Our Musical Commons Project Launched!

Our Musical Commons: Musicologies for Social, Civic, and Moral Repair is an initiative of the American Musicological Society (AMS) that explores the many ways music and sound can and have been used to build, renew, and repair social, civic, and ethical cultures. Designed for a broad coalition of scholars, musicians, educators, and engaged citizens, the project aims to move beyond traditional scholarly inquiry to inspire creative and constructive action, dialogue, and connection among people, institutions, and communities.

Our Musical Commons proceeds from a serious and sincere commitment to the idea of the “commons” as a source of shared strength and security; the conviction that certain types of shared goods, ideas, spaces, and practices are necessary for human flourishing and require collective cultivation and protection. Historically, “the commons” referred to a shared resource that was accessible to all and whose benefits were broadly and fairly distributed. It was a simple framework, but one built on trust, shared rules of conduct and mutual expectation, as well as a long-term commitment to cooperation, balance, and self-restraint. The Our Musical Commons project applies this framework to music: its histories, practices, and proven capacity to coordinate and connect disparate people, places, ideas, and modes of understanding.

This initiative is a response to the challenges of the current moment. It recognizes that recent and, in many cases rapidly destabilizing, changes in technology, economics, climate, ethics, social mores, and political culture have shaken many people’s sense of order, connection, and stability, resulting in historically high levels of polarization, social isolation, civic disconnection, and societal dissatisfaction. In response, the Our Musical Commons project brings together musicologists, musicians, music educators, music administrators, creative professionals, and members of the engaged public to identify and explore the many ways music has been and continues to be a force for social cohesion, civic renewal, and moral repair.

To this end the project will spotlight both historical and contemporary cases in which music has served as a medium of connection across cultural, social, civic, and ethical divides, and encourage participants to imagine, create, and iterate along the same lines. Accordingly, the Our Musical Commons project will involve examination of community music making, community-engaged research, music as an expression of group identity and remembrance, music as a medium of cultural exchange and ethical instruction, and much more. Events and activities will include articles and blog posts; informational “lightning” talks and performances; roundtables, expert panels, and public lectures; community-based projects and student outreach; social and networking events; creative and improvisational exercises and jam sessions; and more.

Our Musical Commons is deliberately and meaningfully different from prior AMS projects. Where traditional musicological scholarship seeks only to uncover, inform and elucidate, this initiative also aims to inspire, create, and improvise. It is a sustained, purposeful effort to put musicological knowledge to use in helping to renew and repair society at a moment of profound division and distrust.

Yet this does not mean the project is naive about the complexities involved. The “commons” have always been difficult to sustain, and the role of music in creating and renewing shared social, civic and moral structures has often been contested. Music can be and has been used for both constructive ends (songs of work, remembrance, and connection) and destructive ends (propaganda), and the difference between these things is often in the ear of the beholder. Our Musical Commons takes these tensions seriously — engaging them honestly and realistically — but, ultimately, concludes that music and musicology are too valuable, too potent a source for social, civic and moral connection, to be sidelined at a time of historic challenge.

Project Activities

Through a range of programming — including meetings, performances, workshops, public events, and research partnerships — Our Musical Commons will:

• Explore the historical and contemporary record of music as a tool for social, civic, and moral renewal across diverse communities and traditions
• Foster and design music education and performance experiences that inform and immerse audiences in ways that illuminate music’s power to bridge differences and build common ground
• Contribute to conversations about trust, shared values, and the role of music and allied arts in sustaining shared civic and ethical cultures
• Collaborate across disciplines to generate new frameworks, resources, and models that can be adapted by institutions, educators, and communities

Who Should Participate

Our Musical Commons is designed for those who believe musicology matters beyond the concert hall, archive, or seminar room. Ideal participants include:

• Musicologists and other music scholars seeking to connect their work to broader civic and moral questions
• Musicians and performers interested in the social dimensions of their practice
• Music educators working in community, institutional, or public-facing settings
• Music administrators and creative professionals engaged in cultural life and public programming
• Members of the public interested in learning and connecting through music

How to Participate

Our Musical Commons is a project of the American Musicological Society. Non-political and non-partisan, this initiative reflects the Society’s longstanding commitment to extending the reach and responsibility of musicological inquiry into the broader life of individuals, communities and cultures. Individuals and organizations interested in participating in this project or partnering with the AMS to advance its aims are urged to get involved in one of the following ways:

• Write for Publication: In the upcoming months, the Society will publish calls for proposals for articles that explore the themes of this initiative.
• Present or Perform: The AMS is currently calling for proposals for presentations and sessions that will explore the themes of this initiative as part of the 2027 AMS Annual Meeting. More presentation calls are scheduled to be released in the coming months.
• Partner with Us: The AMS is interested in partnering with other organizations on programming that explores how music and sound can and have been used to build, renew, and repair social, civic, and ethical cultures. If you are an organizational representative with a program idea that fits the themes of this initiative, share it with us. As our resources are finite, we cannot promise we will be able to work together, but the Society is committed to exploring a wide range of possible partnerships. To propose a partnership, please submit your idea using our Contact Us form. If you have questions about this initiative or a related matter, contact us at ams@amsmusicology.org.
• Share Your Idea: Are you an individual with an idea or proposal for the Our Musical Commons project? Share it with us! We need your help to innovate. Our goal is to be creative and forward-thinking; to design programs that reach, inspire and educate. So, if you have a great program idea that fits the themes of this initiative, we would love to hear it. You can suggest ideas by using our Contact Us form or emailing the Society at ams@amsmusicology.org.