IGRC 2026 Surrey Conference Schedule and Registration

We are delighted to announce our schedule for the FREE IGRC Conference 28^th and 29^th March 2026 A two-day conference at the University of Surrey, bringing the guitar community together to share research about the guitar. Conference venue – PATS Studio One, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, UK, GU2 7XH REGISTER HERE to attend.

Saturday 28th March
9.30	Prof Steve Goss	Welcome
10.00	Dr Francesco Braggio IGRC University of Surrey	Cadence and Phrase Function: Rethinking period structure in early 19th-Century guitar music
10.30	Dr Marco Ramelli and Enrica Savigni TU Dublin Conservatoire	A Tempo Rubato: A discussion of nineteenth-century performance practices
11.00	Dr Sam Muir and Dr David RocheIGRC and University of Cambridge	More Than Four Chords: Writing new music for ukulele and large ensemble
11.30	Break
12.00	Emmanuel Sowicz University of Oxford	The Anxiety of Derangement: Sor, fidelity, and flexibility in arranging for the classical guitar
12.30	Dr Sasha Savaloni GSMD and RCS	Schubert Lieder Transcription: Idiomatic approach in the transcriptions of Franz Liszt and Johann Kaspar Mertz
13.00	Giacomo Copiello IGRC	New Music for the 8-string Brahms Guitar: Instrumental identity & new solo repertoire
13.30	Lunch
14.30	Steven Watson IGRC	Pulp Friction: discussions and controversies surrounding no-nail technique
15.00	Elisabeth Pfeiffer IGRC	Idiomatic Ukulele Plucking-Hand Techniques in Contemporary Practice
15.30	Dr Matt Curran and Prof Frank Lyons Ulster University	Developing an Integrated Guitar Technique System (IGTS) for the Right Hand Through Practice-Based Research
16.00	Break
16.30	Keynote: Prof. Jonathan Leathwood University of Denver	Zooming In and Zooming Out: Harmony and Structural Levels in the Guitar Repertoire
17.15	Keynote: Prof. Milton MermikidesIGRC and Gresham Professor of Music	Something in the Way: A multi-modal case study of Nirvana
18.00	Break
19.30	Duo Andrews-Correa	Concert and album launch
Sunday 29th March
10.00	Dr Katalin Koltai IGRC and RAM	Re-Creating Illusion: Collaborating with Hans Abrahamsen on a New Work for Guitar
10.30	Tim Beattie IGRC	Posthumous Collaboration and Performer Agency in Twentieth-Century Guitar Repertoire
11.00	Dr Ataman Kinis IGRC and ARUCAD(Arkin University of Creative Arts and Design)	Instrument in Between: An exploration of the fretless electric guitar within the electroacoustic composition environment
11.30	Break
12.00	Dr Sam Cave Brunel University	Michael Finnissy and Felix Namque
12.30	Vitor Noah Moraes Sandes IGRC	R. Marino Arcaro’s Guitar Works: A collaborator’s point of view
13.00	Stefano Moccetti IGRC	The Creative Guitarist: co-shaping music from sound to structure
13.30	Lunch
14.30	James Akers Independent Scholar	Fantasie Romantique: The guitar in Eastern Europe in the 19th century
15.00	Nicola Pignatiello Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata	So, You Want to Fake a Fugue? Partimento Imitato and ‘Fugues’ of Giuliani and Diabelli
15.30	Johan Löfving University of York	Playing with History: Primary sources with practical implications
16.00	Break
16.30	David Harvey Independent Scholar	When Sibelius Meets Six Strings: Engraving principles and practical challenges in guitar notation
17.00	Beatriz Oliveira University of Aveiro	The guitar in Portugal in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries: An archival study
17.30	Gerard Cousins Independent Scholar	Back to First Principles and perhaps a Half Step Beyond: Scordatura as an interpretative tool in classical guitar repertoire
18.00	Break
18.30	Keynote 3: Prof. Richard Savino San Francisco Conservatory	PXAT: Pedro Ximénz Abrill y Tirado (1784 – 1856): Maestro of the Americas