SIMM-podcast

During this episode of the SIMM-podcast we focus on the role composers may play within participatory social and community music projects. You will during this episode hear 3 composers, who have different perspectives and ideas about the questions we ask them. They are practitioners within social music projects, as well as scholars developing research on this practice: Cathy Milliken from Australia (1:14->32:34), Michal Kawecki from Poland (32:37->51:28), and Fiona Evison from Canada (51:30->1:01). This is again a somewhat longer episode, of about an hour, but we think it makes sense to take the time to listen to the details Cathy, Michal and Fiona share with us about their practice and their research in this field.

Cathy Milliken will be one of the facilitators of the 2nd SIMM research seminar on the role of composers in social and community music projects, organised from 9 to 11 May 2025 at the MusikFabrik in Cologne. Deadline for applications is 31st December 2024 (see call here).

Referenced during this podcast-episode: Claire Bishop ('Participation'), Peter Brook, John Cage, Rebecca Cohen, Creative Minds in Song, Guildhall School, Mind Foundation UK, My Child Fell (Isobel Lane & Michal Kawecki), Gavin Roberts, Song in the City, Thomas Turino ('Music as Social Life - The Politics of Participation'), 

During this episode music is shortly heard from Steve Reich's 'Drumming' (played by the Ictus Ensemble), as well as rehearsal recordings of the Kinshasa based traditional drummers ensemble Beta Mbonda.

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Contact: [email protected] / www.simm-platform.eu

During the 19th SIMM-podcast episode we assist to a conversation between biologist Olivier Hamant (Institut Michel Serre) and musician Jean-Luc Plouvier (Ictus Ensemble) on ideas and experiences they share with each other from their work on the natural world and the world of music-making. SIMM-founder Lukas Pairon interviews them.

Referenced during this podcast-episode: Philippe Boesmans, John Cage, "Un homme ça s'empêche" (Albert Camus), eco-anxiety, free jazz, Philip Glass, Glenn Gould, Goodhart's law, Olivier Hamant's 'Antidote to the cult of performance', Olivier Hamant's 'De l'incohérence - philosophie politique de la robustesse', Olivier Hamant's 'La troisième voix du vivant', Ictus Ensemble, Steve Reich's 'Music for 18 Musicians', Ircam, robustness, serendipity, Michel Serre Institut, Reich's psychoacoustic by-products of repetition and phase-shifting, Simon Sinek's conference on 'The Infinite Game', systems thinking, Gertrude Stein, stochastic processes in biology

The transcription of this episode can be found here.

And during this episode music is shortly heard from Steve Reich's 'Music for 18 Musicians' (played by the Steve Reich Ensemble), as well as rehearsal recordings of the Kinshasa based traditional drummers ensemble Beta Mbonda.

Click 'follow' so you do not miss future episodes.

Contact: [email protected] / www.simm-platform.eu

The 18th SIMM-podcast episode is focussing on research on the practice of participatory projects of opera and music theatre.  SIMM-founder Lukas Pairon interviews Graça Mota (0'30->15'53), François Matarasso (15'55->31'22) and Imogen Flower (31'30->41'25).

Referenced during this podcast-episode: Gata Perduda (Liceu), Paul Griffiths, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Paulo Lameiro, participatory action research (PAR), SAMP, Sex Workers Opera, SIMM research seminar on participatory opera & music theatre, Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, Arnau Tordera, Traction

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Contact: [email protected] / www.simm-platform.eu

This 17th SIMM-podcast episode is focussing on the practice of participatory projects of opera and music theatre.  SIMM-founder Lukas Pairon interviews three wonderful practitioners, who are developing projects in this field: Paulo Lameiro (01'05->25'30), Sarah Théry (26'20->54'30), and Claire Pasquier (54'55->70'10). This is a somewhat longer episode, but we think it makes sense to take the time to listen to the details Paulo, Sarah and Claire give about how they decided to develop their practice.

Referenced during this podcast-episode: Pierre Audi,  Aix-en-Provence Festival, Collectif Meute, Don Giovanni (Mozart), Equinox, Bernard Foccroulle, Laurent Gaudé, Gulbenkian Foundation, Passerelles (Aix-en-Provence), Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, SAMP, Peter Sellars, 8th SIMM research seminar on participatory opera (London, September 2024), Mark Withers

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Contact: [email protected] / www.simm-platform.eu

The 16th episode of the SIMM-podcast presents the 5th edition of the Compendium of Music as a Global Resource, which you can read online here.  SIMM-director Lukas Pairon interviews the 2 co-editors Barbara Hesser and Brydie-Leigh Bartleet.

Barbara Hesser has been editor of all 5 editions of the Compendium.  She is professor at and head of the Steinhardt New York University music therapy training programme. She has also been president of the American Music Therapy Association.

Brydie-Leigh Bartleet is president of SIMM and Professor and Future Fellow  at the Creative Arts Research Institute of Griffith University, which is on 20-22 November 2023 organising the 8th SIMM-posium in Brisbane, Australia.


Referenced during this podcast-episode: International Music Council, Musicasaglobalresource.org, Musicians without borders,  UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Contact: [email protected] / www.simm-platform.eu

This 15th episode of the SIMM-podcast is a reflective one.  The main guest in this episode is sociologist Hartmut Rosa (16'30->45'54).  Lukas Pairon interviews him on his book ‘Resonance – A Sociology of Our Relationship to the World’, but we also hear interviews with musicians Tom Pauwels (2'33->6'50), Chrissy Dimitriou (6'56->8'40), Michael Schmidt (8'46->14'40 + 23'20->24'35 + 28'56->31'10) and Filip Verneert (14'48->16'13).

Hartmut Rosa is Professor of Sociology and Social Theory at the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, and director of the Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies in Erfurt, both in Germany.

