AMS

AMS Board of Directors Meeting
2026-05-15 12:30 - 15:30, 2026-03-20 12:30 - 15:30 (America/New_York) | Online
This is a regularly scheduled meeting of the AMS Board of Directors. Closed meeting.

AMS Greater New York Chapter Meeting
2026-05-09 | New York University, 20 Cooper Square, Floor 3, New York, NY, 10003, United States
The next meeting of the AMS Greater New York will take place on Saturday, 9 May at New York University. The chapter invites 250 word proposals showcasing research in any area of musical scholarship. By 2 April, e-mail the proposal, a brief biography, your name, phone number, e-mail address, and affiliation to both DrJSDailey [at] aol.com and Jonathan.waxman [at] gmail.com, with the heading “AMSGNY Spring 2026” in the subject line. Paste everything into the e-mail. Please do not send attachments.

AMS Pacific Southwest Chapter Meeting
2026-05-02 09:00 - 18:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | California Polytechnic University, San Obispo, San Obispo, CA, United States
The AMS Pacific Southwest Chapter is pleased to invite you to RSVP for its spring meeting. The meeting will be held on 2 May 2026 from 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. at the California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo.
The final program for the day is posted on the chapter website.

AMS New York State – St. Lawrence Chapter Meeting
2026-05-01 - 2026-05-02 | Universty of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The 2026 Annual Meeting of the New York State St. Lawrence Chapter of the American Musicological Society will take place on Friday and Saturday, 1–2 May in Toronto, hosted by the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto and chaired by Professor Carolyne Sumner.

AMS New England Chapter Meeting
2026-04-25 | Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
The AMS New England Chapter announces its meeting of Spring 2026, to take place on 25 April hosted by Northeastern University, Boston, MA. We are delighted to announce that writer, scholar and critic, Jeremy Eichler (Tufts University), will be joining us to discuss his public humanities work as a long-time writer in the Boston Globe, as well as the author of the award-winning book, Time’s Echo: Music, Memory, and the Second World War.
For more information please visit https://www.newengland.ams-net.org/?p=1551

2026 NYU/AMS Lecture
2026-04-24 16:30 (America/New_York) | New York University, 20 Cooper Square, Floor 3, New York, NY, 10003, United States
The 2026 NYU/AMS Lecture, “Unsettled Sounds: The Critical Frame of Arab-Jewish Musical Inheritance,” will be held on Friday, 24 April 2026 at 4:30 p.m. EDT at New York University. Attendance is free, but registration is required.
This lecture will be presented by Tamar Sella (University of North Texas). Visit the event page for more details.

Amy Beach: Path-Breaking American Musician
2026-04-22 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Library of Congress, Washington, DC
In this AMS/Library of Congress Lecture, E. Douglas Bomberger gives a talk on a major figure in American music, the remarkable composer and pianist Amy Beach (1867–1944). Beach was the earliest American female composer whose works are still regularly heard today, on the radio, concerts and streaming platforms. Beach’s Mass in E-flat major and her Gaelic Symphony were premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the 1890’s, to acclaim by both critics and audiences. The Library of Congress holds the manuscript of both those orchestral works along with several others in the A.P. Schmidt Company Archives. Beach’s long and eminently successful career included a number of European tours, and performances of her piano concertos in which she was the soloist.
This event is free, but tickets are required.
Reserve Tickets

AMS Midwest Chapter Meeting
2026-04-18 - 2026-04-19 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, United States
The Spring 2026 Chapter Meeting of the AMS Midwest Chapter will take place at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on Saturday and Sunday, 18–29 April 2026. More information will become available in the spring.

East Asian Music and Stories in the Contemporary US
2026-04-17 17:00 (America/New_York) | New York University, 20 Cooper Square, Floor 3, New York, NY, 10003, United States
The East Asian Music in the Contemporary World (EAMCW) Initiave is a creative-research initiative founded in 2025 by Hippocrates Cheng and fellow colleagues, in collaboration with North America–based musicians specializing in East Asian instruments and scholars focusing on East Asian music and its contemporary expressions.
As part of the EAMCW Initiative’s New York tour, Hong-Da Chin 陈宏达, Junghwa Lee 이정화, and Thomas Piercyトーマス・ピアシー will present a talk and performance on Friday, 17 April 2026 at 5:00 p.m. at New York University. During the talk, these artists will share their traditional and contemporary music repertoires, their stories performing in the United States.
This event is free, but registration is required.
Register

