The SMA is pleased to confirm dates for the Manchester Music Analysis Conference (McrMAC 2025), which will take place from Monday 14 to Wednesday 16 July 2025 at the Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama, University of Manchester and the Royal Northern College of Music.

We are delighted to announce the following confirmed keynote speakers: SMA Pascall Medal Prize winner, Professor Robert O. Gjerdingen (Northwestern University), and Professor Lauri Suurpää (Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki).

Please check this page for the most up-to-date version of the programme and other important information about the conference.

Related Events

• The conference will be preceded by a Student Study Day (registration required) and Formal Dialogues panel on Sibelius’s Sixth Symphony (open to all). The event is organised by the SMA’s Formal Theory Study Group and will be held at the Martin Harris Centre, University of Manchester, on Sunday 13 July 2025.

• The Popular Music Theory & Analysis Summer School 4 (IPM-IPM-SMA) will follow the conference on Thursday 17 to Saturday 19 July 2025 at the University of Liverpool.

Accommodation

A limited number of university rooms are available to book via the registration link above. Please note that hotels are particularly expensive in Manchester at the time of the conference due to another event taking place in the city. Links to some reasonably priced hotel rooms within walking distance of the conference venue can be found below but book as soon as possible to avoid surge pricing:

• Easy Hotel Manchester City Centre – Compact rooms in a converted cotton mill in Manchester’s trendy Northern Quarter (30min walk, 15-20min bus, 8min taxi)
• Travelodge Manchester Piccadilly – There are various other Travelodges in Manchester but this one is probably the most conveniently located in the heart of the city (30min walk, 16min bus, 10min taxi).
• Ibis Hotels Manchester – There are various Ibis hotels in central Manchester, but the Ibis Manchester Centre Princess Street is the nearest to the Martin Harris Centre (18min walk, 12min bus, 5min taxi).

Funding opportunities

A number of SMA bursaries are available to help cover the costs of travel and accommodation. For further details and to check eligibility, see https://www.sma.ac.uk/grants/travel/. [sma.ac.uk] 

Delegates are also welcome to apply to our Development Fund Scheme to cover the cost of attending. For further details, see https://www.sma.ac.uk/grants/development/. [sma.ac.uk] There is no deadline for this fund, but retrospective applications will not be considered.

Finding your way around

An interactive map of the University of Manchester campus can be found here.

Conference Committee

The conference is organised by the following committee members: 

• Anne Hyland (University of Manchester), Co-chair 
• Sarah Moynihan (University of Manchester), Co-chair 
• Christopher Tarrant (Newcastle University), SMA President 
• Yvonne Teo (Durham University), Conference Administrator 
• Oliver Chandler (University of Oxford/Royal College of Music)
• Annika Forkert (Royal Northern College of Music) 
• Thomas Schmidt (University of Manchester) 
• Peter H. Smith (University of Notre Dame) 
• Benedict Taylor (University of Edinburgh)

All enquiries should be sent to the organisers at McrMAC@sma.ac.uk.