This week, more than 250 scholars, performers, and researchers from around the world are gathering in northern England for one of the leading events in early music studies. The MedRen2025 Conference is being hosted jointly by Northumbria, Newcastle, and Durham Universities from 30 June to 4 July—a first for the MedRen conference, which has never before been held across a university consortium.
The first two days of the conference will be held at Newcastle University, before moving on to University of Durham for day before finishing up the last two days at Northumbria University. Some of the papers with significance to medieval history include Frédéric Billiet speaking about ‘The PHEND Project: Acoustic Reconstruction of Notre-Dame-de-Paris,’ Flannery McIntyre on ‘Instruments of a Musical Science: The Role of Musical Instruments in Early Medieval Theory Treatises,’ and Kate Kennedy Steiner on ‘Music for Mary at Worcester Cathedral.’
“Those working on Medieval and Renaissance music in all three universities – Northumbria, Newcastle and Durham – came together some years’ ago in a spirit of cooperation with a view to making the North East of England an international hub of activity in this area,” said Professor David Smith, Head of Music at Northumbria University. “We recognised that across all three institutions we had world-leading expertise that once pooled would make the North East an attractive place to work and study. We have already collaborated on doctoral supervision and research grant applications, and this major international conference marks another milestone, demonstrating how working closely together can bring huge benefits to the academic and cultural life of the region.
“We are looking forward to welcoming delegates – around 250 of them – from across the globe and showcasing the vibrant musical scholarship happening here in the North-East.”
Northumbria’s Dr Katherine Butler, a music historian with expertise in sixteenth and seventeenth-century England, added, “Northumbria is an exciting place for studying Medieval and Renaissance music with a lively body of PhD students and opportunities for interdisciplinary dialogue with colleagues in the Medieval and Early Modern Studies research group.
“We are also active in the local area sharing our research and engaging people of all ages and abilities in the performance of early music. It’s an honour to be able to welcome our international colleagues and show them what we do here at Northumbria, and especially to host the conference poster competition which celebrates the work of emerging scholars.”
We're grateful to Caro Lesemann-Elliott who acting as a 'port of call' for PGRs/ECRs and those new to MedRen. They are also leading an informal pub trip after the concert on the first day (location tbc at the welcome talk!) pic.twitter.com/Qh1f0s42mZ
This week, more than 250 scholars, performers, and researchers from around the world are gathering in northern England for one of the leading events in early music studies. The MedRen2025 Conference is being hosted jointly by Northumbria, Newcastle, and Durham Universities from 30 June to 4 July—a first for the MedRen conference, which has never before been held across a university consortium.
The first two days of the conference will be held at Newcastle University, before moving on to University of Durham for day before finishing up the last two days at Northumbria University. Some of the papers with significance to medieval history include Frédéric Billiet speaking about ‘The PHEND Project: Acoustic Reconstruction of Notre-Dame-de-Paris,’ Flannery McIntyre on ‘Instruments of a Musical Science: The Role of Musical Instruments in Early Medieval Theory Treatises,’ and Kate Kennedy Steiner on ‘Music for Mary at Worcester Cathedral.’
“Those working on Medieval and Renaissance music in all three universities – Northumbria, Newcastle and Durham – came together some years’ ago in a spirit of cooperation with a view to making the North East of England an international hub of activity in this area,” said Professor David Smith, Head of Music at Northumbria University. “We recognised that across all three institutions we had world-leading expertise that once pooled would make the North East an attractive place to work and study. We have already collaborated on doctoral supervision and research grant applications, and this major international conference marks another milestone, demonstrating how working closely together can bring huge benefits to the academic and cultural life of the region.
“We are looking forward to welcoming delegates – around 250 of them – from across the globe and showcasing the vibrant musical scholarship happening here in the North-East.”
Northumbria’s Dr Katherine Butler, a music historian with expertise in sixteenth and seventeenth-century England, added, “Northumbria is an exciting place for studying Medieval and Renaissance music with a lively body of PhD students and opportunities for interdisciplinary dialogue with colleagues in the Medieval and Early Modern Studies research group.
“We are also active in the local area sharing our research and engaging people of all ages and abilities in the performance of early music. It’s an honour to be able to welcome our international colleagues and show them what we do here at Northumbria, and especially to host the conference poster competition which celebrates the work of emerging scholars.”
For full details on the programme, visit: https://www.medren2025.co.uk/conference-programme
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