2026 Ibero-American Music Readings: A Discussion on Latest Publications
2026-04-10 12:00 (America/New_York) | Online
During this event, Louise K. Stein, Javier Suárez-Pajares, and Walter Aaron Clark will present their latest publications and engage in dialogue with discussants Dinko Fabris and Daniel Jordan. Finally, there will be an open discussion.
This event will be held on 10 April 2026 at 12:00 p.m. ET. This event is free and open to all, but registration is required.
Register Now

Presentations:
The Marqués, the Divas, and the Castrati. Gaspar de Haro y Guzmán and Opera in the Early Modern Spanish Orbit (New York: Oxford University Press, 2024) by Louise K. Stein (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)
Discussant: Dinko Fabris (Università della Basilicata, Potenza)

A Light in the Darkness: The Music and Life of Joaquín Rodrigo (New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2024) by Javier Suárez-Pajares (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), and Walter Aaron Clark (University of California, Riverside)
Discussant: Daniel Jordan (University of Toronto)

AMS Southwest Chapter Meeting
2026-04-10 - 2026-04-11 | Texas A&M University-Kingsville School of Music, 775 N Armstrong St, Kingsville, TX, 78363, United States
The AMS Southwest Chapter is pleased to announce its Spring 2026 meeting, to be held 10–11 April 2026 at the Texas A&M University-Kingsville School of Music. In addition to paper sessions, the meeting will feature a keynote speaker, performances, and an optional excursion to the Padre Island National Seashore.

Indie Rock After Riot Grrrl
2026-04-09 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, 1100 E 9th Street, Cleveland, OH, 44114, United States
In this AMS/Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Lecture to be held 9 April at 7:00 p.m. ET, Dan DiPiero contextualizes the approach to studying indie rock before outlining some core examples from Big Feelings: Queer and Feminist Indie Rock After Riot Grrrl. Jump back in time to discuss the original indie music scene in the UK of the 1980s, and how gendered dynamics obscured the contributions of indie pop at the time. Discover the lasting impact of this movement on younger generations, where indie-pop languages mix together with a harder, alt-rock sound associated in public consciousness with white/male pain.

AMS South-Central Chapter Meeting
2026-03-20 - 2026-03-21 | Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, 30302, United States
The AMS South-Central Chapter is pleased to announce its Spring 2026 meeting (20–21 March 2026) at Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA with a keynote address delivered by Marian Wilson Kimber. The AMS South-Central Chapter invites submissions for papers, panel discussions, and lecture-recitals from all areas of music research.
Proposals should be sent to the Program Committee Chair, Jason Rosenholtz-Witt (jkro253 [at] uky.edu) by 16 January 2025. Receipt of your submission will be acknowledged via an email reply.
For a proposal submitted by a student, chapter policy requires that an advisor or other faculty member send a separate email message to the Program Committee Chair to verify student status. Students from the AMS South-Central Chapter whose abstracts are selected by the program committee will be eligible to compete in the Rey M. Longyear Student Paper Competition.
Presentations will be limited to twenty minutes with an additional ten minutes allotted for questions and discussion. Proposals should include an abstract of no more than 350 words and clearly indicate the scope of research, the research methods employed, and the presenter’s conclusions. Proposals should consist of a Word doc or PDF file that includes no personally identifying information but only the presentation title, abstract, and format (paper, panel, lecture recital, etc.).
Please attach the proposal to an email that gives the presenter’s full contact information, presentation title, any A/V requirements, and a short bio (100 words or less). Panel proposals should include an abstract describing the scope of the panel in addition to individual abstracts for each of the panel’s components.
Please send all information requested (the last name of the author being the file name) to the Program Committee Chair with the e-mail subject “AMS-SC 2025.”

AMS Allegheny and Capital Chapter Meeting
2026-02-28 - 2026-03-01 | Gettysburg College, 300 N Washington St, Gettysburg, PA, 17325, United States
The Allegheny and Capital Chapters of the AMS are excited to announce a joint conference to be held 28 Feburary–1 March 2026 at Gettysburg College. The conference will feature guest speaker Dr. Rodrigo Sigal (composer and sound studies specialist) and a colloquy on musicology pedagogy today. The program committee invites proposals for individual papers, lecture-recitals, seminar panels, or other presentation formats on any subject of musicological interest. Preceding the conference, participants will have the opportunity to attend a Friday night concert by the Gettysburg College Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Dr. César Leal, featuring music by Sigal.
The chapters invite faculty to participate in a Micro-Colloquium titled Musicology and Practice, a one-hour session focused on sharing innovative, practical approaches to teaching undergraduate music history. The chapters welcome brief, four-minute presentations on topics such as curricular innovations, performance-informed teaching, communicating musicology to younger generations, and navigating the “new normal” in today’s higher education crisis. Proposals should be around 100 words. No full papers are required, just fresh ideas and lively discussion.
The chapters encourage proposal submissions for a number of scholarly presentation formats:

