27^e année, 14 février 2026.

Music Theory Pedagogies Reimagined Conference and Hackathon

July 6–9, 2026, Cambridge MA,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology,

mtprconf2026@gmail.com

Submission Deadline: Thurs. January 15, 2026

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, invites proposals for Music Theory Pedagogies Reimagined, a multidisciplinary Conference and Hackathon dedicated to collaborative, expansive, and innovative thinking in undergraduate music theory pedagogy, scheduled for July 6–9, 2026 at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Music theory teaching and learning are at a critical juncture, grappling with historical disciplinary inequities that have prioritized narrow canons rather than reflecting the polyphony of voices, perspectives, and needs of today’s students and colleagues. While many of us are working to diversify our own music theory offerings, we often do this work in isolation. This event builds on recent professional activities focused on pedagogical innovation, and a longer tradition of music theorists reflecting critically on the discipline's responsibilities. It will be an opportunity for us to learn from one another, experiment together, and stimulate new ideas through that dialogue. We envision a generative space for curiosity, imagination, and growth, moving beyond esoteric debate to engage in a productive conversation about the future of music theory teaching and learning.

The conference will feature a dynamic schedule of individual presentations, organized panels, poster sessions, and roundtable discussions. These will be interspersed every day with the collaborative, creative activities of a hackathon, where participants will develop practical solutions for curricular transformation. Our aim is to transform and expand upon what we already do in a spirit of optimism and openness.

We invite proposals for papers, panels, posters, workshops, or other alternative presentation formats that take a bold approach to music theory pedagogy, and we welcome contributions from scholars, practitioners, students, and teachers across music and adjacent disciplines. We seek proposals that are propelled by curiosity and an excitement for new possibilities and those that acknowledge the breadth of our student populations and what they need to thrive. We also encourage presentations that focus on the tangible, moving from theory to practice, and from productive tensions to concrete solutions, real-world applicability, and relevance.

Because the hackathon is an integrated component of the conference, we ask all presenters to be full participants in the larger creative-collaborative process. This event will serve as the launch for a multi-year Mellon-funded project to design a new open-access music theory curriculum, and we seek wide and inclusive input from the outset.

Proposals might consider some of the following questions:

What is music theory? What is it for? What can (or should) music theory be and do in the 21st-century classroom?

What should be thought of as a “music theory fundamental” for today’s undergraduate students?

How can we balance curiosity with depth of engagement in a curriculum that strives to include many musics and ways of thinking?
How can we nurture meaningful inclusivity and diversity in our curricula? Are new methodologies and epistemologies needed?

What existing pedagogical practices from around the world should be part of this discourse?

How can we expand our pedagogical approaches to be more student-centric and responsive to a diversity of needs, populations, and musical interests?

How can we foster music-making, listening, and imagination that transcend a single cultural or historical perspective?

What could be the role(s) of performance, improvisation, embodied learning, notation, composition, movement, digital technology, etc. in a reframed music theory and aural skills pedagogy?

What is a radical new approach that you are trying in your music theory classroom?

How can we promote a sense of joy, purpose, and belonging in music theory and aural skills classrooms?

Submission Guidelines

We welcome proposals for individual papers, organized panels, posters, workshops, and other alternative formats.

Individual Papers: Proposals for paper presentations should include an abstract of no more than 350 words and may include figures and illustrations beyond the word-count. Accepted papers will be allotted 20 minutes for presentation followed by 10 minutes for discussion.

Panel Sessions: A proposal for a panel should include a maximum 350-word abstract for the session as a whole, in addition to a separate 350-word abstract for each individual paper.

Posters: Proposals for posters should include an abstract of no more than 350 words and may include figures and illustrations beyond the word-count.

Workshops/Alternative Formats: Proposals for workshops or other alternative formats should also be submitted as a maximum 350-word abstract, detailing the format, number of participants, and space requirements.

Important Dates

· Submission Deadline: Thurs. January 15, 2026
· Notification of Acceptance: Sunday, March 1, 2026
· Abstracts: All abstracts should be submitted electronically via the linked google form.

Featured Speakers and Hackathon Leaders

Chelsea Burns, The University of Texas at Austin

Daniel Chua, The University of Hong Kong

Nathalie Joachim, Princeton University

Loren Kajikawa, The George Washington University

Vivian Luong, The University of Oklahoma

Elizabeth Margulis, Princeton University

Tobias Rush, University of Dayton

Edward Sarath, University of Michigan

Jennifer Snodgrass, Appalachian State University

Gabriel Solis, University of Washington

Christian Utz, Kunstuniversität Graz