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The Orpheus Research Centre in Music [ORCiM] is based at the ORPHEUS INSTITUTE in GHENT, BELGIUM. ORCiM’s mission is to produce and promote the highest quality research into music, and in particular into the processes of music-making and our understanding of them. ORCiM provides a strong and support-ive research environment generating new knowledge in-and-through musical practice.

ORCiM is built around accomplished artist-researchers who have worked together for several years and have produced substantial research outcomes: publications, record-ings, compositions and performances. In addition, ORCiM has built a strong international network comprising relevant institutions and individual artist researchers, and continues to attract visiting experts to contribute to this dynamic research environment.

The focus of ORCiM is oriented toward three inter-related research questions, rooted in the practical work and experiences of musical artists: What do I think about music making? – Exploring how theory and practice interrelate and how artistic practice can benefi t from, and contribute to, a broader fi eld of conceptual enquiry. (Thoughts & concepts)

What do I do about music making? – Foregrounding artists’ embodied experiences in order to articulate signifi cant aspects of internal and tacit knowledge. (Embodied Understandings)

How do I engage with materials in music making? – Exploring the nature of interaction between musicians, the materials and processes they use, and the contexts in which they work. (Material interactions)

ARTISTIC EXPERIMENTATION IN MUSICOCTOBER 2010 - DECEMBER 2013

For the period 2010-2013 the research focus for ORCiM will be: Artistic Experimentation in Music

Experimentation is inherent to artistic practice and to the processes of music making. Artistic experimentation encompasses the actions that an artist undertakes in developing and constantly renewing personal artistic identity and expertise. Exploring this fi eld has the potential to give greater insight into how art unfolds, and opens new possibilities for artistic practice and reception. ORCiM’s research for this period will be inspired by the following fundamental questions:

What is the character, function and potential of experimentation in musical practice? How does experimentation shape artistic identity and expertise, and how can it disclose aspects of em-bodied knowledge? How does artistic experimentation affect the development of musical practices?How does artistic experimentation in music relate to other fi elds of human activity?

To address these questions ORCiM is undertaking a comprehensive exploration of artistic experimentation, articulated in the following research strands:

Towards an understanding of experimentation in artistic practice Challenging existing discourses in order to create new conceptual contexts for experimentation within artistic practice.

The role of the body: tacit and creative dimensions of artistic experimentationExploring embodied dimensions of musical practice in order to articulate signifi cant aspects of tacit knowledge within the creative process.

Experimenting with materials in the processes of music-makingCreating and evaluating new musical situations and challenging the frontiers of current and established interactions in performance, composition, and improvisation.

Sound and Space: environments and interactions Exploring environments and previously untried interactions in order to generate innovative and experi-mental artistic practices.

Beyond experimentation: broadening contextsReconfi guring boundaries of artistic creativity, leading to transformation of aesthetic understanding, reception and evaluation.

Sourcebook on experimentation in musical practice integrating outcomes of the research projects.

Artistic Experimentation in Music 2010-2013

ORCiM Steering Committee:Peter Dejans (Director, Orpheus Institute)Darla Crispin (Steering Committee Offi cer)Paulo de Assis Kathleen Coessens Robert HöldrichKari KurkelaCatherine LawsHans Roels External Advisor:Dame Janet Ritterman

As well as including doctoral students within the six research strands, ORCiM will award international visiting fellowships to musicians and scholars.

The research focus on Artistic Experimentation will be carried out by ORCiM (Orpheus Institute, Ghent), and in association with the following institutions (as of October 2010):University of Music and Dramatic Arts, Graz (www.kug.ac.at/en/home.html)Sibelius Academy, Helsinki (www.siba.fi )Queensland Conservatorium (www.griffi th.edu.au/music/queensland-conservatorium)University of York (www.york.ac.uk)

Visit www.orpheusinstituut.be/EN/research-centre/orcim for more information on:ORCiM’s organisation & researchers - ORCiM’s research programme – ORCiM activities such as performance events, study-days, symposia and conferences – ORCiM’s Publication Series (available through Leuven University Press)

Orpheus Instituut, Ghent, October 2010 – Graphic Design: Quatre Mains – Editing: Joyce Desmet

[ORCiM] Orpheus Research Centre in MusicOrpheus InstituteKorte Meer 129000 Ghent, Belgium+32(0)9 330 40 81www.orpheusinstituut.be/EN/research-centre-orcimwww.orpheusinstituut.be info@orpheusinstituut.be