Sounds, Bodies, Memories: Musical and Artistic Circulations between Italy and Jerusalem

This international conference, part of the JERUS-IT-ARTS programme developed with the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, invites scholars, artists and social actors to reassess four centuries of musical and artistic exchange between Italy and Jerusalem. A city where the call of the muezzin mingles with church bells and theatre orchestras, Jerusalem offers a unique vantage point from which to ask how sound and performance shape social space, forge identities and serve cultural diplomacy. We seek contributions that trace the formal and informal networks—educational, ecclesiastical, civic or grassroots—that have produced and circulated musical knowledge across this East–West crossroads.

Papers may address the coexistence and hybridisation of local traditions and Western systems (catalysed first by Catholic, later by Protestant missions), the impact of sonic modernity and globalisation, or the social, pedagogical and symbolic dimensions of these encounters. Proposals that analyse interactions between material and immaterial heritage, and the processes through which repertoires, techniques and listening practices are created, transmitted and transformed, are especially welcome. Submissions can engage with any of the three thematic axes listed below; the list is indicative, not restrictive.

Thematic axes

1. Music, Archives, Memory
2. Music and Cultural Diplomacy
3. Performative, Stylistic and Identity Dimensions

Submissions

• Papers may be delivered in Italian, English or French (15–20 minutes + discussion).
• Send title, abstract (max 300 words), affiliation, e-mail address and keywords to amsansoni@unimore.it by 15th July 2025.
• Notification of acceptance: 30th July 2025.
• Full papers (for an open-access volume): 31 October 2025.

For the complete Call for Papers—including timeline, practical information and style guidelines—please download the attached PDF (trilingual IT/FR/EN).