The 15th International Conference of Students of Systematic Musicology (SysMus22)

Abstract

The International Conferences of Students of Systematic Musicology (SysMus) are a series of interdisciplinary student-run conferences with the aim of promoting intellectual exchange between early-career researchers in various fields of systematic musicology. In 2022, the 15th conference was hosted by the Institute for Psychoacoustics and Electronic Music (IPEM) in Ghent, Belgium, and was held in a hybrid format, allowing researchers to be present and participate in the events in person and online. SysMus22 comprised 43 posters, 23 presentations, 6 workshops, a panel discussion, musical demonstrations, and 3 musical performances. Topics were as diverse as music cognition, psychology, health and well-being, music theory and performance, technology, and philosophy, among others. Adding to the richness and diversity of topics were keynote lectures given by Psyche Loui (MIND Laboratory, Northeastern University), Mendel Kaelen (Wavepaths), and Rebecca Schaefer (Music, Brain, Health & Technology Laboratory, Leiden University). The whole conference was marked by a friendly, warm, and stimulating atmosphere, encouraging the exchange of ideas between all participants and particularly among researchers at the beginning of their academic careers in systematic musicology. This report provides an overview of SysMus22, the topics it covered, and the format it employed, with a critical discussion of the benefits and challenges posed by the hybrid format.