XII ETHNOMUSICOLOGY CONFERENCE
Theme: Community and Institutional Musical Collections
Federal University of Pará – UFPA
Belém, Pará, Brazil
September 16 – 17, 2025
The Ethnomusicology Laboratory (LabEtno) at the Federal University of Pará – UFPA – which encompasses the Research Group on Music and Identity in the Amazon (GPMIA) and the Study Group on Music in Pará (GEMPA), both affiliated with UFPA – has as its primary objective to bring together and support research in the field of ethnomusicology. These activities are conducted within the Graduate Program in Arts (PPGARTES/UFPA), the Faculty of Music at UFPA, the UFPA School of Music (EMUFPA), and the UFPA School of Application (EAUFPA).
LabEtno’s specific objectives include providing a structured body to support ethnomusicological research at UFPA; hosting and continuously enriching an existing archival collection; and fostering the production of knowledge about music in the Amazon region. Its main goals are to maintain an archive of sound and text records accessible to the community; to strengthen and expand the field of ethnomusicology in northern Brazil; to engage in research and outreach activities connected to local, regional, national, and international musical networks; to establish bridges between academia and traditional music masters and knowledge holders of the region; and to promote events, courses, workshops, and related activities in the field.
Among the events organized by LabEtno, the Ethnomusicology Conference stands out, having been held eleven times to date, with the last seven editions jointly organized with the Amazonian Ethnomusicology Colloquium (UEPA). The upcoming event marks the XII edition of the Conference and will take place over two days, featuring the participation of researchers, professors, students, musicians, and other stakeholders from Brazil and abroad, organized around a keynote lecture, roundtable discussions, research presentations, and musical performances.
The Ethnomusicology Conference has become a significant event at the national level in Brazil, despite its original conception as a regional initiative. It represents a pioneering effort in northern Brazil, gaining notable recognition nationally and internationally in the field of ethnomusicology.
The Conference provides a platform for sharing research developed at undergraduate and graduate levels in music and aims to promote the dissemination of academic texts in ethnomusicology and related fields in Portuguese, English, and Spanish. Notably, the event embraces methodological innovation by incorporating a decolonial perspective, fostering dialogue between academia and traditional cultural masters, and encouraging collaborative approaches to knowledge production and reflection on musical practices. Such efforts have significantly contributed to research conducted at LabEtno and its associated research groups, with traditional masters also participating in teaching activities, lectures, and workshops in partnership with UFPA and UEPA professors.
Regarding regional scientific production, the Ethnomusicology Conference plays a critical role in disseminating, sharing, and documenting recent research, thus contributing to the consolidation of ethnomusicology in Pará and the Amazon region. It also interfaces with other musical disciplines, raising public discussions on topics such as regional sustainability through cultural and musical expressions, the heritage preservation of intangible cultural assets, the construction of musical identities, cultural tourism development, and the valorization of traditional knowledge and minority groups – crucial issues for the cultural, economic, and social development of Pará and the northern region of Brazil.
The XII Ethnomusicology Conference will feature a program that includes a keynote address by an international guest speaker, two roundtable discussions, oral research presentations, an audiovisual exhibition, and artistic performances.
The event will be held in person at the Music Education Department of UFPA’s Belém campus. Organized by LabEtno and associated groups, it will be supported by several partners, including the Federal University of Northern Tocantins (UFNT) and the Graduate Program in Music at UFPA, the first professional master’s program in music in northern Brazil, approved by CAPES in 2023.
The 2025 edition’s thematic approach draws inspiration from Claudio Gnoli’s (2012) model of the three dimensions of knowledge: the ontic dimension (phenomena themselves), the epistemic dimension (the transformation of phenomena into information), and the documental dimension (the formal carriers of information). This framework has been applied to characterize three aspects of musical knowledge: 1) musical phenomena; 2) notation, recording, or programming codification; 3) physical musical documents (Gnoli, 2012).
The main objective of the Conference is to deepen the understanding of what constitutes community and institutional collections, including musical works, the memory of artistic processes, musical instruments, audio recordings, videos, images, objects, books, and documents. Topics such as the preservation, research, and dissemination of Amazonian collections will be discussed, emphasizing the management and accessibility of collections through digital platforms, and highlighting the experiences of institutions and communities engaged in cultural heritage preservation. The event aims to present and critically discuss the challenges associated with managing cultural collections, particularly regarding digitization, data management, and ethical considerations related to preservation, intellectual property, and traditional knowledge.
Guidelines for Paper Submission
- Proposals must present either completed research or research in progress with consistent partial results.
- Proposals can be submitted in Portuguese, Spanish, or English in the form of oral research communications, either in-person or virtual.
- The event will be held in-person at the Faculty of Music, UFPA (Belém campus) on September 16–17, 2025, with flexibility for virtual oral presentations.
- Each author may submit only one paper as the main author but may co-author an unlimited number of papers.
- Submissions must include a complete article containing:
o Title.
o Abstract (maximum 250 words).
o Keywords (maximum 3).
o Main text (minimum 2,500 words; maximum 3,500 words, excluding title, abstract, keywords, and references).
o References.
- The article must address:
o Research problem.
o Objectives.
o Literature review.
o Methodology.
o Main results obtained or expected.
- Articles must be anonymous, without author identification.
- Submissions must be emailed to: coloquiojornada@gmail.com with the article title in the subject line. In the email body, include the name(s) and email(s) of the author(s), institutional affiliation(s), preferred presentation format (in-person or virtual), a brief biography (up to 100 words), or a link to an updated Lattes CV or ORCID ID.
- Oral presentations will have a maximum duration of 20 minutes (15 minutes for presentation and 5 minutes for discussion).
- Papers with multiple authors must be presented by at least one of the authors.
- All authors must register for the event.
- Authors will receive notification of acceptance via the email used for submission.
- Approved articles will be published in the event proceedings.
Evaluation Criteria
- Relevance (centrality to music, innovation, contribution to the field).
- Structure (clarity of objectives, achievement of proposed goals, consistency, and rigor of argumentation).
- Writing quality (adherence to academic norms, clarity of language, logical sequencing of ideas).
Essential Links
- All event information will be available at www.labetno.ufpa.br.
- Access the template in Portuguese: [link]
- Access the template in English: [link]
- Access the template in Spanish: [link]
- Register for the event here (free registration): [link]
LabEtnoMus Academic Award 2025
Three distinctions will be awarded to the best research presentations based on cohesion, originality, technical execution, research content, and relevance to the event’s theme.
The selected articles will be chosen by the organizing committee based on recommendations from the Scientific Committee and the evaluation of oral presentations during the event.
Please note that the awards are honorary and do not involve monetary prizes.
| SCHEDULE | DATES |
| Event Annoucement | 05/01/2025 |
| Call for Papers Submission | 05/02 to 06/02/2025 |
| Paper Evaluation Period | 06/03 a 07/15/2025 |
| Notification of Accepted Papers | 08/04/2025 |
| Submission of Final Revised Papers by Authors (including name, email, and required corrections) | 08/18/2025 |
| Detailed Program Annoucement | 08/25/2025 |
| Conference Dates | 09/16 – 17/2025 |
| Publication of Proceedings | By December 2025 |
Organizing Committee
- Jucélia da Cruz Estumano (EAUFPA, Brazil) – General Coordinator
- Liliam Cristina Barros Cohen (UFPA, Brazil)
- Sonia Maria Moraes Chada (UFPA, Brazil)
- Adriana Clairefont Melo Couceiro (EMUFPA, Brazil)