It was a milestone in the development of the Department of Folk Music Research and Ethnomusicology—but also of the mdw—when the stage of the Joseph Haydn-Saal came alive with a celebration of musical diversity on 24 May.

Contesting Border Regimes – Sounds and Images was the title of 2021’s international symposium Transkulturalität_mdw, which took place online on 7 and 8 May.

And for around 20 years, now, we’ve used the terms “applied” or “engaged ethnomusicology” to also imply “outreach”. It has hence long been a central point in ethnomusicology (rather than being a recent development, like in other disciplines) to ensure that research has a reciprocal impact on society—an impact that, in turn, flows once again into research findings.

In ethnomusicology, one frequently deals with the music and dance of people who are perceived to be “different”. However, one needn’t travel to the far corners of the earth to do so—after all, Vienna itself is home to an extremely varied range of musical cultures that exist side by side.

This past June, the ethnomusicologist Ursula Hemetek became the first woman professor at an arts university to receive the Wittgenstein Award.

Joint Meeting of the ICTM Study Groups “Music and Minorities” and “Music and Gender”.

An analysis of plena—a genre of Afro-Caribbean traditional music—and its performance in Puerto Rico.

A New Event Series of the mdw’s Department of Folk Music Research and Ethnomusicology (IVE).