The New Lexicon I.
Philosophy of Music Education [research group]
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RESIDENCY PROGRAMME FOR MUSIC EDUCATORS
[October 2026 – June 2027]
The New Lexicon is an international residency advancing philosophy of music education as a field of inquiry. It convenes music educators who understand education not only as transmitting musical knowledge and skills, but as a practice through which music, learning, personhood, community, value, access, and possibility are formed, examined, contested, and transformed.
Across four online seminars and a public residency, participants will articulate the philosophical premises of their practices, develop projects through critical exchange, and contribute to a plural vocabulary for thinking music education anew.
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PROGRAM AT A GLANCE
Program period: October 2026–June 2027
Format: Four online seminars followed by an on-site festival phase
On-site location: Bled, Slovenia (EU)
Public presentation: Seventh Bled Contemporary Music Week
Application deadline: September 30, 2026
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FORMAT
Stage I | Articulation and Presentation | October 28, 29, 2026
Two online seminars introduce participants’ projects and research questions, with attention to their premises, methods, and stakes.
Stage II | Critical Inquiry and Development | January 13, 14, 2027
Two online seminars examine the grounds and purposes of philosophy of music education while establishing trajectories for project development.
Stage III | Public Presentation and Exchange | June 2027
Participants present research through lectures, workshops, and discussions at the seventh Bled Contemporary Music Week in Bled, Slovenia.
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RESIDENCY OVERVIEW
The New Lexicon is an international residency advancing philosophy of music education as a rigorous field of inquiry. It convenes music educators who understand education not only as transmitting musical skills, knowledge, and traditions, but as a practice through which ideas of music, learning, personhood, community, value, access, and possibility are formed, examined, contested, and transformed.
Across four online seminars and a culminating public residency, participants will articulate the philosophical premises of their practices, develop pedagogical and research projects through sustained critical dialogue, and contribute to a plural vocabulary for thinking music education anew. The programme creates a setting where educational decisions are examined beyond questions of effectiveness, method, or outcome, and in relation to the concepts of human development, musical understanding, authority, freedom, responsibility, and social life they enact.
The residency is intended for practitioners whose work raises questions that technical discussion alone cannot exhaust. These may concern what it means to know music; how listening, performing, composing, improvising, and reflecting become educational; how authority and agency are distributed; whose music enters the curriculum; how assessment establishes value; how technologies shape participation; or how institutions enable and restrict musical lives. Participants need not identify with one educational philosophy, disciplinary tradition, or teaching context. What matters is a willingness to examine the assumptions of practice, place its purposes under collective inquiry, and engage seriously with different positions.
The New Lexicon is neither a conventional professional-development course nor a seminar that applies an established philosophical system to educational situations. It is a practice-based research environment in which philosophy and music education enter a reciprocal relation. Philosophy clarifies concepts, distinguishes problems, tests claims, and situates practices historically. Educational practice is approached as a form of inquiry that produces knowledge about music, relation, learning, and human possibility, potentially transforming theoretical language.
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MENTORS
Dr. Alastair White
Urban Megušar, Double M.Mus.
Dr. Niki Zohdi
Dr. Dré A. Hočevar
COORDINATOR
Brina Kren
DATES
MENTORS
PROGRAMME FORMAT
RESEARCH PREMISE
WHY THE NEW LEXICON?
CENTRAL QUESTIONS
WORKING METHOD
PARTICIPANT VALUE
WHO THE PROGRAMME ADDRESSES
TOWARDS MULTIPLE PHILOSOPHIES OF MUSIC EDUCATION
APPLICATION
APPLICATION FORM AND
PARTICIPATION FEES
The New Lexicon program is produced by .abeceda Institute
.abeceda [Institute for Research in Art, Critical Thought and Philosophy], a public-benefit NGO and non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing contemporary artistic practices and critical inquiry. Through its innovative programmes, .abeceda has gained international recognition as one of the leading platforms for contemporary music and artistic research in the Adriatic region and across Europe: www.abeceda.io