Symposium 2026: Between Research and Activism
Futures of Music and Minority Studies
3 Day Programme

Thursday, 12.02.
Fanny Hensel Hall (mdw Campus)
13:30 Registration
14:00 Welcome and Opening Remarks
Ulrike Sych – Rectorate of the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
Ursula Hemetek – Head of the MMRC
Peter Lell – Project Coordinator
14:30 Musical Interlude: Master’s Students in Ethnomusicology from Afghanistan
Mirwais Hakimi and Emran Mahmood (singers), accompanied by Masih Karimi (tabla)
15:00–16:30 Roundtable Discussion 1: Music and Minority Research and Its Institutional Frameworks: Possibilities, Limitations, and Future Requirements
Anja Brunner, Amos Darkwa Asare, Benjy Fox-Rosen, Christian Poske (MMRC Members)
Moderation: Malik Sharif
17:00–18:30 Roundtable Discussion 2: Common Grounds and Future Directions: Dialogues on Concepts, Methods and Emerging Paradigms in Music and Minority Research
Ioannis Christidis, Isabel Frey, Jasemin Khaleli (MMRC Members)
Moderation: Peter Lell
Banquet Hall (mdw Campus)
From 18:30 Welcome Dinner and Music – with Serbian Roma Music
Violin Duo: Darko Piller & Angelica Hudler
Friday, 13.02.
Fanny Hensel Hall (mdw Campus)
9:00 Registration
9:30 Key Roundtable: Music and minority studies as engaged research: Global and local perspectives
Georgia Curran, Marko Kölbl, Svanibor Pettan, Mayco Santaella, Deborah Wong (MMRC International Advisory Board)
Moderation: Ursula Hemetek
12:00–13:30 Paper Presentations 1 (tbc)
13:30–15:00 Lunch Break
15:00–16:30 Roundtable Discussion 3: Minority Music as a Form of Political Expression
Mira Gabriel, Santino Stojka, Konstantin Vlasich
Moderation: Isabel Frey
Curated by Initiative Minderheiten (IM)
17:00–18:30 Roundtable Discussion 4: Agency, Urgency & Political Activism in Music
Luna Al-Mousli, Tori Reichel, IZRAA, Simonida Selimović
Moderation: Samo Zeichen
Concert Hall, Future Art Lab (mdw Campus)
18:30–19:30 Dinner
19:30–21:00 Concert: Sonic Encounters – Music from the Afghan Diaspora and the Burgenland-Croatian Minority
Shekib Rasa & Fayaz Mohammadi; Kolo Slavuj (Folklore Ensemble of the Burgenland-Croatian Minority)
Saturday, 14.02.
Fanny Hensel Hall (mdw Campus)
9:30 Registration
10:00–11:30 Paper Presentations 2 (tbc)
12:00–13:30 Paper Presentations 3 (tbc)
13:30–15:00 Lunch Break
15:00–16:30 Symposium Outcomes – Voices, Perspectives, and Dialogues (Interactive Fishbowl Discussion)
Moderation: Peter Lell
16:30–18:00 Closing and Sparkling Wine Reception
Brunnenpassage (Brunnengasse 71 (at Yppenplatz), 1160 Wien)
Starting at 20:00 Closing Party
DJ-sets by قamareen (Raqsouna) and MZTAY (Spice Mixers)