In 2026, the Royal Musical Association , the Society for Musicology in Ireland and the European Association for Dance History will join together for a collaborative annual conference, taking place between Saturday 29 August and Tuesday 1 September 2026.

The conference will be hosted at SARC (Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Sound and Music), Queen’s University Belfast.

SARC: Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Sound and Music emerged from the Sonic Arts Research Centre (established in 2004), reflecting a broadening in interdisciplinary research scope. The centre’s director is Professor Pedro Rebelo and its current membership consists of 42 academics from across six Schools at Queen’s, 23 PhD students and 2 visiting scholars. The membership reflects research interests across performance, composition, sound art, interaction and instrument design, musicology, digital signal processing, ethnography, documentary making, audio-visual, immersive experience, broadcast, urban space, architecture and language. SARC researchers have consistently performed at the highest level in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) in Unit of Assessment 33 (Music, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies).

The conference sites will include the historic Music building (University Square) and the Sonic Arts Research Centre (Chloreen Gardens), with plenary sessions in the Peter Froggatt Centre on the main campus. Lecture-recitals and performance workshops will have access to the Harty Room concert hall - equipped with two full-concert Steinway grand pianos, a double-manual harpsichord, chamber organ and many percussion and specialist instruments – or the Sonic Laboratory with its 84 loudspeakers creating a specialist acoustic space designed to provide a unique and immersive listening experience. Further state of the art facilities include a Magnetic Resonator Piano, the SARC Mobile and a new Immersive Gallery. The composer workshops will be supported by the facilities of the Sonic Lab and by resident cutting edge contemporary music ensemble, Hard Rain.

We anticipate that most of the conference will take place in person, but there will also be certain hybrid elements for those unable to travel. (Information on travel options, provided by ‘visitBelfast’, is found here.) The plenary speakers will be Professor Bettina Varwig, University of Cambridge (Dent Medal recipient); Professor Michael Burden, University of Oxford (Le Huray plenary), and Professor Lorraine Byrne Bodley, Maynooth University (SMI plenary).

Delegates for the AC 2026 will have the option to purchase tickets for a conference dinner, on-site lunchtime or evening concerts, sound walks, and a social dance workshop that will take place during the conference.  

The call for papers and works for AC 2026 fosters the study of music and dance from a variety of individual perspectives; the interdisciplinary framework of SARC, along with the presence of the EADH and SMI as partner organisations, should encourage a vibrant exchange across and between disciplines.

This conference aims to promote research and practice in music, sound, or dance across all repertories, contexts, methodologies and approaches. For example, the place of music or dance within societal well-being; historical, hermeneutic or ethnographical studies of persons, repertories, performances, formats (e.g., film, iconography, choreography), technologies (including AI), musical instruments, notation systems, or institutions/societies. The perspectives of analysis, perception, psychology, or identity are equally of interest. In short music, sound and dance in all their manifestations. Proposals that reflect insights from other disciplines are encouraged, as are performance, composition, or scholarly collaborations between musicians and dancers.

Presentations are invited in the following formats:

• Individual papers (20 minutes + 10 for Q& A)
• Themed sessions or round tables (90 minutes, including Q&A)
• Lecture-recitals – music or dance (20 minutes + 10 for Q& A)
• Practice-based research workshops (90 minutes)
• Compositions and performances (up to 15 minutes)
• Compositions, choreographies, or new musical instruments as a ‘paper and demonstration’ presentation (20 minutes)
• Poster presentations (up to 10 minutes)
• Audio Visual Artworks for gallery presentation (maximum 30 minutes)

The committee welcomes proposals from practitioners and scholars at all career stages. We aim to represent the entire scope of current music scholarship and all facets of dance history. Any individual may submit one proposal.

Membership in the RMA, SMI or EADH is not a prerequisite for submission, but members can avail of a discounted registration fee. For further information on  joining any of these societies, please see here for the RMA, the SMI, and the EADH.

All proposals must be submitted no later than 23:00 (GMT) on 1 December 2025. The submissions portal will be available at this site from 1 November, with details of submission procedures for proposals – including full specifications related to practice-based submissions and workshops.

Conference email (for queries) : rmasmieadh26@qub.ac.uk