The North American British Music Studies Association

North American British Music Studies Association

Our Purpose

The North American British Music Studies Association (NABMSA) aims to promote the study of British Music from all time periods on the North American Continent; to provide a collegial and supportive forum for discussion through electronic and other means; to provide a clearinghouse of information on the study of such music; and to foster regular meetings to discuss the same.

NABMSA 2026

9-12 July 2026
Colorado College, Colorado Springs (hybrid)

The North American British Music Studies Association invites proposals for the Tenth Biennial NABMSA Conference, hosted by Colorado College. We welcome abstract submissions of no more than 350 words on any topic related to musical cultures of/in Britain and its empire from antiquity to the present day. We particularly encourage proposals that respond to the conference theme ‘Performance, Pedagogy, Participation’. We are interested in papers that reflect on how British music – in its widest sense – is performed, taught and participated in, and consider how British music is mediated and circulated on a global scale. Submissions on topics outside of the theme are also very welcome. Please submit two copies of your proposal (one with your name and one without) and your preference for in-person/online presentation to nabmsaconference2026@proton.me by 30 January 2026.

The conference will be hybrid, with in-person and virtual options available for both presenters and attendees (more details will be forthcoming). Presentations may take a variety of formats, including twenty-minute individual papers, themed panel sessions, workshops involving group participation, roundtable discussions, lecture-recitals and posters accompanied by a 5-minute “lightning talk”.

We welcome papers which engage with practice-as-research, performance practices, and participatory/collaborative practices. Colorado College houses several historical instruments which can be requested for performance. Requirements should be discussed with the program committee. Instruments available are as follows: Fortepiano after Dulcken (1795) by Paul Poletti tuned at A=430, a double-manual harpsichord and a clavichord by Thomas Goof (1940s), a virginal, a lute by Arnold Dolmetsch, a full consort of viols (SSTBB), two full consorts of Baroque and Renaissance recorders, two consorts of crumhorns and two Cornetti.

The program committee actively seeks submissions from scholars at all levels, including students, and those serving within and outside of academia. The Nicholas Temperley Prize will be awarded for the best scholarly presentation given by a graduate student, and all students with accepted papers are eligible to apply for the Byron Adams travel grant.

Nuria Bonet (chair)
Peter Kohanski
Rebecca Thumpston-Gallagher
Jason Rosenholtz-Witt

NAMBSA Mentorship Program

The Membership Committee is delighted to announce the second cycle of the NABMSA Mentorship Program.

The NABMSA Mentorship Program connects graduate students (at both Masters and PhD levels) and early career academics with established musicologists working in the field of British music.

The Program runs from January to July every academic year. Please visit the mentorship webpage for further details and to register your interest in taking part either as a mentor or a mentee. The deadline for all applications is Wednesday, 9 January 2026.

NABMSA on Facebook

NABMSA has a Facebook, Humanities Commons, and Twitter handle. Come visit.