21st Century Music Practice Research Network

15/05/2026

The Extended Play version of episode 3 of our podcast, In One Ear, is now available on our website.

Featuring:

Martyna Kosecka PhD candidate and research fellow at Norges musikkhøgskole in Oslo.

Paul Archbold, a composer of acoustic and electroacoustic works, a lecturer in electronic and produced music at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, and a research fellow at the School of Advanced Study - University of London.

Samantha Bennett, a professor of music in the School of Music, College of Arts and Social Sciences at the The Australian National University, Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Chair of IASPM.

https://c21mp.org/front-page/get-involved/podcast-2/

07/05/2026

The Call for Participation for the C21MP 2027 Conference at Florida State University is now open!

04/05/2026

Episode 3 of our podcast In One Ear is out now.

Released on the 30th April, our guests on this episode are:

Martyna Kosecka a PhD candidate and research fellow at Norges musikkhøgskole in Oslo.

Paul Archbold, a composer of acoustic and electroacoustic works, a lecturer in electronic and produced music at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, and a research fellow at the School of Advanced Study - University of London.

Samantha Bennett, a professor of music in the School of Music, College of Arts and Social Sciences at the The Australian National University Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Chair of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music.

Martyna talks about the process behind creating short operas and experimental theatre works that combine music, theatre, mixed media, and sociopolitical themes with a particular focus on women’s lives in Iran, Poland and Norway. Paul discusses a series of video documentaries which explore the work of several composers through interviews and documentary films about the rehearsal and performance of their work. Sam discusses her new book, “Secrets and Revelations in Music and Audio Technology Cultures”, published through the C21MP series Cambridge Elements, where she explores the culture of trade secrets in the world of audio production.

Presenters - Stefanie Barschdorf and Simon Zagorski-Thomas.
Production Team: Stefanie Barschdorf, Maciej Kierzkowski, Ashley Stein, Gittit Perlmutter and Simon Zagorski-Thomas.

In One Ear the podcast from the 21st century music practice research centre Current Episode: Episode #2 Extended Play - 16th April 2026 Here's the Extended Play version of episode 2 of In One Ear with Sarah Angliss, Maarika Autio, Michael MacDonald, Stefanie Barschdorf and Simon Zagorski-Thomas The....

20/04/2026

𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶-𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮: 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁

🎙️The first guest on our upcoming podcast episode is Martyna Kosecka a research fellow associated with the Norwegian Academy of Music Norges musikkhøgskole

📹Through a 20-minute experimental video production, previewed here, Martyna has shared with us her research on mini-opera and the role and treatment of women in contemporary society. In the video she shares the process behind creating short operas and experimental theatre works that combine music, theatre, mixed media, and socio political themes.

🎚️It was excellent to talk to Martyna about her work and we look forward to sharing the conversation soon.

About Martyna:

Martyna's music grows out of her interest in philosophy, physics, linguistics and the mythologies and fables of the world. She is a Polish composer, performer, conductor, curator and researcher in new music. In her projects she works with narratives, microtonality, symbolism and ritualism, by using multidisciplinary solutions. She emphasises the richness of transcultural relationships in art, drawing from the cultures of Iran, Poland and Norway, the countries she has connected through her life.

23/03/2026

21st Century Music Practice Research Centre
Videos from the 2025 Townshend Studio Research Challenge

In October 2025, the Townshend Studio - Pete Townshend's amazing collection of new and vintage electronic musical instruments on long-term loan to the University of West London - hosted the 21st Century Music Practice Research Centre's first group-based Research Challenge. The three groups of practice researchers were:
Group 1: Leon Clowes, Mike Exarchos & Dan Pratt.
Group 2: Paul Archbold, Manuella Blackburn & Larissa Padula Ribeira da Fonseca.
Group 3: Sarah Angliss, June Kuhn, Andrew McPherson & Melanie Pappenheim.

Sarah Angliss will be talking about the project on the 2nd episode of the In One Ear podcast. You can now watch the videos on the C21MP website and the podcast is available from 26th March: https://c21mp.org/front-page/research-projects/technology-and-musical-creativity/the-influence-of-technology-on-musical-instrument-use/2025-townshend-studio-research-challenge/

26/02/2026

In One Ear 🎙️

The first episode of the 21st Century Music Practice Research Centre podcast is out now!

Our guests are Jo Collinson Scott, artist name Jo Mango, a Reader at the University of the West of Scotland, and Jamie Howell Music who is just completing his creative practice PhD at the University of Southampton.

Jo recently participated in our Creative Use of Guitar Tuning Research Challenge with nine other guitarists. She talks about that process and its novel format, as well as her practice as research project, Giant On The Bridge, which premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2025 and is about to go on tour.

Jamie discusses the composition, improvisation and performance work he undertook for his PhD using techniques drawn from DJ culture and EDM.

Our own Stefanie interviews our research centre founder Simon about the launch of the new research centre, this podcast and our Discord server.

Listen on our website below or wherever you get your podcasts.

Episode 1 team:
Presenters - Stefanie Barschdorf and Simon Zagorski-Thomas.
Script Editor - Stefanie Barschdorf.
Technical Producer - Maciej Kierzkowski.
Editors - Maciej Kierzkowski, Tommy Mitoraj, Gittit Perlmutter, and Simon Zagorski-Thomas.
Mastered by Dan Pratt.

