The collection of articles “Functions of the Arts in Cultural and Social Processes” published

Navickaitė-Martinelli, Lina (ed.). Functions of the Arts in Cultural and Social Processes. Vilnius: Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, 2014.

This collection features peer-reviewed scientific and artistic research articles written by researchers from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre and other Lithuanian institutions which analyze topical issues from the fields of artistic research and performance studies. Among these, the following questions are tackled: a performer’s polyfunctionality in musical, cultural and social processes; changes of the concept of performance in the today’s arts; performativity in music and in theatre; interrelationships between creation, performance and reception; the functions of art and an artist in society. This collection of articles is part of the cultural development project “A Performer’s Polyfunctionality in Musical, Cultural and Social Processes”, funded by a grant from the Research Council of Lithuania. The Contents and Foreword of the present book can be found at the HARPS Publications page.

The articles for the present publication were prepared for the 1st Symposium of Artistic Research and Performance Studies Functions of the Arts in Cultural and Social Processes organized by the LMTA Headquarters for Artistic Research and Performance Studies (HARPS), which took place on September 25, 2014 at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. The symposium was held with the aim of investigating the roles ascribed to a performer of music, theatre or dance in various sociocultural contexts, to ground the importance of multifunctionality in the activities of a contemporary performer, and, with the innovative ideas of scientific and artistic research, to support the development of performance art in Lithuania. Eighteen artists-researchers, artistic doctorate students and scholars from the LMTA and other institutions within the fields of music, dance and theatre delivered papers on topical issues of the changes in the concept of performance in contemporary arts, performativity in music and theatre, and interrelationships of creation, performance and reception.

Masterclass in Orchestral Playing at LMTA

On October 26-31, 2014, a masterclass in orchestral playing led by the world famous orchestra concertmasters will be held for the first time in Lithuania. Orchestral rehearsals with the LMTA Students’ Symphony Orchestra will be guided by Boris GARLITSKY (violin professor of the National Conservatory of Music and Dance in Paris and the Folkwang University of the Arts (Essen, Germany), visiting concertmaster of London, Vienna ORF, Covent Garden Opera, the Hamburg Philharmonic symphony orchestras) and Anton BARAKHOVSKY (student of Dorothy DeLay and Itzhak Perlman, former concertmaster of the Hamburg Philharmonic, currently the concertmaster of the Bayerischen Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra).

The orchestra will work on two famous orchestral pieces: Franz Schubert Symphony No. 5 D. 485 and Dmitry Shostakovich String Quartet No. 8, op. 110, version for string orchestra. Three violinists were chosen for the position of concertmaster: Bernardas Petrauskas, Ieva Daugirdaitė and Minadora Šernaitė. The master classes will take place at the Grand Hall of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (Gedimino pr. 42, Vilnius). During those days, B. Garlitsky and A. Barakhovsky will also give individual violin lessons. After the masterclass, six concerts will be conducted by Martynas Staškus and Modestas Pitrėnas.

The masterclass is part of the project “Performer’s Polyfunctionality in Musical, Cultural and Social Processes”, funded by a grant (No. MIP-095/2013) from the Research Council of Lithuania.

A performer’s polyfunctionality discussed at the 12th World Congress of Semiotics

HARPS coordinator, Head of LMTA Postgraduate Studies Office, and junior research fellow of the project “Performer’s Polyfunctionality in Musical, Cultural and Social Processes” Lina Navickaitė-Martinelli has participated at the 12th World Congress of Semiotics “New Semiotics: Between Tradition and Innovation”. The congress took place on September 16-20 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The event, which featured over 500 participants from 61 countries, was organized by the New Bulgarian University together with the International Association for Semiotic Studies (IASS/AIS) and the Southeast European Center for Semiotic Studies. 

