This Thursday, June 18, the International Symposium Indigenous Perspectives and Crossing Disciplinary Boundaries: Music, Education, and Cultural Astronomy will be held at Alberto Hurtado University. This event serves as a prelude to the 49th World Congress of the International Council for Music and Dance Traditions (ICTMD), scheduled for January 2027 at the same institution.

Two researchers from CMUS will participate. Christian Spencer will be on the panel “Music, Community, and Social Impact” between 3:30 and 5:00 p.m. The director of the Millennium Nucleus explains: “I will address the role of the Millennium Nucleus in studying the social impact of music, from the perspective of community engagement, publications, and collaborative work.” Meanwhile, Ignacio Soto, who is involved in organizing the aforementioned Congress, will join the panel “Sound, Music, Cultural Astronomy, and Territory: Presentations and Round Table Discussion” between 5:30 and 7:00 p.m. The principal investigator at CMUS notes regarding his presentation: “This work analyzes Leftraru’s perceptions of his own music and how it relates to his political activism. Through the analysis of some of Leftraru’s interviews and documents that address aesthetic and ideological perceptions about his music, we organized two categories into which his ideas can be grouped: one that focuses on the revitalization of the language and another that incorporates aspects related to traditional Mapuche music into his creative practices.”

This symposium, which will be held in a hybrid format, will bring together Indigenous Mapuche and Mi’kmaq musicians, along with researchers from Chile, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and New Zealand. It is organized by the 49th Congress, the Music Institute of Alberto Hurtado University, and the Master’s Program in Latin American Musicology.

Revisa el programa aquí. Es posible inscribirse al Zoom pero también se puede seguir su transmisión en vivo en Youtube.

International Symposium: Indigenous Perspectives and the Crossing of Disciplinary Boundaries: Music, Education, and Cultural Astronomy
Thursday, June 18, 2026, from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (Chile)
Room 1A / Campus B (Alberto Hurtado University, Av. Los Leones 1200, Providencia)