Wind Music – Cultural Heritage in Transition

28th International Wind Music Conference IGEB, 2.-6. July 2026 in Bern, Switzerland
Call for contributions

How do the past and future of wind band music influence our present?
Regarding the past, this topic brings to the forefront the use of archival materials such as manuscripts and instruments, which are researched and adapted for contemporary artistic practice. It also highlights the cultural heritage of wind bands and their historical and current roles in society. Musicology’s growing interest in the history of wind bands offers new insights into their repertoire and performance practices, as well as approaches to edition.

Looking towards the future, novel technologies – such as augmented reality and AI-generated scores and audio – promise to influence wind music communities. We invite research that explores the impact of these innovations on music production, education, and dissemination, and how they intersect with societal changes. These developments are transforming the ways in which wind band musicians engage with their art today, and we seek to understand how they shape modern music-making.
Presenters are invited to submit their proposals for individual papers, panel sessions, or concert lectures on the following topics:

1. Wind music as cultural heritage: challenges of preservation, transmission, and sustainable archiving of music, instruments and knowledge

2. Developments in wind band pedagogy in the face of technological and social change

3. Edition and arrangement of historical wind band repertoire, including working with historical sources of wind music scores and instruments in today’s performance practice

4. Production and dissemination of wind music in the digital age

5. New and ongoing research projects on wind band music
Submission of proposals (individual papers, panel sessions, concert lectures)


Deadline for submissions: November 30, 2025

A proposal and a short CV should be submitted by e-mail to Ulrike Maser (ulrike.maser@uni.lu) with a copy to Yannick Wey (yannick.wey@hkb.bfh.ch).

Please attach a word (.docx) file with the proposal in the following format:
● Name
● Institutional affiliation
● E-mail address
● Topic according to the call
● Title and Abstract (200–250 words)
● Short CV (max 150 words)

Proposals will be reviewed independently by the program committee. Accepted papers will be notified by January 15, 2026. Only one proposal per author is permitted. IGEB also invites lecturers interested to chair a session to indicate it in the e-mail.

Further information on the conference and the location:
https://www.hkb-interpretation.ch/wind-music
https://www.igeb.net/conferences.html

Languages and proceedings The official spoken language of the conference will be English. Papers in German, French, Italian, Spanish or Portuguese with PowerPoint presentations in English will also be considered.

Presentations are limited to 20 minutes, leaving 10 minutes for discussion. Presenters are invited to prepare their paper for publication in the upcoming conference volume of Alta Musica. Presenters and chairs are expected to be members of IGEB by the time of the registration.

IGEB actively promotes women in wind music research and therefore encourages them to apply. Diversity also plays an important role at this conference. IGEB strives to provide the best possible support and equal consideration for all participants regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, marital status, disability or social background.

Program Committee
Damien Sagrillo, University of Luxembourg
Ulrike Maser, University of Luxembourg
David Gasche, University of Music and Performing Arts Graz
Adrian von Steiger, Bern Academy of the Arts
Miryam Giger, Bern Academy of the Arts
Yannick Wey, Bern Academy of the Arts