Building connections through music and education: IN.TUNE National Dissemination Event in Belgrade, 29–31 October 2025

The first in a series of eight national dissemination events within the European University Alliance IN.TUNE was held in Belgrade, hosted by the Faculty of Music, University of Arts. Organised within the long-established international conference of the Department of Musicology, Music in Socio-Cultural Turmoil, the event gathered artists, scholars, and students from across Europe to explore music’s role in contemporary society.

Through keynote lectures, concerts, and a wide-reaching panel on innovation and integration, participants reflected on how universities in the arts can connect education, research, and social engagement. The programme included a music performance of Echoes of Resistance, featuring Damjan Jovičin as both composer and performer, and a talk titled The Politics of Open Scores, led by Cristina Cubells (ESMUC).

The Belgrade event highlighted IN.TUNE’s shared commitment to collaboration, dialogue, and the transformative power of music and education.

Why Belgrade, Why Now

In the final days of October, as Belgrade enjoyed a few unexpectedly warm days, scholars, artists, and students from across Europe gathered to reflect on the role of music in a world marked by change and uncertainty. Within the long-established international conference of the Department of Musicology of the Faculty of Music, University of Arts in Belgrade, the European University Alliance IN.TUNE held Serbia’s first National Dissemination Event, the first in a series of eight national events to take place across all partner institutions by 2027.

The Seventeenth International Conference of the Department of Musicology provided the framework for this encounter, continuing its long tradition of connecting scholarly, educational, artistic and civic perspectives. The event unfolded in a country still resonating with the memory of tragedy: it took place just days before the first anniversary of the collapse of a canopy in Novi Sad on 1 November 2024, in which sixteen people lost their lives, sparking nearly a year of civic and student protests, the longest and most sustained in Serbia’s recent history. Against this backdrop, the conference theme and dissemination activities gained depth, exploring art’s capacity for empathy, solidarity, and renewal.

A single, integrated programme

The IN.TUNE dissemination event was not a separate programme but an integral part of the conference. Academic presentations, concerts, and discussions were interwoven, illustrating how artistic practice, pedagogy, and research can coexist within a single space of creative inquiry.

The keynote lectures brought together distinguished international speakers, including Paul Craenen (Royal Conservatoire The Hague) and Juha Ojala (Sibelius Academy, Uniarts Helsinki), both representing IN.TUNE partner institutions. Members of the Alliance also contributed as paper presenters and programme committee members, reinforcing the European scope and shared values of the conference.

Innovation for impact

The IN.TUNE dissemination panel, Reimagining Society Through Innovative University Cooperation in Music and Arts, held on Thursday, was open to a wide range of target groups: students (current, former, and prospective), teachers, media representatives, school educators, professionals, NGOs, and the broader public. It brought together Martin Prchal (Royal Conservatoire The Hague), Sidsel Karlsen (Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo), Juha Ojala (Sibelius Academy, Helsinki), Amandine Pras (CNSMD Paris), Cristina Cubells, Alex Tentor (ESMUC Barcelona), and Adriana Toacsen (National University of Music Bucharest), joined by Maja Smiljanić-Radić, Maja Mihić, Dejan Subotić, Milica Ilić, and Dražena Todorović, all from the Faculty of Music in Belgrade. Moderated by Ivana Perković and Dejana Mutavdžin, the discussion examined how universities in the arts can act as agents of integration.
The key word throughout was innovation: in teaching, research, and social engagement, as well as in building meaningful connections between academia and external partners. The panellists shared concrete examples and reflections on how innovation guides the present and future development of the IN.TUNE Alliance.

Artistic reflections and the practice of listening

The artistic dimension of the event emerged as an equally powerful form of reflection. The Wednesday concert Echoes of Resistance: Music and the Fragile Human Voice featured works by Damjan Jovičin, Frederic Rzewski, Cristian Bence-Muk, Rubin Szabó Bázsa Lovász, Diana Rotaru, Irina Pernes, and Cătălin Creţu, performed by Nataša Penezić, Adriana Toacsen, Damjan Jovičin (as performer of his own work), and students and alumni of the Faculty of Music.

The panel concluded with The Politics of Open Scores, a creative talk by Cristina Cubells (ESMUC) featuring Michael Pisaro’s Harmony Series, performed by Nataša Penezić, Alex Tentor, and students of the Faculty of Music. The two pieces from the Harmony Series drew the audience into an exploration of listening itself, questioning whether even the quietest, barely perceptible sound can make an impact, and how such sound can reshape the perception of the whole.

The parallel session, the master class “Listening Beyond the Score: Violin as a Medium of Dialogue” by Professor Eszter Haffner (University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna), brought together students from the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, the Faculty of Arts in Niš, the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, and the School for Musical Talents in Ćuprija.

By embedding the IN.TUNE dissemination event within the long-standing conference of the Faculty of Music, Music in Socio-Cultural Turmoil strengthened the sense of shared purpose. It showed how a community of artists and scholars can amplify diverse voices, foster dialogue, and create space for connection and renewal through the transformative potential of music and education.

Read the full programme.

Photo © Dunja Savić & Neda Nestorović