Following his now classical ‘Social Acceleration’, Hartmut Rosa invites us in his book ‘Resonance’ to reflect on and consider the alternative relationship of being in resonance with the world.  

It was first published in German in 2016 and later translated in different languages. The French translation appeared in 2018, and the English version was released in 2019.  

Hartmut Rosa was the keynote speaker at the 7th international SIMM-posium organized from 12 to 14th December 2022 at the London based Guildhall School of Music and Drama, in collaboration with the Copenhagen Rhythmic Music Conservatory and the research network SIMM. The recording of his keynote can be found here on Vimeo and here on YouTube.

Referenced during this podcast-episode: anechoic chamber, 'Breathcore' by Michael Schmidt, Luciano Berio's 'Sequenze', Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, 'En Atendant' by Rosas, Morton Feldman's 'Crippled Symmetry', Stephen Greenblatt's 'The Swerve', Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Ictus, Ircam, Emmanuel Levinas, Emmanuelle Lizère, George Herbert Mead, Mozarteum, participatory sense-making, SIMM-research-seminar London (September 2022)

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Contact: [email protected] / www.simm-platform.eu

This 14th SIMM-podcast episode is presenting interviews with British musician-scholar-trainer Jonathan Vaughan (00:22->19:35), American musician-trainer Louise Zeitlin (20:10->33:05), Belgian  organist, composer, conductor and opera director Bernard Foccroulle (33:34->45:53) and conductor, ethnomusicologist, music educator, writer, and human rights activist André de Quadros (45:56->60:44).

We hear Lukas Pairon interview them about training and accompanying programmes proposed to musicians and social and community workers engaged or wanting to engage themselves as facilitators in social and community music projects.

The short music extracts you will hear are recordings of some of the programmes being discussed and presented during this and previous episodes of the podcast.


Referenced during this podcast-episode: Moneim Adwan, Aix-en-Provence Opera Festival, Aix Academy, Aix Passerelles, James S. Bowman, Julia Bullock, Conducting 21C (Musical Leadership for a New Century), Emilie Delorme (Conservatory of Paris), John Dewey, Jonathan Dove ('The Monster in the Maze'), Elliott & Silverman & Bowman ('Artistic Citizenship'), Eric Ericson International Choral Centre, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Emily Levy, LSO Discovery, Monnaie Opera, Oberlin Community Music School, Frances Stonor Saunders ('Who Paid The Piper?'), Sibelius Academy, Sarah Thery, Thierry Thieû Niang, Ana Vujanoviz ('Art as a Bad Public Good'), Roddy Williams, Paul Woodford

contact: [email protected] / www.simm-platform.eu

This 13th SIMM-podcast episode is presenting interviews with Canadian composer-musician-scholar Fiona Evison (00:57-><16:58), Belgian musician Bart Maris (17:25->36:00), Cypriot composer-musician-scholar Georgia Nicolaou (36:40->43:30) and Canadian  conductor-composer Patrick Murray (43:53->47:51).

We hear Lukas Pairon interview them about which music is being proposed, played, created and composed in social and community music programmes.

The short music extracts you will hear are recordings of some of the programmes being discussed and presented during this episode of the podcast.


Referenced during this podcast-episode: Giovanni Barcella, Laurent Blondiau & Met-X, Ilse Duyck, Ictus Ensemble, Reena Esmail, Ledebirds, Musica Impuls Centre for Music, The Ostend Street Orchestra, Mariusz Radwanski, 6th SIMM-posium Paris (2-3.11.21), Christopher Small's 'Musicking' 

contact: [email protected] / www.simm-platform.eu

This 12th SIMM-podcast episode is presenting interviews with Australian composer-musician-scholar Cathy Milliken (00:51->26:50), German musician-scholar Sean Prieske (26:52->46:42) and American teacher-musician-scholar Frank Heuser (46:45->63:57). 

We hear Lukas Pairon interview them about the impact of the groups of participants in social and community music programmes often being   pluriversally composed.

The short music extracts you will hear are recordings of the different programmes being discussed and presented during this episode of the podcast.

This 11th SIMM-podcast episode is presenting the French social music programme DEMOS, an initiative launched by the Philharmonie de Paris in 2010. We hear Lukas Pairon interview co-founder and director Gilles Delebarre (03:11->18:38) as well as research coordinator Indiana Wollman (18:40->31:06).

The Philharmonie de Paris and its social music programme DEMOS will be hosting the 6th international SIMM-posium on 2nd and 3rd November 2021.  The programme of this year’s SIMM-posium will soon be published on the websites of SIMM, the Philharmonie de Paris and our partner the Fondation Royaumont.

DEMOS is in its 11th year. It offers young children instruments and music lessons for free. Launched by the Philharmonie de Paris in 2010, DEMOS has spread all over France and French territories, now involving more than 6000 kids. More and more fine musicians are interested to involve themselves in educational and social work. Also at the Philharmonie de Paris. At first the aim of DEMOS was to make classical music accessible to children who would not otherwise have come in touch with it. DEMOS is aimed at children from 8 to 12 years old. They get about 4 hours music training a week. During their 3 years of training, the kids are always experiencing music in group situations. These music programmes are proposed to kids who live in lower income neighbourhoods. But these neighbourhoods are socially mixed. For DEMOS the composition of the groups is of great importance: they make sure the groups are socially mixed. Some kids may have social and financial challenges, while others have fewer difficulties. The aim is to enhance the ability to look at others positively. 

The short music extracts you will hear during this episode were recorded of different DEMOS-orchestras during their end of season concerts last month at the Philharmonie de Paris.

Referenced during this podcast-episode: DEMOS, DEMOS publications, Fondation Royaumont, Philharmonie de Paris, Mariusz Radwanski

contact: [email protected] / www.simm-platform.eu