Future IGRC Events

The Guitar in Popular Music conference (8–10 July 2026) will be co-hosted by Canterbury Christ Church University and the Academy of Contemporary Music, in collaboration with the International Guitar Research Centre (University of Surrey). Deadlines for Proposals: March 31 2026.

Call for proposals

Proposals are invited for presentations as follows: 

• Individual papers – 25 minutes plus 10 minutes for questions
• Individual papers which include live performance elements – 25 minutes plus 10 minutes for questions
• Lecture recital – 35 minutes plus 10 minutes for questions

Papers and presentations can focus on any aspect relevant to the conference’s overarching theme: the guitar’s role and use in popular music (including jazz). Any type of guitar (e.g. acoustic, electric, bass, hybrid etc) may be considered, as can any (or any combination of) the following perspectives: historical, contextual, analytical, pedagogical, technological, compositional or performance-based. 

In recognition of the fact that 2026 marks 60 years since Jimi Hendrix’s first performance in the UK we especially welcome papers that discuss Hendrix’s legacy and contribution as a guitarist, or lecture recitals that focus on reinterpretations and arrangements of Hendrix’s work.

We are particularly interested in papers which relate to the following themes: 

• Guitar Creativity and Technique
• Guitar Soloing and Tonal Improvisation
• Guitar as Rhythm and Texture
• Guitar Design and Technology
• Guitar Culture
• Case Studies of the Guitar Technique of Established Players in Popular Music

Please send proposals and enquiries to guitarconference@canterbury.ac.uk, as a Word document, with the following information:

• Your name
• Institution (as appropriate)
• Postal address
• Phone
• Email Address
• Presentation type (paper or paper including live performance demonstrations)
• Title
• Abstract: up to 300 words and biography up to 100 words.
• Website link about you and your work (if you have one)
• Individual papers which include live performance elements, and Lecture Recitals should also include a sample recording or video (e.g. via YouTube/SoundCloud)

Acceptance of proposals will be at the discretion of the Conference Panel (see below). 

Key dates

The conference will be held at Canterbury Christ Church University on Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 July and at the Academy of Contemporary Music (London campus) on Friday 10 July. All papers will be presented in person.

The deadline for submissions is Tuesday 31 March 2026.

Booking will open, and a draft conference programme will be published in mid-April 2026, following the selection of papers.

Keynote speaker

We are delighted that Professor Milton Mermikides (Professor of Music at the University of Surrey and Gresham Professor or Music) will be presenting the keynote lecture at Canterbury Christ Church University, entitled I Just Want to Talk to You: The Musical Language of Jimi Hendrix.

This keynote paper illuminates the psychological, neurological, linguistic and zygonic mechanisms that help shape Jimi Hendrix’s extraordinary musical language. These ‘axes of expression’ include vocal imitation, fretboard navigation, time-feel and groove, harmony and modality, and technological transformation. It argues that Hendrix’s music persistently challenges the conventional separation and discrete categorisation of pitch, rhythm, and timbre. And that musical expression – as well as effective musical analysis – emerges from the dynamic, liminal interplay between these domains. 

Conference Panel

Dr James Dean (Chair, Canterbury Christ Church University)

Professor Rich Perks (Deputy Chair, Academy of Contemporary Music)

Professor Milton Mermikides (University of Surrey/Gresham College)

Professor Murray Smith (University of Kent)

Dr Kate Lewis (Brunel University London) 

Enquiries

For all enquiries, please email guitarconference@canterbury.ac.uk

https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/events/2026/the-guitar-in-popular-music

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.

A schedule, a list of abstracts, catering details, and a campus map are below.

SCHEDULE

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 Roche IGRC 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	Stefano Moccetti IGRC	The Creative Guitarist: co-shaping music from sound to structure
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 Mermikides IGRC 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	Giacomo Copiello IGRC	New Music for the 8-string Brahms Guitar: Instrumental identity & new solo repertoire
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

ABSTRACTS

Catering

Hillside Coffee

10am-3pm Saturday and Sunday

https://my.surrey.ac.uk/campus-life/food-drink-and-nightlife/hillside-coffee-shop

The café in GSA, Stageside, will also be open on Saturday morning

https://my.surrey.ac.uk/campus-life/food-drink-and-nightlife/stageside-coffee

The Co-op supermarket

10am to 6pm Saturday

10am to 4pm Sunday

https://my.surrey.ac.uk/campus-life/food-drink-and-nightlife/co-op

Lower Foyer bar

A bar will be available in the lower foyer if PATS from 6.00pm to 7.30pm on Saturday and in the interval of the concert too.

Lord Falafel will be open upstairs in the Students Union

https://www.lordfalafel.co.uk/guildford/

Campus Map

https://www.surrey.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2025-08/campus-map.pdf

CALL FOR PAPERS

Proposals are invited for presentations as follows:

• Individual papers 20 minutes plus 10 minutes for questions
• Lecture-recitals 35 minutes plus 10 minutes for questions

Please send proposals to s.goss@surrey.ac.uk in the following format:

• abstract up to 250 words and biography up to 100 words. Please also provide a website link about you and your work if you have one.

The deadline for submissions is Monday 5th January 2026. Applicants will be notified of the outcome by Monday 19th January 2026.

Conference Panel:

• Professor Steve Goss – Director of the IGRC, University of Surrey, UK
• Professor Milton Mermikides – Deputy Director of the IGRC, University of Surrey
• Dr John McGrath – Deputy Director of the IGRC, University of Surrey

Acceptance of proposals will be at the discretion of the conference panel. Please provide your abstracts as a WORD document, preceded by information under the following headings:

• Name
• Institution (as appropriate)
• Postal address
• Phone
• Email Address
• Title

All papers will be presented in person and in English. The conference is free to attend and take part in. Concerts and Keynote lectures will be announced in due course.

Enquiries: s.goss@surrey.ac.uk