2020 has thrust us all into a new social reality. With the pandemic keeping us physically distanced, digital interactions have become more vital than ever before. At this year’s international conference, which will take place in our shared virtual reality, we will consider the myriad ways that technologies change the makeup and substance of our musical communities.

 

As with all technological upheavals, the digital revolution has brought with it a complex mix of blessings and curses. The internet connects and isolates us; it makes new collaborations possible yet pushes us into digital silos; it facilitates novel modes of listening while displacing others. The internet reshapes the ways we communicate with one another, even the ways we communicate with ourselves.

 

Here in Southeast Asia, our musical heritage is very much infused with a collective spirit. Through most of our history, music has been created collectively, for the good of society. Might current and emerging technologies foster a renaissance of these musical values? Or alternately, is their primary effect to enhance our focus on the self?

 

This year we will explore the makeup of musical communities, both historically and in our current digital age. How do musical communities coalesce? What roles does music play in creating and strengthening social ties? How have technologies destroyed and created musical communities in the past? How are they doing so today?