L. Navickaitė-Martinelli’s paper “Performer as a Meaning-Generator” (part of the Musical Semiotics session) presented some semiotics reflections on creativity in the art of musical performance. Seeing it from a semiotic perspective, musical performance is understood as a communication model in which a series of coded messages are sent or enacted and their meanings received or decoded. In such an analysis of performer’s art, a number of variables of private and public, musical and extra-musical articulation are of research interest. For instance, performers have their own personality and inclinations; they are exposed to different forms of education and influences; they develop certain technical and stylistic abilities; they find certain repertoires more suitable than others; they develop a public persona… All this is in one way or another reflected in the music played. The paper presented was meant to investigate how the artistic, personal and social identity of a musician is communicated through the performance, and what new meanings are created in this process.

Prepared as part of the cultural development project “A Performer’s Polyfunctionality in Musical,
Cultural and Social Processes” funded by the Lithuanian Research Council (Contract No MIP-095/2013).

Musical Semiotics session, photo by Gabriele Marino

HARPS at the “Doctors in Performance” festival-conference in Finland

Violinist, assistant professor of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, leader of the project “Performer’s Polyfunctionality in Musical, Cultural and Social Processes”, Dr. Rūta Lipinaitytė has presented a paper at the first international festival-conference on musical performance and artistic research “Doctors in Performance”, which took place on September 4–5, 2014, at the University of the Arts Helsinki, Sibelius Academy. The festival-conference was organized by the DocMus Doctoral school of the Sibelius Academy. Another representative of LMTA, HARPS co-ordinator and Head of Postgraduate Studies Lina Navickaitė-Martinelli has been invited by the organizers to follow the event as a member of the Artistic Research working group of the AEC Polifonia network.

Artistic research performers at both doctoral and post-doctoral levels were invited to take part in the conference. Instead of exclusively introducing paper presentations, the festival-conference featured also the research-related music performed by the participants. Recitals, lecture-concerts and research papers were presented at the halls of the new Helsinki Music Centre. The keynote presenters of “Doctors in Performance” were the pianist, professor of the Juilliard school in New York Matti Raekallio, and the musicologist, viola da gamba player Lawrence Dreyfus (Oxford University, Magdalen College).

Rūta Lipinaitytė’s paper “The Orchestra Concertmaster as a Polyfunctional Figure” aimed at revealing some distinctive features of a special role that falls on the first violinist in the orchestra – the concertmaster. In order to discuss the characteristics of this profession, two cases from orchestral practices were analysed: an orchestra led by a conductor and an orchestra without the conductor’s leadership. An analysis was conducted of how the concertmaster’s activity combines in itself the functions of the leader, an accompanist, a soloist, a pedagogue, or an orchestra representative. In sum, a great diversity of musical roles alongside a variety of other duties falling on a concertmaster supports the multifunctional nature of this profession. This conclusion was based in the paper on both responses from concertmasters, orchestra members and conductors to a special questionnaire as well as on the author’s personal experience as a member and one of the concertmasters of the Kremerata Baltica chamber orchestra.

Prepared as part of the cultural development project “A Performer’s Polyfunctionality in Musical, Cultural and Social Processes” funded by the Lithuanian Research Council (Contract No MIP-095/2013).

A paper at the conference “Critical Perspectives on Music, Education, and Religion” in Helsinki

Organist, musicologist, researcher of the project “Performer’s Polyfunctionality in Musical, Cultural and Social Processes” Eglė Šeduikytė-Korienė has participated at the international conference “Critical Perspectives on Music, Education, and Religion”. The conference took place on August 20–22, 2014, at the Sibelius Academy at the University of the Arts, Helsinki, Finland. The CPMER conference was held at the Helsinki Music Center, which is currently the home for the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Sibelius Academy. The speakers of the conference were invited to discuss about the ever increasing consciousness of cultural diversity, the relations between education and religion, the presence of religion in music education contexts and the various related political, cultural, social, legal, educational, aesthetic, ethical, and religious tensions. The scholars have approached the suggested topics from the perspectives of various research areas, such as pedagogy, musicology, ethnomusicology, religious studies, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, gender studies etc.

The paper by Eglė Šeduikytė-Korienė, „Stability and Variability in Organist‘s Education: The Case of the Lithuanian Organ School“, presented the Lithuanian organ playing school. A special attention was paid to the change of the nature and the mission of this most church-related musical profession from the end of the 19th century to this day. By analyzing the functions and topical issues of the multifaceted profession of a church organist, this type of a musician was presented at the conference as a figure connecting the fields of music, culture and religion.

