While research within the framework of music and minorities has been conducted since the 1980s, a broader international recognition of this field as a distinct area of study has emerged rather recently. The founding of the MMRC in 2019 marked a significant milestone in advancing research on music and minorities and integrating it into international discourse. Situated within ethnomusicology, music and minority research builds on its conceptual and methodological foundations while placing particular emphasis on engaged, dialogical, and socially responsive approaches to research. An essential foundation of the field is the concept of “minorities”, defined as “communities, groups, or individuals who face an increased risk of discrimination due to ethnicity, race, religion, language, gender, sexual orientation, disability, political opinion, displacement, or social or economic deprivation.” (MMRC Website)

This roundtable will explore the commonalities and differences among projects connected through the MMRC, its current and former staff and their research. Key questions include: What unites our projects, ideas and visions? Are there shared theoretical and methodological grounds that can be further articulated?

The discussion further rethinks the conceptual framing to envision a future paradigm of music and minority research: How does the concept of “minority” relate to and encompass international perspectives? When does it function effectively, and when might alternative frameworks be required? How can researchers’ positionalities be meaningfully addressed in relation to marginalized musical practices? Finally, can we achieve the ambitious aims set for our projects despite the structural limitations of institutional frameworks and the demands of our academic careers?

By fostering dialogue around individual researchers’ approaches and the MMRC’s guiding principles, the roundtable aims to define shared research grounds, reflect critically on challenges, and envision future directions for research on music and minorities as a collaborative, internationally engaged field.

 

Speakers:

Ioannis Christidis (he/him) is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw). He currently serves as Co-Investigator at the Department of Folk Music Research and Ethnomusicology on the project “(Un)heard Neighbors? An Urban Ethnomusicology of Proximity.” His research interests include music and minorities, protest music, religious sound practices, Syrian music, SWANA EDM, and musical acts of citizenship. Christidis completed his PhD in Ethnomusicology in 2024 at mdw. His dissertation, “Music in the Experience of Forced Migration from Syria to the European Borderland: Two Case Studies,” examines the role of music in Syrian forced migrants’ journeys and resettlement, with particular attention to border regimes, refugee policies, and anti-migration discourse. He also holds degrees in Architecture and Music Science and Art and has a musical background as a pianist and oud player.

Isabel Frey is an ethnomusicologist, a Yiddish singer and a cultural and political activist. She currently works as a Senior Artist and postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Folk Music Research and Ethnomusicology and an affiliated researcher at the Music and Minorities Research Center at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. She is an internationally sought-after performer and teacher of Yiddish song, has released three albums of Yiddish music and is the co-curator of the KlezMORE Festival Vienna. She is also the founder of the Jewish-Arab peace initiative Standing Together Vienna, where she is active both musically and as an activist for a just peace in the Middle East.

Jasemin Khaleli has a background in ethnomusicology and critical studies, Jasemin Khaleli engages in critical knowledge production, decolonial fieldwork methods, and artistic research. Focusing on urban music cultures, she held a research fellowship at Universidade Nova de Lisboa for her master's thesis on queer club activisms (2019–2021), followed by a research position at the Music and Minorities Research Center in the applied research project 'Klingender Gemeindebau' ('Sounding Out Municipal Housing', 2021–2023). Since 2023, she has been working at the Phonogrammarchiv (OeAW) on the project 'ÆSR Lab – Applied/Experimental Sound Research Laboratory' and completed her master's degree at the Academy of Fine Arts in 2025, exploring violence, affects and bodily relations within archival practices. She is currently leading a City of Vienna-funded project tracing the Phonogrammarchiv's history in Liebiggasse during the Nazi era (2025–2026), and is involved in performative work at the Volkstheater and as a member of the 'Schmusechor'.

 

Chair:

Peter Lell is an ethnomusicologist, music researcher, and musician. He is currently a Research Fellow at the MMRC working in a project that develops the future positioning of the research center. He is also currently completing his dissertation within the structured doctoral programme „Music Matters“. His dissertation project examines how knowledge and skills connected to the Afghan rubab are transmitted in contemporary contexts of displacement and exile. He has published in various academic journals, edited volumes and journalistic media. His research interests lie at the intersection of music, migration, and displacement, with a focus on ethics, power, and knowledge production.