About the ICTM
The AIMS of the ICTM are to further the study, practice, documentation, preservation and dissemination of traditional music, including folk, popular, classical and urban music, and dance, of all countries. To these ends, the Council organizes meetings, World Conferences, Study Groups and Colloquia. In addition the Council maintain a membership directory and supervise the preparation and publication of journals and bulletins.
The ICTM was founded on 22 September, 1947, in London, England, by scholars and musicians as The International Folk Music Council. Ralph Vaughan Williams became its first president, followed by Jaap Kunst, Zoltan Kodaly, Willard Rhodes, Klaus P. Wachsmann, Poul Rovsing Olsen, Erich Stockmann, Anthony Seeger,Krister Malm, and currently, Adrienne L. Kaeppler. In 1949, the Council was one of the Founding Members of the International Music Council - UNESCO, and is currently an NGO in Formal Consultative Relations with UNESCO. Through its wide international representation the Council acts as a bond among peoples of different cultures and thus serves the peace of humankind.
ICTM WORLD CONFERENCES are held biennially and offer the general membership and the public opportunities for exchanges on a broad scope of issues.
Recent Conferences | ||
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1969 Edinburgh, Scotland 1971 Kingston, Jamaica 1973 Bayonne, France 1975 Regensburg, F.R.G. 1977 Honolulu, U.S.A. 1979 Oslo, Norway |
1981 Seoul, Korea 1983 New York, U.S.A. 1985 Stockholm & Helsinki, Sweden & Finland 1987 Berlin, G.D.R. 1989 Schladming, Austria 1991 Hong Kong |
1993 Berlin, Germany 1995 Canberra, Australia 1997 Nitra, Slovakia 1999 Hiroshima, Japan 2001 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2003 (rescheduled to 2004) Fuzhou & Quanzhou, China 2005 Sheffield, U.K. 2007 Vienna, Austria |
STUDY GROUPS are comprised of members in a common area of scholarly study. Study Groups currently active include Folk Musical Instruments, Historical Sources of Traditional Music, Ethnochoreology, Oceania , Iconography, Computer Aided Research, Music and Gender, Maqam, Music of the Arab World, Anthropology of Music in Mediterranean Cultures, Music and Minorities, and Music Archeology. Study Groups are an essential part of the ICTM. They hold periodic meetings and publish the results of their ongoing research.
COLLOQUIA have been organized by invitation since 1981. These events focus on selected themes intensively discussed by smaller groups of scholars and representatives from related fields.
The Council maintains official representation through its National Committees and Liaison Officers in numerous countries.
NATIONAL COMMITTEES act as official representatives of the ICTM in their regions and as liaison between the Council and their constituents. They hold their own conferences and meetings and report in the Bulletin. National Committees of the ICTM are established in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, R.O.Korea, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, USA, and Vietnam.
LIAISON OFFICERS represent the Council in these countries: Albania, Argentina, Barbados, Belarus, Brazil, Bosnia&Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Peru, The Philippines, P.R.China, Russia, Serbia & Montenegro, Singapore , Slovenia, Tanzania, Thailand, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu and Zambia.
PUBLICATIONS The Council publishes the Yearbook for Traditional Music (established 1949 as Journal of the International Folk Music Council); the Bulletin of the ICTM (established 1948 as Bulletin of the IFMC); the Directory of Traditional Music; and other books and records.