The Publications Committee of the Royal Musical Association invites proposals for contributions to two publication projects to mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of the RMA in 2024.

RMA: Past–Present–Future

1. RMA members are invited to nominate one article from JRMA or RMARC, or one chapter / section from an RMA Monograph, which has been particularly influential to them, and to produce a 3,000–5,000-word written reflection on how it has been influential to their thinking and career.  
2. Selections can be made from across the history of the three publications, including JRMA’s predecessors PMA (1874–1943) and PRMA (1944–1984).
3. Initial expressions of interest should comprise a 250-word abstract identifying the chosen article / chapter and describing the planned reflection. These must be submitted by 1 June 2022 via email to rebecca.herissone@manchester.ac.uk.
4. Selected authors will be notified by August 2022 and will be asked to submit their full reflection by 1 February 2023.
5. Authors may reflect on any aspect of their nominated article / chapter, but the steering committee will seek contributions that will allow the completed collection to include:
   • Key moments and periods in the history of the RMA
   • Articles / chapters from across a range of different eras
   • Articles / chapters by influential individuals in the history of the RMA 
   • Submissions that reflect the changing nature of the discipline and the RMA’s publications
   • Submissions that reflect the wider international context of the RMA and its sister organisations across the world
6. The committee will also seek to ensure that the completed collection reflects the full diversity of the RMA’s membership, its disciplinary reach and diversity, in line with the RMA Council’s stated commitment to Equality and Diversity.
7. Finished submissions will be published online in phases during 2024, alongside a reprint of the nominated source article / chapter. The full collection of contributions will be published together as a special volume, planned for publication by the time of the RMA annual conference in September 2024.
8. It is planned that audio conversations, linked to the submitted reflections, will be recorded with the contributor in dialogue with another RMA member, or a contributor from the broader disciplinary and interdisciplinary community, with the aim of providing an element of looking forwards to the future. Dialogues will be recorded following submission of the written element and are initially scheduled to take place between April and August 2023.

RMA Time Capsule

1. RMA members are invited to contribute 30-minute recorded audio dialogues in which they reflect with their dialogue partner on their past and present membership of the RMA, and what it has meant to them, and also to look ahead to the future of the RMA and what it may bring.
2. Proposed contributors can self-nominate as a dialogue pair, but members may also make their initial submission as individuals requesting to be placed within a pair. The aim is to produce pairs with contrasting perspectives.
3. Initial expressions of interest should comprise a 250-word abstract describing the planned reflection. These must be submitted by 1 June 2022 via email to rebecca.herissone@manchester.ac.uk.
4. Dialogue pairs will be drawn primarily from within the current RMA membership, but will also reach out to those in its sister organisations around the world, and in conjunct disciplines. Contributors may reflect on any aspect of their membership, but the steering committee will seek contributions that will allow the completed collection to include dialogues that reflect the contrasting views of:
   • Members from different generations and/or across the years of the RMA
   • Members with experience of the changing nature of musicology as a discipline
   • Key members of the RMA over recent generations
   • Members from contrasting subdisciplines within the RMA
   • RMA members and members of equivalent societies from other parts of the world
   • RMA members and researchers working in a conjunct disciplines, such as sound studies, media studies or other disciplines within the creative arts
5. The committee will also seek to ensure that the completed collection reflects the full diversity of the RMA’s membership, its disciplinary reach and diversity, in line with the RMA Council’s stated commitment to Equality and Diversity.
6. Selected contributors will be notified by August 2022 and will be asked to submit their full reflection by 1 February 2023.
7. Finished submissions will be published online as audio dialogues in phases during 2024, alongside an edited transcription of the dialogue. The full collection of contributions will be available by the date of the RMA annual conference in September 2024.
8. The aim is that, following the anniversary celebrations, the ‘time capsule’ will be archived to be reopened at a designated later date (e.g. in 25 years).