The New Lexicon I.
Philosophy of Musical Arts [research group]
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RESIDENCY PROGRAMME FOR COMPOSERS
[October 2026 – June 2027]
The New Lexicon is an international research residency devoted to the investigation, articulation, and advancement of philosophy of musical arts. It convenes composers, performers, improvisers, sound artists, curators, and artist-researchers who approach musical art not only as the production or interpretation of works, but also as a mode of thought through which knowledge, value, agency, experience, relation, and possibility may be examined and reformulated.
Across four online seminars and a public residency, participants will articulate the grounds of their practices, develop projects through dialogue, and contribute to a plural vocabulary for thinking the musical arts anew.
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PROGRAM AT A GLANCE
Program period: October 2026–June 2027
Format: Four online seminars followed by an on-site festival phase
On-site location: Bled, Slovenia (EU)
Public presentation: Seventh Bled Contemporary Music Week
Application deadline: September 30, 2026
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FORMAT
Stage I | Articulation and Presentation | October 28, 29, 2026
Two online seminars introduce participants’ practices, projects, and research questions, with attention to their premises, methods, and artistic stakes.
Stage II | Critical Inquiry and Development | January 13, 14, 2026
Two online seminars examine the grounds, methods, and functions of philosophy of musical arts while establishing trajectories for artistic and research development.
Stage III | Public Presentation and Exchange | June 2027
Participants present research, lectures, performances, and discussions at the seventh Bled Contemporary Music Week in Bled, Slovenia.
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RESIDENCY OVERVIEW
The New Lexicon is an international research residency dedicated to the critical investigation, articulation, and advancement of philosophy of musical arts as a field of inquiry. It convenes composers, performers, improvisers, sound artists, curators, artist-researchers, and other practitioners who understand musical art not solely as the production, interpretation, or presentation of works, but also as a mode of thought through which knowledge, value, agency, experience, relation, and possibility may be generated, examined, contested, and reformulated.
Across four online seminars and a culminating public residency, participants will articulate the philosophical grounds of their practices, develop artistic and research projects through sustained dialogue, and contribute to a shared yet plural vocabulary for thinking the musical arts anew. The programme considers artistic decisions not only in terms of technique, style, expression, or effectiveness, but also in relation to the concepts, assumptions, social relations, forms of knowledge, and structures of value they enact.
The residency addresses practitioners whose work raises questions that technical or disciplinary discussion alone cannot resolve. These may concern what counts as musical art; the relations among composition, performance, improvisation, listening, and curation; the identity of the work or event; the status of sound, form, gesture, and experience; the distribution of authorship and agency; the role of bodies, instruments, media, institutions, and audiences; or the aesthetic, ethical, ecological, social, and political conditions within which musical practices take place.
Participants need not subscribe to a particular philosophical tradition, artistic medium, or professional identity. What matters is a willingness to examine the grounds of one’s practice, expose its assumptions to collective inquiry, and engage seriously with different positions. The New Lexicon is neither a conventional masterclass nor a seminar in which an established philosophical system is applied to art. It is a practice-based research environment in which philosophy and the musical arts enter into reciprocal relation. Philosophy offers methods for clarifying concepts, testing claims, distinguishing problems, and situating practices historically. Musical practice, in turn, is approached as a form of inquiry capable of producing concepts, experiences, and understandings that may exceed or transform existing theoretical language.
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MENTORS
Dr. Alastair White
Urban Megušar, Double M.Mus.
Dr. Niki Zohdi
Dr. Dré A. Hočevar
COORDINATOR
Brina Kren
DATES
MENTORS
PROGRAMME FORMAT
RESEARCH PREMISE
WHY THE NEW LEXICON?
CENTRAL QUESTIONS
WORKING METHOD
PARTICIPANT VALUE
WHO THE PROGRAMME ADDRESSES
TOWARDS MULTIPLE PHILOSOPHIES OF MUSICAL ARTS
APPLICATION
APPLICATION FORM AND
PARTICIPATION FEES
The New Lexicon program is produced by .abeceda Institute
.abeceda [Institute for Research in Art, Critical Thought and Philosophy], a public-benefit NGO and non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing contemporary artistic practices and critical inquiry. Through its innovative programmes, .abeceda has gained international recognition as one of the leading platforms for contemporary music and artistic research in the Adriatic region and across Europe: www.abeceda.io