Over four days in Iceland’s iconic performance and cultural centre Harpa, over 200 delegates representing 30 countries came together to present and discuss research from across the field of performance science. ISPS 2017 was co-chaired by CPS Director Aaron Williamon and Pétur Jónasson, Head of Classical Guitar Studies at the Icelandic Academy of the Arts.

Keynote papers were given by:

Hilmar Bragi Janusson
University of Iceland
Asymmetry and symmetry of arts and science

Reinhard Kopiez
Hanover University of Music, Drama, and Media
The audio-visual music performer: Intermodal interactions in evaluation processes

Alison McGregor
Imperial College London
Enhancing sports performance: A biomechanical approach

Steven Schlozman
Harvard University
If medicine is a performance, then who is the audience? How modern medicine can be cured by studying performance

The Graduate Paper Award was presented to:

Sara Ascenso
Royal College of Music
Mind the mind: A profile of mental health in the performing arts

The conference featured a performance by the Icelandic Dance Company of No Tomorrow, preceded by a live conversation between its creators, performance artist Ragnar Kjartansson and choreographer Margrét Bjarnadóttir, and CPS Director Roger Kneebone.

Conference delegates presented 86 spoken papers across 30 thematic sessions. In addition, the conference hosted seven interactive workshops and three symposia including two featuring the CPS projects TELMI and Musical Impact.

Delegates also presented 75 posters. The Graduate Poster Award, as voted for by the conference delegates, was presented to CPS doctoral candidate and Research Associate George Waddell for the poster Time to decide: Developing a simulated evaluation platform.

The next International Symposium on Performance Science will be held in 2019 at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

For further information, including a downloadable version of the conference abstracts, see the ISPS website.