SYMPOSIUM: The Rise of the Guitar Concerto and the Orchestral Guitar in the Twentieth Century
WHEN: Friday 8–Sunday 10 August 2025
WHERE: Melbourne Conservatorium of Music (Ian Potter Southbank Centre, University of Melbourne, Australia) and ONLINE
The twentieth century witnessed the prodigious rise in popularity of the guitar in its diverse forms, and the instrument’s inclusion in a range of orchestral and large ensemble settings, including the international proliferation of the guitar concerto. This conference will explore both global trajectories and local manifestations of the guitar concerto and the orchestral guitar during this dynamic century in the instrument’s history.
- We invite papers that investigate the guitar concerto, and the guitar in orchestral and large ensemble settings from a variety of perspectives from around 1900 to the present. Proposals may address issues including:
- reference to specific local musical styles and guitar cultures in the guitar concerto
- the incorporation of the guitar and its modes of employment in large ensembles and orchestras (both classical and popular)
- the impact of amplification and recording on the employment of the guitar as a solo concerto and orchestral instrument, and in the dissemination of these repertories
- the use of the guitar as a concertante instrument in film music
- compositional strategies employed in combining the guitar with orchestral forces
- the role of specific guitarists and/or composers in expanding the concerto repertoire and orchestral horizons of the instrument
- composer-performer relations in the development of these repertories
Guest speakers will include:
Walter Clark (University of California, Riverside)
Stephen Goss (University of Surrey)
Javier Suárez-Pajares (Complutense University, Madrid)
Adrian Walter (Australian National University)
PROPOSALS FOR SYMPOSIUM PAPERS:
Please email Michael at mchri@unimelb.edu.au by Monday 19 May 2025
1. an abstract of not more than 200 words, together with
2. a brief biographical note (not more than 100 words)
3. and an indication of whether you wish to present in person in Melbourne, or to be considered for online presentation (a limited number of papers will be given the opportunity to present online).
Presenters will be notified of participation in the symposium by 28 May 2025. Please advise us if earlier notification is required.
Selected papers from the conference will be published as refereed proceedings in Context.
Registration for the symposium is free. Speakers will also be given entry to all other events that form part of the associated event, the MCM Altamira Guitar Festival 8–10 August.
The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Guitar festival and Symposium 2025 will be held at the Ian Potter Southbank Centre 8–10 August. Events will include the presentation of a concerto concert featuring a new composition for guitar and strings by Melody Eötvös. Altamira guitars will be sponsoring performances and masterclasses given by two international guests: Aniello Desiderio and Kanahi Yamashita. There will also be workshops, and a new competition sponsored by Altamira guitars, as well as a 100-guitar ensemble extravaganza featuring guest composer and performer William Barton.
Michael Christoforidis and Ken Murray (Conference Convenors)
Casey Fitzpatrick and Josinaldo Costa (Conference Organisers)