Musicological Symposium

The Cultural Services of the Ministry of Education and Culture in Cyprus and the Rialto Theatre are organizing the 1st Symposium in Limassol within the frame of the “6th Cyprus Ethnic Festival – World Music 2011”, entitled:

“The musical traditions of the Mediterranean as a historical example and contemporary reality of the Intercultural Dialogue”

The topics of the Symposium will address the relationships and the similarities of the musical cultures of the Mediterranean hosting as speakers very eminent scientists and institutional representatives from Europe, the Arab world, Israel, Greece and Cyprus. Indicative issues to be addressed are the following:

A. Relationships and interactions of the Cypriot / Greek music heritage between other Mediterranean cultures.

B. The perceptions of the Media and the European music industry regarding the Mediterranean musical traditions.

C. The musical traditions of the Mediterranean into the curriculum of education of the Euro-Mediterranean area.

Cyprus, due to its geographical position, at the cross roads of three continents, and its rich history, is the most privileged place for organizing a similar international dialogue on this theme. We hope that the First Symposium will mark the establishment of this event in an annual meeting of exchanging thoughts and introspective reflections concerning the relationships and the interactions between the musical traditions of Mediterranean, their place in the music education and international music market and also their contribution in the part of understanding “the other” and in relationships of peace, cooperation and good neighborliness.

Program

Thursday 28/7

09:30 – 10:00
Registration of Symposium participants

SESSION Α - 10:00 – 12:00
Chairman: Thomas Apostolopoulos

10:00 – 10:30 - Opening of Symposium
Welcome notes:
Pavlos Paraskevas - Director of Cultural Services of the Ministry of Education and Culture of Cyprus
Georgia Doetzer - Artistic Director, Rialto Theatre

10:30 – 11:00
Kyriakos Kalaitzidis - Musician, Composer, Artistic Director of “EN CHORDAIS” (Greece)
The musical traditions of the Mediterranean as a historical example and contemporary reality of the Intercultural Dialogue.

11:00 – 11:30
Sami Sadak - Artistic Director, Babel Med Music (France)
The intercultural dialogue through a Mediterranean traditional music market
The experience of Babel Med Music

11:30 – 12:00
Victor Sahab - Εx Vice President, International Music Council, Unesco (Lebanon)
Sketch of an anthropological map of music in the Arab world

12:00 – 12:30 - Coffee break

SESSION B – 12:30 – 14:00
Chairman: Simone Dudt

12:30 – 13:00
Christiana Demetriou - Professor of Byzantine Studies, Vienna University (Austria)
Relationships and interactions of the Byzantine musical tradition of Cyprus and the wider Mediterranean area

13:00 – 13:30
Ruben Zahra - Composer, Lecturer, University of Malta
Folk Music - raw material for contemporary music

13:30 – 14:00
Manuela Cortés García - Professor, Department of History and Science of Music, University of Granada (Spain)
Flamenco and Hispano-Arabic Music - Interaction and reality of the Spanish musical heritage in the Mediterranean space

14:00 – 17:00 - Break

SESSION C – 17:00 - 19:00
Chairman: Victor Sahab

17:00 – 17:30
Simone Dudt - General Secretary of the European Music Council (Germany)
Is there any place for traditional music in the Europe 2020 strategy?

17:30 – 18:00
Michalis Karakatsanis - Administrator of the Cyprus Music Information Centre, Ministry of Education and Culture (Cyprus)
Mediterranean Music and Semantic Web/Web 3.0: Using the internet for raising awareness and enriching music diversity – The case of “SoundSea” project

18:00 – 19:00
Panel discussion, conclusion, perspectives

Friday 29/7

SESSION D - 10:00 – 11:30
Chairman: Sami Sadak

10:00 – 10:30
Thomas Apostolopoulos - Assistant Professor, Music Studies Department, University of Athens (Greece)
Studies titles for traditional music instruments - The situation in eastern Mediterranean and the problems in Greece

10:30 – 11:00
Yiannis Miralis - Assistant Professor of Music Education & Saxophone, MusicCoordinator, Department of Arts European University Cyprus
The teaching and learning of the musical traditions of the Eastern Mediterranean: Approaches and recommendations

SESSION E – 11:00 – 13:00
Chairman: Yiannis Miralis

11:00 – 11:30
Reem Kassem - Head of Performing Arts Programming (Bibliotheca Alexandrina) Egypt
When Cultures Clash, Meet and Merge - Musical heritage across the Mediterranean

11:30 – 13:00
Panel discussion, conclusion, perspectives

Closing of Symposium

Place: Pefkios Georgiades Auditorium

The event is part of the 6th Ethnic Festival Cyprus 2011.