Fourth Performance Studies Network International Conference, 14-17 July 2016

The Fourth Performance Studies Network International Conference took place on 14-17 July, 2016, at Bath Spa University (UK). Musician and scholars coming from 20 countries and representing over 70 institutions presented papers and discussed on a large variety of performance-related issues. The aim of the conference, according to its organizers, was to debate theories, methodologies and practices of performance, and to engage with increasingly diverse, interdisciplinary developments in the field in order to encourage a more global perspective on performance studies. The fourth PSN conference, as well as the previous three, has been convened through the Performance Studies Network, hosted by the Cambridge Centre for Musical Performance Studies directed by John Rink.

Different sessions of the conference featured topics as diverse as creative experimentation, networking technologies, cultural identity, relations between analysis and performance, historically-informed performance, issues of performance pedagogy, performance art as a listening experience, recording practices, electronic/electroacoustic music, composer-performer collaborations, performance philosophy, virtuosity, authorship and agency, concert programming and others.

Two keynote lectures-concerts of the conference were related to ensemble performance: Neil Heyde with the Kreutzer Quartet, Michael Finnissy and Laurie Bamon, on ‘Inventing an ensemble identity’, and Peter Wiegold with Notes Inégales and guest artists Hyelim Kim (Korean taegŭm flute) and Cheng Yu (Chinese pipa/qu-chin), on ‘Leadership and ownership’.