The 1st National Scientific Conference "Identity Inscribed in Sound"

The Department of Music Theory at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music announced the 1st National Scientific Conference "Identity Inscribed in Sound", which will focus on a scholarly look at the community of composers and generations of artists, scholars, and educators associated with Warsaw and the Mazovia region. The main themes of the conference will be "The Warsaw School of Composition" and "Zygmunt Noskowski – Towards Modernity and Contemporaneity". The event will take place from November 18 to 21, 2026. The conference will be accompanied by a festival titled "The Warsaw School of Composition", running from November 18 to 22. The deadline for abstract submissions is August 31.

As the organizers emphasize, May 2026 marked the 180th anniversary of the birth of Zygmunt Noskowski—a composer, educator, and a man dedicated to the "great cause" of Polish music, its identity, its roots, and saving it from oblivion. Zygmunt Noskowski was a great advocate for the popularization of music; he published numerous articles in the journal "Echo Muzyczne, Teatralne i Artystyczne" and devoted much of his attention to reflecting on the musicality of Polish society. As a director and teacher at the Warsaw Music Society, who was also closely associated with the Warsaw Philharmonic from its very beginning, he educated a generation of outstanding Polish composers.

During this event, the works of female and male composers from the Warsaw musical circle, from the time of Noskowski to the present day, will be presented. The festival program will include an opening symphony concert, chamber concerts, an evening of contemporary dance, and an electronic music concert.

The conference is open to composers, musicologists, music theorists, and anyone interested in both the history and the contemporary achievements of the Warsaw musical community.

The aims of the conference and the proposed thematic areas are as follows:

• Zygmunt Noskowski – his creative output, both as a composer and pedagogue, with a proposed perspective: towards modernity and the contemporary times;
• presenting the profiles and works of composers associated with Warsaw and the Mazovia region;
• analysis of compositional techniques and artistic strategies of artists from the circle mentioned in the main theme;
• contemporary composers and utility music;
• the creative output of the Warsaw composing community in a historical context;
• presenting the profiles and artistic activities of performers, conductors, and educators associated with the Warsaw musical community;
• the activity of cultural and educational institutions focused on promotion of the works from the discussed artistic circle;
• the presence of music in the media, music in film, theatre, and other art forms;
• folklore and ethno-inspirations in composition, with particular emphasis on the folklore of Mazovia;
• the work of composers and activities of researchers associated with Mazovia and its folklore.

The proposed thematic areas are not exhaustive, therefore the organizers welcome paper proposals that expand upon the suggested themes and relate in various ways to the title of the conference.

Applications for individual presentations (up to 20 minutes), panel discussions involving a group of speakers (up to 45 minutes), and short announcements/reports (up to 10 minutes), should include a short abstract (up to 1,000 characters) and a biographical note (up to 500 characters), and be sent to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by August 31.

The final decision on the acceptance of papers will be made by the Conference Programme Committee by September 15, 2026.

The conference fee of PLN 400 is to be paid upon the acceptance of the paper, with the payment deadline on October 25, 2026.

Selected papers will be published in a peer-reviewed monograph.

The Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC has taken media patronage over the Conference.

Call for papers and application form available at: https://sdnh.uw.edu.pl/2026/07/i-ogolnopolska-konferencja-naukowa-p-t-tozsamosc-zapisana-w-dzwieku-warszawska-szkola-kompozytorska-zygmunt-noskowski-ku-nowoczesnosci-i-wspolczesnosci/