MCICM Maastricht Centre for the Innovation of Classical Music
Classical music institutions are faced with challenges. The quality of the performed repertoire tends to be high, but concert attendance is stagnating, audiences are aging, the musical landscape is increasingly hybrid and government subsidies are decreasing. Because of this, the need for innovating the practices of classical music culture has been generally acknowledged. Maastricht University (UM), Philzuid and Zuyd University for Applied Sciences (Zuyd) aspire to support this innovation through the establishment of the Maastricht Centre for the Innovation of Classical Music (MCICM). The centre aims to study the dynamics behind changing classical music practices and their societal contexts and to actively shape classical music futures. To do so, the MCICM combines academic research on innovation of performance practices with artistic research to renew classical music practices and music education in artistically relevant ways.
Research
During the 2018-2022 funding cycle, the centre focused on three research lines: orchestrating social relevance, modernizing cultural participation, and adapting sound heritage. Some of the projects include:
- Artful Participation
- Corona Conversations 2020
- Online Symposium 2021 ‘Towards 2040: Creating Classical Music Futures’
- Online Symposium 2022 ‘Borderlands: Classical Music and Society’
- Listen Closely: Innovating Participation in Symphonic Music
- Archives of Change: An Art Conservation Studies Approach to Innovating Classical Music
- Edited collection ‘Classical Music Futures: Practices of Innovation
During the 2022-2026 funding cycle, the centre is focusing on three research lines: digital technologies in classical music, the regional orchestra and innovating higher music education. Some of the projects include:
- Digitality in classical music practices in collaboration with students from Conservatorium Maastricht and musicians from Philzuid.
- The fourth version of The People’s Salon based on the Artful Participation experiment with the same name.
- Close work with Conservatorium Maastricht while it reworks its curriculum making it more open and innovative for the future musician.
For more information, please visit Projects.
Research lines 2018-2022:
- Orchestrating Social Relevance
- Modernising Cultural Participation
- Adapting Sound Heritage
Research lines 2022-2026:
- Digital technologies in classical music
- The Regional Orchestra
- Innovating higher music education
Read more about our research lines
News
Dr. Veerle Spronck’s PhD dissertation nominated for the Boekman Dissertation Prize
Dr. Veerle Spronck’s PhD dissertation, Listen Closely: Innovating audience participation in symphonic music, has been nominated for the 6th edition of the Boekman Dissertation Prize (Boekman Dissertatieprijs). The Boekman Dissertation Prize is awarded every three years for dissertations that focus...
The final report of AHRC project with Sheffield has been published
The final report of the join AHRC Classical Music Network, a joint project between the Sheffield Performer & Audience Research Centre (SPARC) and MCICM, is now available. During this poject, the network aimed to understand how classical music forms part of the arts scence in different cities...
MCICM and The Plant host workshop on digitality in classical music
The Maastricht Centre for the Innovation of Classical Music hosted the workshop ‘Digital tech meets classical music’ together with The Plant at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on 30 May 2024. Participants included researchers and students from FASoS, teachers from Conservatorium Maastricht and Zuyd...
MCICM collaborated with Philzuid for the latest Philstories concert
On 3 and 4 April 2024, Philzuid hosted the concert ‘Philstories” at Opus 9 in the Mariaberg neighborhood. Together with Prof. dr. Peter Peters and dr. Veerle Spronck, musicians and staff of Philzuid contacted residents and neighborhood organizations in Mariaberg. During dinners, meetings and cycling...
MCICM and SPARC are partners for AHRC Classical Music Network
MCICM and the Sheffield Performer & Audience Research Centre have a network that aims to understand how classical music forms part of the arts scene in different cities across the UK and Europe.
