The Society for Musicology in Ireland (SMI) is an Irish

learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an discipline (academia), academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and s ...

in the field of

musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

. Founded in 2003, it reflects the growing research activity and the increasing academic tuition available at Irish universities in the fields of music and musicology that has been visible since the early 1990s. Since 2011, the SMI benefits from charitable tax exemption by the

Revenue Commissioners The Revenue Commissioners ( ga, Na Coimisinéirí Ioncaim), commonly called Revenue, is the Irish Government agency responsible for customs, excise, taxation and related matters. Though Revenue can trace itself back to predecessors (with the A ...

Overview

The SMI was founded in acknowledgement of the immense increase in musical scholarship on the island of Ireland since the early 1990s. While a number of the founding members had previously been members of the

Royal Musical Association The Royal Musical Association (RMA) is a British scholarly society and charity. Founded in 1874, the Association claims to be the second oldest musicological society in the world, after that of the Netherlands. Activities include organizing and sp ...

(RMA) (United Kingdom), the dynamic growth of the field in Ireland (including Northern Ireland) has led to the inauguration of an independent society with friendly links to the RMA. The SMI's constitution describes the main object of the society as "the advancement of education, specifically in the field of musicology, and to promote and foster musical scholarship in all its forms throughout Ireland, north and south by organizing annual conferences, generating publications, and maintaining a website which contains relevant expert resources which are freely and publicly available". The society organises an annual plenary conference, usually around June, an annual postgraduate plenary conference in January that is held in conjunction with the Irish national committee of the

International Council for Traditional Music The International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) is a scholarly non-governmental organization which focuses on the study, practice, documentation, preservation, and dissemination of traditional music and dance of all countries. Founded in Lo ...

(ICTM-IE) as well as a number of associated events per year on varying topics on the initiative of music departments around the country. Members and other scholars publish their research in the peer-reviewed ''Journal of the Society for Musicology in Ireland'' (JSMI) and the book series ''Irish Musical Studies''. The society has a strong working relationship with the Research Foundation for Music in Ireland (RFMI), maintained by the TU Dublin Conservatory of Music and Drama and which, since 2012, houses the SMI Library. Furthermore, the SMI represents the Irish committee for RILM (through the RFMI),

RISM RISM may refer to: * Répertoire International des Sources Musicales * Directive 2008/96/EC on road infrastructure safety management {{disambig ...

and

IAML The International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres (IAML), also known as ''Association Internationale des Bibliothèques, Archives et Centres de Documentation Musicaux'' (AIBM) and ''Internationale Vereinigung der ...

Presidents

* Harry White (University College Dublin), 2003–2006 * Jan Smaczny (Queen's University Belfast), 2006–2012 * Kerry Houston (TU Dublin Conservatory of Music and Drama), 2012–2015 * Lorraine Byrne Bodley (Maynooth University), 2015–2021 * John O'Flynn (Dublin City University), 2021–

Irish Research Council Harrison Medal

Since 2004, the SMI awards the Irish Research Council Harrison Medal to honour international musicologists with outstanding achievements and excellence in research in musicology. It is named in honour of the Irish musicologist

Frank Llewellyn Harrison Francis Llewellyn Harrison, better known as "Frank Harrison" or "Frank Ll. Harrison" (29 September 1905 – 29 December 1987) was one of the leading musicologists of his time and a pioneering ethnomusicologist. Initially trained as an organist ...

(1905–1987). Recipients include

Christoph Wolff Christoph Wolff (born 24 May 1940) is a German musicologist. He is best known for his works on the music, life, and period of Johann Sebastian Bach. Christoph Wolff is an emeritus professor of Harvard University, and was part of the faculty sinc ...

(2004),

Margaret Bent Margaret Bent CBE , (born Margaret Hilda Bassington; 23 December 1940) is an English musicologist who specializes in music of the late medieval and Renaissance eras. In particular, she has written extensively on the Old Hall Manuscript, English ...

