🤩
It's already been two weeks since our MMMRC Symposium 2026, 'Between Research and Activism', took place at the mdw. It's therefore high time to thank everyone involved once again and share the first photos:
https://musicandminorities.org/symposium2026/

For those who missed it, the entire symposium is available to watch on the mdw media library here:
https://mdw.vhx.tv/livestream-between-research-and-activism

It was wonderful to have so many friends of the MMRC there, as well as the opportunity to meet new people and potential collaborators. The papers provided an exciting insight into the direction in which the field of ethnomusicology is developing, and the concerts rounded off the event perfectly.

It is worth noting that the MMRC is currently undergoing a period of revitalisation, with many new research projects and collaborations. Expanding the field of ethnomusicology and engaging with it critically is important to us. This can only be achieved with a strong and courageous research community, which we are committed to promoting, while also remaining open to input and critical feedback on our work and the future direction of the MMRC: 'Between Research and Activism'!

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the MMRC members, student assistants, musicians and panel guests who did a fantastic job.

P.S. We will be publishing the next open call for our AMMR seed money initiative here shortly - stay informed! ✍️

Photos: Lydia Knöbl, Samo Zeichen & Benjamin Fox-Rosen

🤩🤩Our symposium, 'Between Research and Activism', starts today at mdw. 🤩🤩

We are looking forward to three days filled with thoughtful discussions and contributions.

The Music and Minorities Research Center (MMRC) enters its next phase with the international symposium “Between Research and Activism: Futures of Music and Minority Studies” (February 12–14, 2026, F***y Hensel Hall and other locations, mdw). Founded in 2019, the MMRC celebrates its seventh anniversary by bringing together researchers, musicians, and non-academics for three days of panels, roundtables, artistic-activist discussions, and musical performances.

>> Join the symposium via the mdw Live-Stream:
https://mdw.vhx.tv/livestream-between-research-and-activism

>> Information:
https://musicandminorities.org/symposium2026/