Rethinking dinosaurs and other peculiarities of music heritage

The conference was organised in the last week of daylight savings in Finland. Luckily it was not too rainy. The organising activities of the conference began in late 2024 with the call for papers closing at the end of February 2025. More than 50 proposals by more than 60 presenters were received. In the end, 36 presentations were delivered in 12 parallel sessions at the conference, in addition to two invited keynote addresses. There were altogether 61 participants from 26 countries in the conference, including the organisers and assistants.

The three-day conference began with Chiara Bortolotto’s keynote on “sustainabilisation” of intangible cultural heritage, which set the tone for critical reflection on how heritage practices adapt to global challenges, with an emphasis on heritage management at UNESCO. Subsequent sessions addressed key themes such as the management and digitisation of collections, the relationship between music and place, and the negotiation between tradition and innovation. Topics ranged from popular music archives and counterpoint pedagogy to Japanese industrial heritage, Greek-American recordings, and the heritagisation of Jewish liturgical music.

The following days continued this interdisciplinary exploration, highlighting issues of heritage politics, cultural identity, digital transformation, and live performance. Presentations covered subjects such as urban music scenes, AI in heritage research, and the socio-political meanings of musical practices across continents. Key moments included Marko Jouste’s keynote on Skolt Saami dance and music, a special Meet the Editor session for the Journal of Beatles Studies, and panels examining the intersections of music, migration, and digital archiving. The programme concluded with sessions on reinterpreting traditions, moving musical practices across borders, and confronting tensions in heritage discourses – from Czech punk and South African mixtapes to queer reinterpretations of popular music history – offering a comprehensive, global view of how music heritage continues to be lived, studied, and reshaped today.

The first day, the programme included two, let us say, more relaxed forms of presentation. First, there was a screening of the documentary video about the project “Diversity of music heritage in Finland”. The video received critically appreciative acclaim, as many noted its uniqueness as a form of project reporting. It was followed by “Queering folk songs workshop”. In the workshop, the participants were invited to challenge their conceptions of music traditions and heritage not only conceptually but also by singing and dancing together. The second day, the participants gathered together at dinner.

The conference closed with a panel discussion on the lessons learned during the research project “Diversity of Music Heritage in Finland.” In the panel, the researchers of the project team mentioned issues such as post-fieldwork sadness, scholarly authority to label something heritage, and differences in transnational and intergenerational transmission of traditions. In the commentary that ensued, other participants also brought up differences between scholarly generations, with some self-identifying as ”ethnomusicological dinosaurs”. In general, the importance of rethinking heritage was emphasised by many.

As a separate session, the conference included a meeting with the aim of establishing an International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance (ICTMD) Study Group on Heritagisation of Music and Dance. The objective of the proposed Study Group is to function as a platform for critical reflection of the impact of ethnomusicological and ethnochoreological heritage projects and heritagisation of music and dance in general. The Study Group aims at studying the compartmentalisation, institutionalisation and politicisation of traditions or genres of music and dance as heritage. At issue are furthermore disciplinary dynamics when producing knowledge and claims about music and dance as heritage, especially concerning the tensions between ethnomusicology, ethnochoreology, musicology and popular music studies.

In the feedback, “the flexibility and welcoming nature” of the event were praised, as well as “the size in terms of numbers and participants: simultaneous panels so lots of choice, yet small enough not to be overwhelmed.” Ultimately, according to one participant, “it was a really lovely conference, in terms of theme, location, people, organisation, overall vibe.” Thus, by all appearances and indicators, the conference was a success.

The organisers extend warmest thanks to all participants for their invaluable contribution to the event.