Ubiquitous Music

Ubiquitous Music is an interdisciplinary research area that combines methodologies from music, computer science, education, creativity studies, human sciences and engineering.

The Thirteenth Workshop/Symposium on Ubiquitous Music will be held on 2-4 November at Ulster University, Derry, Northern Ireland (UK) in hybrid format (mostly on-site, but with an online strand).

About the Conference

13th Symposium on Ubiquitous Music (UbiMus 2023)

2-4 November 2023

Northern Ireland (UK) and online

NB: Submission deadline has now passed; see you at the event!

For booking links, and travel/accommodation details, see the bottom of this page

Ubiquitous Music is an interdisciplinary research area that combines methodologies from music, computer science, education, creativity studies, human sciences and engineering. The Thirteenth Workshop/Symposium on Ubiquitous Music will be held on 2-4 November at Ulster University, Derry, Northern Ireland (UK) in hybrid format (mostly on-site, but with an online strand).

We will have both on-site and online strands, and will strive to ensure access to the event is not limited by delegates’ ability to pay, though discounted rates related to conditions in their current location and/or situation (including delegates who are independent scholars and/or artists or technologists), and, where appropriate, through fee waivers.

Locations

Ulster University, Derry-Londonderry campus, and partner venues - see campus map

and North West Regional College, Derry~Londonderry - see campus map

Funding and Support

This event, orgainsed as a collaboration between Ulster University (Music, Drama, Film/Screen and Heritage Research Unit) and North West Regional College (Music and Performing Arts), and would not have been possible without the financial support of the Connected NI fund from the Northern Ireland Department for the Economy.

Keynote: [M] (live coder based in Nairobi, Kenya)

Wanjiru Ngure, alias [M] (Monrhea), emerges as an authentic voice from Nairobi, Kenya, embodying depth, darkness and the beauty of it, within it, experienced in her compositions and mixes. She is a self-taught producer and underground DJ from Athi River, Kenya who has become an influential figure in the live coding and music scenes in Nairobi, across Africa, and internationally through her work as an artist and live coding tutor and workshop facilitator.

Ubimus 2023 Invited Lecture: Prof. Andrew Hugill (University of Leicester):

Prof. Andrew Hugill is Deputy Director of the Institute for Digital Culture at the University of Leicester, where he also founded the Creative Computing programme. His background is in Music, in which he is  a Professor and an active composer and musicologist. Throughout his career, he has worked across artistic and scientific disciplines, believing in the importance of transdisciplinarity.

DRAFT SCHEDULE

Registered participants will receive an up-to-date PDF of the schedule.

NB: the  schedule below may not properly display on mobile; please see the PDF for full schedule details. If you have any questions, please mail ubimus2023 at gmail . com

Time in UTC/GMT

Thurs 2nd Nov Conference

Fri 3rd Nov

Sat 4th Nov

900

  

Paper Session 4 (to accommodate Australia and Europe) Ubimus Creative Practices, Influences and Tools: online and Ulster - MI/Aberfoyle House, MI022), Chair Dr Brian Bridges, Ulster (9 am - 11.30 am)

1000

 

Sonic artworks on display - MD/Martha Magee building, Workshops (Ulster Foyle Arts/MQ Building - Workshop 1 Body Percussion and Live Electronics - 9.30 am- 11 am; workshop 2, Live Coding for Music, 11 am - 1 pm)

1100

 

Break

1200

Registration opens at 12.30 pm, Ulster, MD building/Martha Magee, first storey foyer

Panel: Ubimus and HCI - online and Ulster - MI/Aberfoyle House, MI022 - panel : Panel lead: Dr Nuno Otero (Greenwich)

1300

Catered lunch 1pm , Ulster, MD/Martha Magee building, Minor Hall, MD106, followed by Welcome at 1330

Lunch-break (catered), Ulster, Martha Magee/MD building, MD106, Minor Hall

1400

Paper session 1: Ulster -MD/Martha Magee building, Minor Hall, MD106 (in-person): Rapid Protyping and Live Environments: Chair - Dr Adam Melvin, Ulster

Invited Lecture: Prof. Andrew Hugill - online and Ulster MI/Aberfoyle House, MI022: Chair - Dr Karl McCreadie, Ulster

Sonic artworks on display (MD/Martha Magee building)/Delegates free for lunch (not catered) or exploring the city

1500

Paper Session 2 (online - Brazil and Argentina): Ubimus Ecologies - online and Ulster MI/Aberfoyle House, MI022: Chair Dr Damián Keller, Federal University of Acre, Brazil

Sonic artworks on display (MD/Martha Magee building)/Delegates free for lunch (not catered) or exploring the city

1600

Break, change of venues from Ulster University to North West Regional College

Closing address and G-ubimus Meeting (online and Ulster, MI/Aberfoyle House, MI022): Chair Prof. Victor Lazzarini (Maynooth) and Dr Brian Bridges (Ulster)

1700

Keynote: [M] (North West Regional College: Foyle Theatre) - streamed

Paper session 3 (online - Portuguese-language Ubimus papers - online and Ulster MI/Aberfoyle House, MI022: Chair Prof. Victor Lazzarini, Maynooth Univ.

