Events

The Music Research Festival (MRF) is an annual, week-long series of free events in celebration of music research at the University of Toronto, organized and presented in partnership and collaboration with the Faculty of Music Research Office and the Music Library. The festival aims to showcase the innovative research and creative work of professors, staff, post-doctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students at the Faculty of Music. 

Undergraduate and Graduate students share their research through the Faculty of Music Library's Research Showcase poster sessions and events, while faculty, staff, and postdoctoral fellows participate in lectures, workshops, panel discussions and roundtables throughout the week. 

MRF'25 events included: 

• Monday, February 24th: Faculty Research Showcase. Faculty shared recent research-creation projects, and discussed the current research-creation landscape. Presenters included Prof. Robin Elliott (Musicology; Associate Dean, Graduate Education), Prof. Darren Hamilton (Music Education), and Prof. Farzaneh Hemmasi (Ethnomusicology).
• Tuesday, February 25th: Postdoctoral Research Showcase. This session spotlit the exciting postdoctoral projects taking place at the Faculty of Music, featuring presentations by Dr. Michelle Assay (Musicology), Dr. Tadgh Sauvey (Music Theory, Musicology), and Dr. Arlan Vriens (Historical Performance).
• Wednesday, February 26th: Undergraduate Poster Presentations. This event promoted the work of students excelling in research activities through poster presentations. Presented by Sabine O'Donnell, Jan Guise, and the Music Library team.
• Thursday, February 27th: Graduate Poster Presentations. This event promoted the work of students excelling in research activities through poster presentations. Presented by Sabine O'Donnell, Jan Guise, and the Music Library team.
• Friday, February 28th: Research-Creation Showcase, featuring Prof. Aiyun Huang(Percussion), Centre BMPC and TaPIR Lab. This exciting evening of research-creation in action featured a talk by Prof. Huang, poster presentations, and performances by artist-researchers. 

MRF'24 events included:

• Monday, April 1st: Faculty Research Highlights. Faculty of Music professors Daphne Tan (Music Theory), Ellen Lockhart (Musicology), and Nasim Niknafs (Music Education) discussed their research portfolios and experiences seeking out (and securing) funding to support their work.
• Monday, April 1st: Post-Doctoral Research Roundtable. Faculty of Music post-doctoral researchers Michelle Assay, Jane Forner, Emmanuela Wroth, and Daniel Jordan shared about their backgrounds, research activities, future plans, and the post-doctoral experience at the Faculty of Music.
• Tuesday, April 2nd: EDI Research in Action Panel. The student course designers of Foundations of Equity in Music Studies for a panel on the translation of EDI principles into core components of project design and delivery. Moderated by Ely Lyonblum and Reshma Dhrodia.
• Wednesday, April 3rd: Graduate Research Showcase. Faculty of Music Graduate students shared their innovative research, creative endeavours, and scholarly pursuits in an interactive poster session. Presented by Tim Neufeldt and the Faculty of Music Library team.
• Thursday, April 4th: Undergraduate Research Showcase. Faculty of Music Undergraduate students shared their innovative research and creative works in an interactive poster session. Presented by Tim Neufeldt and the Faculty of Music Library team.
• Friday, April 5th: Careers in Research Panel. Ely Lyonblum, Tim Neufeldt, Sebastian Bisciglia, and Chantal Lemire shared insights on the variety of different career paths within academic institutions that engage with research or involve research-related activities.
• Friday, April 5th: Living From Music in Salvador: Book Launch. The Faculty of Music and the Department of Latin American Studies came together to launch Professor Jeff Packman's (Ethnomusicology) recent book, Living from Music in Salvador: Professional Musicians and the Capital of Afro-Brazil, with music, discussion, and reception in celebration of this captivating new work.