For the first time in the history of ICTMD, three Study Groups of the International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance (ICTMD) will join in a single Symposium. The Study Groups on Performing Arts of Southeast Asia (PASEA), Applied Ethnomusicology (AE) and Indigenous Music & Dance (IMD) will all meet at Chiang Mai University in Thailand from 2-8 July 2026.

The Program Committee received close to 250 submissions for panels, roundtables, individual presentations, audiovisual presentations, workshops and performances. To our delight, there were many overlapping themes, like intangible cultural heritage, working with communities, agency and identity, technology and AI, ethics and integrity, and music interventions in times of trouble. In addition, there will be many opportunities to learn from Thai colleagues among more than 170 scheduled presentations divided over 65 sessions, as well as keynotes by Professors Vilawan Svetsreni, Deborah Wong, and Ricardo Tremillos.

The Program Committee and Local Arrangements Committee have finalised the preliminary program as attached.

We invite all presenters and others who are able to join to register as soon as possible through the conference website https://www.ictmd2026thailand.com/registration. This promises to be a very interesting and lively gathering. We can’t wait to welcome you in Chiang Mai!

On behalf of the PC and the LAC,

Huib Schippers, Made Mantle Hood, and Yuh-Fen Tseng, Chairs ICTMD Study Group on Applied Ethnomusicology, ICTMD Study Group on Performing Arts of Southeast Asia, and Study Group on Indigenous Music & Dance