G-ubimus Meeting (online) - 5.30 pm Finish

1800

6.15 pm Keynote performance - [M]

(North West Regional College: Foyle Theatre)

Break for dinner (delegates to make their own arrangements; advance booking advisable)

 

1900

Finish 7.30 pm

Break for dinner (delegates to make their own arrangements; advance booking advisable)

 

2000

Conference dinner 

Concert: Spatial Audio and Fixed-media works - Ulster- MD/Martha Magee, Great Hall/MD102

 

2100

Conference dinner

Suggested Topics (not exclusive)

The symposium will explore topics which address ubiquitous music from perspectives including technological, design, social, creative/aesthetic, educational/pedagogical, and related contexts, such as:

  • Ubiquitous music, accessibility and inclusion
  • DIY approaches electronics and design approaches for ubiquitous musical practices (including circuit bending, hardware hacking, DIY design in modular synthesis)
  • Web/mobile and app-based approaches to audio/ubiquitous music creation/performance/sharing of creative practice
  • Socially-engaged musical practices using ubiquitous music technologies (applied music/workshop-based and collaborative creative practice)
  • Everyday musical creativity and ubiquitous music
  • Liveness and/or models of communication in ubiquitous music
  • Improvisation and comprovisation in ubiquitous music
  • Creative computing and computational creativity in ubiquitous music
  • Ubiquitous music in music/audio education/pedagogies of ubiquitous music/audio practices
  • Embodied and/or ecological approaches to music/audio practices
  • Musical human-computer interaction (HCI) in ubiquitous music
  • Accessible/inclusive design in ubiquitous music
  • Networked/telematic performance/interaction/sharing of creative practice
  • Sonification, musification and auditory display in Ubimus
  • Ubiquitous, embedded and mobile computing in ubiquitous music (from Internet of Things (IoT) to Internet of Musical Things (IoMusT))
  • Ubimus approaches to web and mobile audio
  • Ubiquitous music and concepts of musical practices
Call for submissions

Fees

We are seeking to support an inclusive community of practitioners, artists and technologists, and appreciate that the fees delegates and contributors can pay may depend on circumstances.

North America/Australia & NZ, Japan, South Korea, EU/EEA/UK (with institutional support)

Price: £60

Register - North America/Australia & NZ, Japan, South Korea, EU/EEA/UK


Rest of World (with institutional support)

Price: £30

Register - Rest of World


Independent practitioners or students without access to institutional support

You may contact us to discuss a reduced fee or fee waiver: contact ubimus2023@gmail.com to request this, detailing your circumstances in 3 sentences or so.


Deadline for registration

22nd September (23:59 within your timezone)

Travel and Visa Advice

The conference/festival venue is the city of Derry/Londonderry. There is a small airport, which has a number of UK routes, but most international arrivals will be via Belfast (the larger city of the region), or Dublin (the largest city and airport on the island of Ireland, though you may need to consider visa rules if your passport does not allow visa-free travel to the UK and Ireland (see below).

  • Airports

    Belfast International (BFS) and Belfast City Airport (BHD) - these are two separate airports ('International' being some distance from the city); flights from UK hub airports such as London Heathrow are likely to have connections to Belfast City Airport. There is a direct link (Aircoach) from BFS to Derry (and Dublin Airport), but no direct link from BHD to Derry - there is a shuttle bus which will connect you to the main city bus station.

    City of Derry Airport (LDY) - internal UK flights (Loganair and Ryanair) - infrequent public buses connect to the city; most arrivals make use of the taxi service.

    Dublin Airport (DUB) - transatlantic and global hub airport in Republic of Ireland, with bus links to Derry and Belfast (Translink X3 and X4 to Derry, Aircoach to Derry via Belfast), but note that there may be an additional visa requirement.

  • Visas

    NI and Republic of Ireland may require separate visas

    Northern Ireland is the part of the island of Ireland which is in the UK, so UK visa rules will apply for some or all of your journey. Also, please note that both the UK and Ireland (Republic of) are outside the European Schengen zone, so a separate visa may be needed even if you have one for elsewhere in Europe.

    Whilst the 'frontier' between the two territories may appears open, checkpoints are sometimes placed on various cross-border routes, and trains/buses may be stopped on occasion, so it is important to ensure that you have the appropriate visas (if needed) and carry passport ID if travelling via Dublin or other parts of the Republic of Ireland. Consult UK and Irish government sites for further details.

    See more on Discover Northern Ireland

    Where letters of invitation/participation are required for visa purposes, please contact the organisers at least one month in advane (not acccounting for visa application lead times).

    NB: Whilst organisers will do their best to direct you to relevant information, it is delegates' responsibility to  ensure compliance with visa and general travel/immigration requirements.

  • Public transport within the island of Ireland (NI and RoI)

    The primary bus service in Northern Ireland is provided by the public operator Translink. They operate a variety of routes, including inter-city Derry-Belfast (212) and cross-border Derry-Dublin (X3/X4).

    It is possible to pre-book cross-border bus services and this is particularly advised for connections from Dublin Airport. NB: you book directly from the Translink homepage/journey planner.

    Translink also operates the railway service in Northern Ireland (a weekday hourly service Derry to/from Belfast, plus cross-border Belfast-Dublin 'Enterprise' service. (Book on Translink for journeys originating in NI; book on Irish Rail for journeys originating in the Republic).

    There are various public and private bus companies which operate in the Republic of Ireland; please review tourist guides for further details.

    Bus Éireann is the main public bus company within the Republic of Ireland, but does not operate a service from Dublin to Derry - use Translink X3/4 (it does, however, operate a cross-border service between Derry and Galway in the West, via  Donegal: route 64).

    Aircoach also offers services connecting Dublin city, Dublin Airport, Belfast city centre, Belfast International Airport (not Belfast City airport; local connections apply there), and Derry/Londonderry. Pre-booking is advisable.

  • Accommodation

    Derry has a variety of accommodation options, from private rooms and bed and breakfast (B&Bs) to budget and luxury hotel options; see the Visit Derry site.

    Visit Derry

    The campus and most venues are on the Cityside/BT48 (west bank of the Foyle), though a pedestrian bridge (the Peace Bridge) connects this with the east bank of the Foyle (Waterside/BT47).