(2007),

Kofi Agawu Kofi is an Akan masculine given name among the Akan people (such as the Ashanti and Fante) in Ghana that is given to a boy born on Friday. Traditionally in Ghana, a child would receive their Akan day name during their Outdooring, eight days aft ...

(2009),

Christopher Hogwood Christopher Jarvis Haley Hogwood (10 September 194124 September 2014) was an English conductor, harpsichordist, writer, and musicologist. Founder of the early music ensemble the Academy of Ancient Music, he was an authority on historically info ...

(2011), Barra Boydell and Harry White (2013), Susan Youens (2016),

Jim Samson Thomas James Samson, FBA (born 1946), commonly known as Jim Samson, is a musicologist, music critic and retired academic. Educated at Queen's University Belfast (BMus) and University College, Cardiff ( MMus, PhD), he was appointed to a research f ...

(2018), and Michael Beckerman (2021).

Publications and outreach

* Th
''Journal of the Society for Musicology in Ireland''
(JSMI) is a peer-reviewed, open-access online journal published since 2005. Its full-text articles and other content are free to access worldwide.
''Irish Musical Studies''
published in association with the SMI, is a book series reflecting musical scholarship undertaken in Ireland, covering both Irish and international subject areas. It was inaugurated in 1990 and has been under the general editorship of Gerard Gillen and Harry White until 2020. It was initially published by

Irish Academic Press Irish Academic Press is an independent Irish publishing house that was established in 1974, with a focus on Irish history, politics, literature and the arts. History Irish Academic Press was founded by Frank Cass in 1974 and, following his deat ...

(volumes 1–4) and

Four Courts Press Four Courts Press is an independent Irish academic publishing house, with its office at Malpas Street, Dublin 8, Ireland. Founded in 1970 by Michael Adams, who died in February 2009, its early publications were primarily theological, notably t ...

(volumes 5–12). From 2022 (volume 13ff.), the series is being edited by Lorraine Byrne Bodley and Harry White and published by

Boydell & Brewer Boydell & Brewer is an academic press based in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, that specializes in publishing historical and critical works. In addition to British and general history, the company publishes three series devoted to studies, edition ...

. * Th
''Encyclopaedia of Music in Ireland''
(EMIR), edited by Harry White and Barra Boydell and published in 2013 with University College Dublin Press, represents the single largest research project on music in Ireland. Outreach activities of the SMI include a dedicate
YouTube channel
a publi
Facebook page
and
Twitter account

Research resources

SMI Music Thesis Register
– a searchable database of completed and in-progress postgraduate theses in the fields of musicology, ethnomusicology, music education, music technology, music therapy, performance, analysis, composition etc.
SMI Library

Honorary and Corresponding Members

Honorary Members of the SMI include:

Ita Beausang Ita Margaret Beausang (née Hogan) (born 18 October 1936) is an Irish musicologist and educator. In 1962 she completed the first PhD thesis in musicology to have been written in Ireland. She specialises in Irish music of the Classical period, ...

, Hilary Bracefield, Barra Boydell, Patrick Devine, Paul Everett, Gerard Gillen, Kerry Houston,

John O'Conor John O'Conor (born 18 January 1947) is an Irish pianist and pedagogue, and former director of the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Early career Born in Dublin, O'Conor attended Belvedere College in that city. During his early Dublin studies, his ...

, David Rhodes, Jan Smaczny, and Harry White. Corresponding Members, defined as "honorary members who live abroad and who have made particularly notable contributions to furthering musicology in Ireland" include John Butt, Julian Horton, Axel Klein, Harald Krebs, Sharon Krebs, John Rink, R. Larry Todd, Katharina Uhde, and Susan Youens.

External links

SMI website

References

{{authority control 2003 establishments in Ireland All-Ireland organisations Learned societies of Ireland Music-related professional associations Musicology Organisations based in Dublin (city)