Symposia, conferences and resources

The York Forum

The ICCM York Forum aims to foster an environment where community music scholarship can flourish in York, encouraging a continuing dialogue surrounding contemporary issues and current challenges of community music research and practice.

The Forum also aims to enable the development of networks among York-based practitioners, students and organisations engaged in community music practice.

Previous themes have included:

• Time for Change? 2022: Led by Dr Jennie Henley this session explored policy initiatives designed to address equalities in music education launched with the pilots of the first Wider Opportunities programmes in England. These programmes were in part designed to offer musical choices, embrace a broad range of diverse cultures, and foster and develop collaboration between the formal and informal music education sectors in and beyond schools.
• A Way, not The Way, 2019: Led by Sarah Fisher, ‘A way, not The Way' is a pedagogical approach providing a useful lens into how practitioners may facilitate musical development with individuals living with special educational needs and disabilities. An essential element to this approach is the teacher and student relationship and the notions of; motivation, constructive criticism of musicality, not a disability; and the development of a way (not the way) to teach new musical skills. An opportunity was given for participants to discuss these ideas and network with other local community music practitioners, organisations and post-graduate students.
• The First Five Minutes, 2019: Led by Catherine Birch and Lee Higgins we explored the notions of the “welcome” and “hospitality” through focusing on the first five minutes of a community music workshop. What does it mean to be welcoming? One might say that a well-placed and genuine welcome might make those whom receive it feel like the new place is “home from home” setting up a positive situation – one where the wish is to repeat the experience. But is this achievable or even appropriate in every contextual location, and how can we navigate the murky waters of ‘messy’ hospitality? Examples of practice illuminated the complexes of human relationships within set boundaries and across profound social barriers.

Conferences and collaborations

The ICCM works in collaboration with its partners to develop and host conferences that respond to issues surrounding community music.

Previous events have included: 

• 1st Panhellenic Conference on Community Music: Music and musicians for a better society: Beginnings, experiences, perspectives. 29 to 30 April 2023.
  • York St John news article.
  • The Ensemble news article.
  • Approaches: conference report.
• Breaking Boundaries: New York, 2018: As a development of our Student Symposium the ICCM co-hosted an event with Teachers College, Columbia University, in New York City.
• Community Music: Intersections, crossfields, and ecologies, 2018: The Free University of Bozen, Italy, in partnership with the International Centre for Community Music at York St John University, UK, hosted the 2^nd Italian Conference on Community Music.
• Engaging in Community Music, Free University Bozen-Bolzano, Italy, 2017: Co-hosted the first community music conference in Italy alongside colleagues from the Free University in Bozen-Bolzano.
• Walking the Boundaries, Bridging the Gaps: International Community Music Conference, 2017: The ICCM co-hosted this event in collaboration with Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario, Canada. Find out more by downloading the overview: Walking the Boundaries Conference (PDF, 77 kB)

Community Music and Social Sustainability Network meeting

A collaboration between music and geography, this York St John funded event brought a group of people together to consider how those human and cultural geographers might work alongside musicians to explore themes such as place, space, memory, and social sustainability.