In One Ear the podcast from the 21st century music practice research centre Current Episode: Episode #1 - 26th February 2026 Jamie Howell Jo Collinson Scott Stefanie Barschdorf Simon Zagorski-Thomas Watch Jamie's video about his practice research project 'Fourth Record' We’re very excited to annou...

09/02/2026

You may be aware that we’re launching the new 21st Century Music Practice Research Centre this month. The new website is now up and running and there’s a video guide to what we’re going to be doing with it available:

Tour This is a video by Simon Zagorski-Thomas that uses a tour of the website to discuss the structure, aims and activities of the new 21st Century Music Practice Research Centre.

28/01/2026

Join our Discord server!

As the first step in the launch of the new 21st Century Music Practice Research Centre, we have set up a Discord Server 💻

If you are interested in understanding the practices of 21st Century music making – any practice, any style, from anywhere in the world – then you should get involved 🌐

We’re not-for-profit, independent, open-access, international, and aim to provide a community to support you with resources and to run collaborative research projects 📚

The server is a platform for discussing all aspects of 21st Century Music Practice – Performance, Composition & Song Writing, Music Production, Practical Music Pedagogy, Practice Research Methods and the Business of Music 🎶

You can join here: https://discord.gg/ebZG2EMy

23/01/2026

As we hurtle towards the launch of the 21st Century Music Practice research centre in February, there is a very important question that we'd like some help with. What should we call the podcast? The team have narrowed things down to six possible titles but we’re still fairly evenly spread when it comes to the options. They are: In One Ear, Into The Blue Again, Senses Working Overtime, Everything Louder Than Everything Else, Is This Thing On? And Hear, There and Everywhere. We’d like to hear your preferences – but don’t make our lives more difficult by suggesting new ones - Even if they are brilliant…

17/12/2022

Call For Papers: Practice Research in 21st Century Music
The 21st Century Music Practice Research Network’s 2023 One Day Conference on Saturday 20th May 2023 at the University of West London, St. Mary’s Road, Ealing, London W5 5RF
The C21MP network is relaunching its ‘in-person’ events with a one day conference looking for common themes in pedagogy and practice research in performance, composition, record production, music technology, music business and arts administration.
The format of the conference is slightly unusual in that is inspired by the format of the ‘flipped classroom’:
• Themed panels involve three ‘presenters’ and a discussant / moderator. Presenters must be able to attend in person on Saturday 20th May 2023.
• Each presenter produces a 20 minute video of their presentation in advance of the conference which are available online for attendees (and the public) two weeks in advance. All presenters and moderators must watch all three videos in advance of their ‘in person’ session.
• During the session, each presenter gives a five minute summary / abstract which is followed by 75 minutes of discussion between the four panellists and with audience involvement, led by the discussant / moderator
• Presentations can involve practical demonstration, musical examples and performance but must address a research question and point towards or provide answers / new knowledge
300 word abstracts using the format outlined below should be submitted to [email protected] by 5pm GMT on 10th Feb 2023 and selected abstracts will be notified by 20th March 2023.
Selected abstracts will submit 20 minute videos by 5pm GMT on Friday 5th May 2023
Proceedings will be published on the website
Also - selected presentations will be invited to submit to a new C21MP Video Journal on Practice Research in Music
There will be eight panels based on the following:
Conference Themes
1. Music technology - How is the relationship between technology and music practice shifting in the 21st century? How does this relationship alter the agency and/or creativity of music makers?
2. Creative entrepreneurship - What does creative (music) entrepreneurship mean in the 21st century? What new approaches to practice and forms of analysis are emerging, including considerations of social media and digital dissemination?
3. Composition and song writing - How have composition, song writing and arranging changed since the proliferation of technological tools in recording, and writing music? What are the tensions between originality and external influences (genre, commerciality etc) in contemporary song writing and composition?
4. Workflows and tools - What influence do our workflow and/or the tools we use have on our ways of thinking about or ‘doing’ music? How do musical tools (instruments, notation, DAWs etc) embody and create representations of music, musicking and musical thought?
5. Methodology and practice - How can we demonstrate rigour in practice research? What are your methods of documentation and analysis for researching aesthetics and process through your practice?
6. Collaboration - How do different forms of collaboration impact music practice and research? How have 21st Century innovations affected different ways of ‘doing’ collaborative work?
7. Pedagogy – How should we find a balance between training and education? What new approaches, methods and theories are being used in practice education? How are community development and entrepreneurial skills being embedded in practice pedagogy?
8. Performance – How are approaches to performance (in concert, in the studio and elsewhere) changing in the 21st Century? How are real time sound making activities being influenced by and combined with real time manipulation and editorial processes?

Abstract Format
Your abstract will be assessed on the following criteria:
• You have clearly identified the theme / panel you wish to be considered for and why.
• There is a clear research question or problem and an explanation of how it might produce new knowledge or understanding
• The abstract provides a clear idea of the form your presentation will take.
• It is clear how this presentation will contribute towards a meaningful discussion of the theme.

http://www.c21mp.org/events/

05/05/2020

Lemon Guo and Mengtai Zhang's contribution to the first C21MP online symposium on Deductive and Inductive Working Methods : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAoxc4ME3yY You can see the rest of the pieces and the recording of the online Zoom discussion at http://www.c21mp.org/session-1-deductive-inductive-working-methods/

Music: Lemon Guo Video: Mengtai Zhang “Ten thousand things are heard when born, But the highest heaven’s always still. Yet everything must begin in silence, ...