Individual papers: a 20 minute presentation with 10 minutes of discussion.
“Lightning” sessions papers: individual 8-10 minute talks with additional discussion or media. The entire session will fill a one-hour slot.
Video presentation: a presentation of variable length with 10-minutes of discussion. Abstracts should include information on the goals, format, and length of the presentation. Additional guidelines will be distributed with acceptance.
Seminar panels: 3-4 papers that will be distributed ahead of the conference and comprise an extended discussion of the topic followed by questions.
Additional formats (workshops, roundtables, lecture-recitals) should fill an hour time slot. Please identify session format, musicological significance, and participant roles in your abstract.

Please submit an abstract of up to 250 words along with the proposed title and presentation format via this form by 5 January 2026.
Student members of the Allegheny Chapter are eligible for the annual Deane L. Root Student Paper Award, sponsored by the Center for American Music in the University of Pittsburgh Library System.
Student members of the Capital Chapter are eligible for the annual Lowens Student Paper Award.

AMS Southeast Chapter Meeting
2026-02-28 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
The Southeast Chapter of the American Musicological Society will hold its Spring 2026 meeting hosted by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Saturday, 28 February 2026. The program committee hereby invites proposals for individual presentations in the following formats:
Papers: Papers will be limited to 20 minutes in length in order to allow 10 minutes for discussion. Proposals should include a formal title, an abstract of no more than 250 words, as well as the author’s name, email address, and institutional affiliation or place of residence. Indicate any audio-visual equipment or instruments (such as piano).
Lecture-Recitals: Lecture-recitals connecting musicological research with live performance will be limited to 20 minutes in length, including both spoken and performed components. These proposals should follow the same guidelines as those for papers. The abstract should include a description explaining the significance of the work(s) or manner of performance, as well as a summary of the lecture component, including information pertaining to the underlying research, its methodology, and conclusions. Proposals must be accompanied by an .mp3 recording of the performer(s) in order to demonstrate proficiency. Please be sure that the .mp3 file does not have any identifying information in the file name or metadata. While a recorded performance of the proposed piece(s) is strongly preferred, a recorded performance comparable in style and difficulty level will also be accepted. Those proposing lecture-recitals are responsible for providing all personnel needed for the performance.
Posters: Posters will be displayed throughout the meeting and will receive a designated session during which each presenter will have the opportunity to deliver a 5-minute summary of methodology and research findings prior to attendees’ circulation and questions. These proposals should follow the same guidelines as those for individual papers. Student posters are eligible for a Student Presentation Award in a separate poster designation.
Please submit all proposals via this link by Friday, 16 January 2026.
Student members are encouraged to work with a faculty mentor to ensure a presentation of the highest quality. All student members of the AMS Southeast Chapter whose papers are accepted to the meeting are encouraged to apply for a Student Presentation Award. To be considered for this award, student presenters must submit a complete draft of their paper to the chapter president via e-mail no later than twenty-four hours prior to the conference or provide three paper copies to the president the morning of the conference.

AMS Southern Chapter and SEM Southeast/Caribbean Chapter Meeting
2026-02-27 - 2026-02-28 | Florida State University, 222 S Copeland St, Tallahassee, FL, 32306, United States
Florida State University will jointly host the annual meetings of the American Musicological Society Southern Chapter and the Society for Ethnomusicology Southeast/Caribbean Chapter in Tallahassee, Florida on 27–28 2026.

AMS New England Chapter Meeting
2026-02-21 | Online
The Winter 2026 meeting of the New England Chapter will take place on Saturday, February 21, hosted online by Dartmouth College. The Program Committee invites proposals of up to 300 words for 20-minute papers or for themed sessions or panels. All abstracts are subject to anonymous review, and submissions from faculty, independent scholars, and students are encouraged and welcome.
Abstracts should be submitted by January 23 to the Program Committee through this Google form or at the following email: ams.newengland [at] gmail [dot] com. Submitters will be informed of the committee’s decision by the end of January, with the hope of announcing the conference program by February 6.