Prepared as part of the cultural development project “A Performer’s Polyfunctionality in Musical, Cultural and Social Processes” funded by the Lithuanian Research Council (Contract No MIP-095/2013).

The session “Performer’s Polyfunctionality in Musical, Cultural and Social Processes” at the International ISI Congress

The 1st International Congress of Numanities, organized by the International Semiotics Institute, takes place on June 2-7 at the Kaunas University of Technology. One of its sessions is devoted to discuss the topics of the cultural development project “Performer’s Polyfunctionality in Musical, Cultural and Social Processes” carried out at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (financed by the Lithuanian Research Council, Contr. No. MIP-095/2013). In an attempt to combine the aims and topics of the Project with the “new humanities” paradigm by ISI and a semiotic approach, various aspects of a performer’s polyfunctionality and the art of performance in general shall be discussed.

On June 6, 4 p.m., KTU Building 3, room 406, the aims of the project shall be introduced and the session will be moderated by the HARPS coordinator Lina Navickaitė-Martinelli. The following papers will be presented: „Mediating within the Orchestra: Roles Ascribed to the Concertmaster“ (Assist. Prof. of LMTA, Dr. Rūta Lipinaitytė), „Challenging Piano Performance for 21st Century Market: Interrelation between Different Music Styles through Gordon’s Audiation Dimension“ (artistic doctorate researcher of LMTA Motiejus Bazaras), „The Church Organist as a Multifaceted Profession – Educational and Social Aspects“ (lecturer of LMTA, Dr. Eglė Šeduikytė-Korienė). The work of the session shall continue on June 7 d. 9 a.m. with two more papers (moderator – M. Bazaras): „Performing with the Woodrum 1.5 – An analysis of gestures and human-computer interaction“ (KTU student Mindaugas Badokas) and„Music Performer as a Polyfunctional Figure – A Socio-Semiotic Investigation“ (LMTA lecturer Lina Navickatė-Martinelli).

For more information on the Congress, please visit the website of ISI: http://www.isisemiotics.eu/

EPARM 2014 in Stockholm: March 6-8

This year’s EPARM (European Platform for Artistic Research in Music) Forum is being held in Sweden and hosted by the Royal College of Music (KMH) Stockholm in March 6-8. The event will coincide with the annual meeting of the Society for Artistic Reserarch (SAR). In addition to the paralel discussion groups of the 60 EPARM participants, a joint roundtable discussion with representatives from both EPARM and SAR will be organized. The speakers of the plenary EPARM/SAR session “Islands and Bridges” (March 7, Stockholm University of Arts):

• Gerhard Eckel (University of Music and Performing Arts, Graz);
• Johanna Garpe (University College of Opera / Stockholm University of the Arts);
• Julie Harboe (Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts);
• Lina Navickaite-Martinelli (Lithuanian Academy of Music & Theatre, Vilnius);
• Kevin Voets (Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp, Artesis Plantijn University College Antwerp).

The speakers and other participants shall tackle the questions of how might we improve the connections between the disciplines of artistic research whilst preserving the uniqueness of each of their ‘habitats’, and what role do words play, either in uniting or dividing our various discipline-specific conceptions of artistic research. Moderator of the session: Jeremy Cox, Chief Executive of the Association Européenne des Conservatoires, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen (AEC).

Master class for church organists

On November 25–27, 2013, Vilnius will host a master class entitled “A church organist as a polyfunctional cultural figure” for organists working for Catholic and Evangelical churches.

The master class will take place at:

• Church of Sts Johns (Šv. Jono g. 12): November 25^th and 27^th, 10:00 to 17:00

• Vilnius University, Small Aula Hall (Šv. Jono g. 3): November 25^th and 27^th, 12:00 to 19:00

• Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy (LMTA), J. Karoso Hall (Gedimino pr. 42): November 26^th, 10:00 to 19:00

• St Cross (Bonifrater) Church (S. Daukanto a. 1): November 25^th and 26^th: 10:00 to 16:00