The New Lexicon I.
Philosophy of Music Improvisation [research group]
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RESIDENCY PROGRAMME FOR IMPROVISERS AND IMPROVISATION THEORISTS
[November 2026 – June 2027]
The New Lexicon is an international research residency devoted to the critical investigation, articulation, and advancement of philosophy of music improvisation as a field of inquiry. It convenes improvisers and theorists who approach improvisation not merely as performance, but as a mode of thought through which knowledge, relation, agency, time, risk, and possibility may be generated, negotiated, and transformed.
Across four online seminars and a culminating public residency, participants will articulate the philosophical grounds of their practices, develop projects through dialogue, and contribute to a plural vocabulary for thinking improvisation 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 | November 9, 10, 2026
Two online seminars introduce participants’ practices, projects, and research questions, with attention to their conceptual premises, methods and artistic stakes.
Stage II | Critical Inquiry and Development | February 17, 18, 2027
Two online seminars examine the grounds, methods, and functions of philosophy of music improvisation while establishing trajectories for artistic and research development.
Stage III | Public Presentation and Exchange | June 14-25, 2027
Participants present research, lectures, 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 music improvisation as a field of inquiry. It convenes improvisers and improvisation theorists who understand improvisation not simply as spontaneous performance, but as a mode of thought and relation through which musical knowledge, agency, attention, freedom, responsibility, risk, temporality, and possibility may be generated, tested, contested, and transformed.
Across four online seminars and a culminating public residency, participants will articulate the philosophical grounds of their practices, develop performances and research projects through sustained dialogue, and contribute to a plural vocabulary for thinking improvisation anew. The programme considers improvisational decisions beyond questions of fluency, style, responsiveness, or effectiveness, attending to the concepts, assumptions, histories, forms of knowledge, and structures of value they enact.
The residency addresses practitioners and theorists whose work raises questions that technical discussion alone cannot resolve. These may concern the identity of musical events; the relation between freedom and constraint; the status of intention, habit, preparation, and surprise; the distribution of agency among performers, listeners, instruments, technologies, environments, and institutions; the role of embodiment and memory; or the aesthetic, ethical, social, and political conditions of improvisation. Participants need not follow a particular philosophical tradition, genre, or method. 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 improvisation workshop nor a seminar applying an established philosophical system to performances. It is a practice-based research environment in which improvisation and philosophy enter into reciprocal relation. Philosophy clarifies concepts, tests claims, distinguishes problems, and situates practices historically. Improvisation, 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 MUSIC IMPROVISATION
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