AMS Committee Leaders Meeting
2026-02-13 14:00 - 15:30 (America/New_York) | Online
The Committee Leaders Meeting is the annual meeting of AMS committee chairs with the AMS Executive Director and members of the Board of Directors. The purpose of the meeting is to share news and information, and to maintain open lines of communications between AMS committees and the Board of Directors. The Zoom link to access the meeting will be shared with committee chairs via email.

AMS Chapter Leaders Meeting
2026-02-06 14:00 - 15:30 (America/New_York) | Online
The Chapter Leaders Meeting is the annual meeting of AMS committee chairs with the AMS Executive Director and members of the Board of Directors. The purpose of the meeting is to share news and information, and to maintain open lines of communications between AMS committees and the Board of Directors. The Zoom link to access the meeting will be shared with chapter leaders via email.

AMS Greater New York Chapter Meeting
2026-02-06 | Online
The Winter Meeting of the Greater New York Chapter will take place ONLINE on Saturday, February 6, 2026.
The chapter is seeking proposals for presentations at this time. Please send 250 word proposals by December 20th. We invite proposals in all areas of musical scholarship.
Send your proposals to both jonathan.waxman “at” gmail.com and DrJSDailey “at” aol.com. Do not send attachments—everything must be pasted in the e mail. Include a brief (3 sentence max) bio and include your current affiliation. Put “AMSGNY Winter 2026” in the subject line.

AMS Study Group Leaders Meeting
2026-01-23 14:00 - 15:30 (America/New_York) | Online
The Study Group Leaders Meeting is the annual meeting of AMS study group leaders with the AMS Executive Director and members of the Board of Directors. The purpose of the meeting is to share news and information, and to maintain open lines of communications between AMS study groups and the Board of Directors. The Zoom link to access the meeting will be shared with study group leaders via email.

AMS Board Meeting
2026-01-16 - 2026-01-17 | New York University, 20 Cooper Square, Floor 3, New York, NY, 10003, United States

Taken in Stride: The Mundanity of Ambulation
2025-11-07 19:30 (America/Chicago) | Music Box Theatre, 1407 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis, MN, 55407, United States
The American Musicological Society is proud to present an unforgettable performance and lecture by musicologist and music creator Kwami Coleman.
This lecture/performance focuses on stride piano technique, where a pianist’s left hand maintains the rhythmic pulse of a song with alternating leaps between the instrument’s lower and middle registers, simulating the dialogic and propulsive exchange within a band’s rhythm section.
“Taken In Stride” is Kwami Coleman’s dialog with a more acoustic past and the thoroughly electronic and more automated present, and this dialog will extend to attendees who, in their presence and participation, will join in, in stride—in rhythmic and registral exchange.
This event will be held as part of the American Musicological Society’s Many Musics of America Project and in conjunction with the 2025 AMS-SMT Joint Annual Meeting. Registration is required.

Learn More

Contemporary Issues in Music & Copyright Law
2025-11-07 | Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, 1300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN, 55403, United States
On 7 November 2025, the American Musicological Society and the Sports, Art & Entertainment Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association are co-hosting a day of CLE sessions as part of the AMS’s 91st Annual Meeting on 6–9 November 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis. The conference-style event includes a special day of CLE sessions focused on the intersection of music and law, including topics such as copyright infringement litigation and related musicological analysis as well as law and policy issues raised by artificial intelligence, music privacy, and more. Speakers include experienced music and entertainment attorneys and forensic musicologists. CLE credit approval is pending. Registration is required.
Co-Presented with the Sports, Art & Entertainment Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association.

2025 AMS-SMT Joint Annual Meeting
2025-11-06 - 2025-11-09 | Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, 1300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN, 55403, United States
In 2025 the American Musicological Society (AMS) and Society for Music Theory (SMT) will hold their annual meetings jointly on 6–9 November 2025 at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis. Join us for this exciting scholarly event which will feature hundreds of papers, workshops, roundtables, lectures and performances. Don’t miss out. Save the date!

Music Leadership Forum: Navigating Crisis and Change
2025-11-05 | Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, 1300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN, 55403, United States
In 2025, the American Musicological Society (AMS) will hold its first-ever Music Leadership Forum. This day-long event titled, “Navigating Crisis and Change,” will gather leaders in music studies, the performing arts, education, and nonprofit management to share, learn, and connect. Featuring workshops hosted by an impressive roster of experts, the Music Leadership Forum will offer opportunities for professional development and networking for attendees working on music programs within a variety of professional contexts.
At the Forum, you will connect with colleagues who are shaping the future of music education and performance and learn how to approach strategic planning, professional ethics, staff management, and partnership-building in uncertain times. The Music Leadership Forum will offer ways to:

Motivate your team in the face of heightened stress and uncertainty
Market and promote your programs to new audiences
Assess the state of a rapidly changing industry or field
Engage with local partners and strengthen community connections
Evaluate shifting legal landscapes
Raise money in a scarce funding environment

For more information, visit: https://www.amsmusicology.org/events/music-leadership-forum/

Music, Disputes, and the Silent Western: The Yaqui (1916)
2026-09-22 19:00 (America/New_York) | Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Embracing the visual arts, literature, and music, interest in the West peaked in the early twentieth century. The emerging film industry capitalized on this enthusiasm, and the genre became popular with audiences and lucrative for the studios. Like most silent films, Westerns were accompanied by live musicians who used suggested musical programs to advise them what to play and when to play it during the film. These were often created by professional music directors, such as Ernst Luz (1878-1937), who managed the orchestras at Loew’s movie theaters, or proficient musicians, like Max Winkler (1888-1965), who worked at Carl Fischer Music Publishing and later established his own music publishing firm. This presentation examines two differing musical accompaniments created by Luz and Winkler for The Yaqui—an early Mexican-border prestige Western, the narrative of which is based on the enslavement of the Yaqui by the Mexican government—and the ensuing public debate about their appropriateness. Musical accompaniments for the silent Western, like these by Winkler and Luz, helped shape audiences’ perceptions of the West. This research offers the first critical examination of this music, illuminating its significance in fortifying the mythical substance and interpreting the imagined realism of the Western film.
This event will be held as part of the AMS/Library of Congress Lecture Series. Tickets are free but required.

AMS Midwest Chapter Meeting
2025-10-11 - 2025-10-12 | Oakland University, Rochester, MI, United States
Deadline for abstract submission: August 22, 2025, by 11:59 PM EST
The Midwest Chapter officers are pleased to announce that the Fall 2025 meeting will be held in-person with an option for virtual presentation on Saturday and Sunday, October 11–12. David Kidger and Jessica Payette will be the hosts for the meeting. Please note that the virtual option is intended for those who live more than 150 miles from the conference location or have other extenuating circumstances that preclude attendance in person.
Proposals for presentations, special sessions, panel discussions, and papers with a performance component are welcomed on any topic related to musicology. Abstracts should be no longer than 250 words and should clearly indicate the scope of the research, methodology, and conclusions. Presentations will be limited to twenty minutes, with an additional ten minutes allotted for questions and discussion. Speakers at the 2024 Fall meeting are not eligible to submit a paper abstract for the 2025 Fall meeting; however, they are welcome to participate in panel discussions. Only one submission per person is allowed.
In lieu of a keynote speaker, the meeting will feature a roundtable panel discussion, moderated by Chapter President Keith Clifton, titled “Search Committee Confidential.” This session will offer strategies and advice for effectively managing the current musicology job market with panelists representing a variety of institutions.
Complete Guidelines for Paper Submission and our easy online submission form may be found on the chapter’s Abstract Submission page.
After you submit an abstract, you will receive a confirmation that your proposal has been received. Blind copies of all proposals will be forwarded to the Program Committee.
You need to be a current regular or student member of the AMS-Midwest Chapter for your abstract to be considered (chapter membership is not the same as national membership in the AMS). To join or renew your membership, please visit the chapter’s membership page.
Submission of an abstract denotes the speaker’s willingness and availability to attend the 2025 Fall Chapter meeting.
We encourage both graduate and undergraduate students to present their work at our meetings. In addition to the abstract and other requested information, students submitting proposals must name and provide the email address for an advisor or other faculty member who can verify the student presenter’s readiness to present at a professional meeting. Student members of AMS-Midwest are invited to compete for one of two annual prizes for outstanding papers offered by Indiana University Press and A-R Editions, Inc. Students wishing to compete for the award are expected to submit their final text, including handouts and/or slides, as an email attachment to Dr. Megan Eagen-Jones, Chair of the Program Committee, at eagen -at- illinois.edu, by September 26, 2025, 11:59 PM EST. For updated details of the awards, see the chapter’s Awards page.
Your AMS-Midwest Chapter Officers:
Keith Clifton, President
amsmidwestpresident -at- gmail.com
Sophie Benn, Secretary
ams.midwest.secretary -at- gmail.com
Jessica Payette, Treasurer
ams.midwest.treasurer -at- gmail.com

AMS Southeast Chapter Meeting
2025-10-04 | University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, United States
The Southeast Chapter of the American Musicological Society will hold its Fall 2025 meeting on Saturday, 4 October at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina.
