Guidelines for Submission

Timeline

  • Deadline for Proposals: Friday 31 January 2025 at 5pm IST. 
  • Notification of Acceptance: mid April 2025
  • Preliminary programme will be available by late April 2025

This will be an in-person event, enabling delegates to attend performances, and to engage fully in idea exchanges, networking, and social interactions. Virtual presentations may be considered under special circumstances. However, fully virtual attendance will not be possible.  

Scholarly Paper Presentations

The following presentation lengths are available: lightning talk (5 minutes), paper (20 minutes, with 10 minutes Q&A), public lecture (40 minutes), panel (60 minutes, including three 15-minute presentations followed by moderated discussion with panel and audience).

To submit an individual paper, please specify whether it is a lightning talk, paper, or public lecture. For all formats, please send an abstract with a maximum of 300 words. Abstracts should be in the form of a Microsoft Word document which includes the title of the paper but omits contributor details. In the body of the email, please include contributor details, a short biography for each contributor with a maximum of 150 words, institutional affiliation (where relevant), email address, paper title, and any technological requirements, including a projector, or piano. 

To submit a panel proposal, please send an abstract with a maximum of 600 words. Abstracts should be in the form of a Microsoft Word document which includes the title of the panel but omits contributor details. In the body of the email, please include contributor details, a short biography for each contributor with a maximum of 150 words, institutional affiliation (where relevant), email address, paper title, and any technological requirements, including a projector or piano. 

Undergraduate students must also submit a letter of support from their primary research advisor. 

Please use one of the following three email subject headings depending on which of the three areas of scholarly paper fits your submission:

  1. Scholarly Paper: Musicology and Music Analysis
  2. Scholarly Paper: Music Education
  3. Scholarly Paper: Interdisciplinary Studies 

Performance

To submit a proposal for a performance, please send an abstract with a maximum of 300 words and a link to an audio sample to demonstrate the proficiency of the performer(s). The duration of this recording should be a minimum of 2 minutes, but no longer than 5 minutes. Preference will be given to submissions that include a recording of the proposer(s) performing works from their presentation. When this is not possible, the submitted example must be of a comparable style, genre, or historical period. 

Undergraduate students must also submit a letter of support from the primary instrumental instructor for each of the performers proposed. 

Performances including a brief discussion or contextualization may range in length from 30–45 minutes and should offer an appropriate balance of discussion and performance elements. 

Workshops by ensembles who have developed a piece to an advanced level may range in length from 45–60 minutes. 

Various constraints limit the number of performances that may be programmed. Applicants should specify the duration of their performance in their abstracts. Proposals for full and partial programs are welcome. Abstracts should include the full details of the programme proposed for the performance and a short biography for each performer (maximum of 150 words per performer), institutional affiliation (where relevant), email address, and any technological requirements, including a projector or piano. 

Please use one of the following three email subject headings depending on which of the three areas of scholarly paper fits your submission:

  1. Performance: Solo Performance
  2. Performance: Chamber Music Ensemble
  3. Performance: Workshop

Industry Leaders

To submit a proposal for a presentation as an industry leader, please send an abstract with a maximum of 300 words, a short biography for each contributor with a maximum of 150 words per person, state the company or professional affiliation, email address, presentation title, and any technological requirements, including a projector or piano. Please specify “Presentation by Industry Leader” in the subject heading of your email.

Review Process

All proposals are subject to a hybrid review process:

  1. Blind Peer Review for Scholarly Papers
  2. Open Review for Performance Proposals and Presentations from Industry Leaders

This dual system allows us to uphold academic standards while also considering the unique contributions of performers and industry professionals. All reviews will be conducted according to clearly defined criteria to ensure fairness across all submission types.

Scholarly papers will be evaluated anonymously according to three criteria: 

  1. The relevance of the author’s central arguments to existing scholarship;
  2. The extent to which the paper offers an original contribution to the scholarly community;
  3. The clarity and coherence in which the argument is presented.

The deadline for the submission of proposals is 5pm Irish time on Friday 31 January to expansivecanvas@gmail.com.