Si­bAn tut­ki­mus­päi­vät 2025: Esi­tel­mien tii­vis­tel­mät

Julkaistu 14.3.2025 | Päivitetty 20.3.2025

Maarika Autio (MuTri/SibA)

Approcreations: Ethical reflections in a setting where the presupposed ethnicities of the artist and their art medium do not meet  

In a globalizing world, our cultural influences have become more diverse than ever. Yet the code of good conduct on honoring distant sources of inspiration is still being written in the collective consciences of artists and art consumers alike. Who do we expect to see doing what? How do audiences feel, and event organizers react when the ethnicities of the artist and their medium do not match?  

Maarika Autio’s artistic doctoral research carrying the working title “Approcreations” probes the current climate of opinion regarding intercultural inspiration and the formation of artistic identity within the riptides of cultural appropriation disputes. It sheds light on how traditional musical instruments regarded as representatives of a particular culture may become part of the artistic expression of a non-native musician. What kinds of ethical dilemmas arise? How can an increased understanding of cultural appropriation inform how artists navigate these complex issues? May excessive fear of cultural missteps at times shackle artistic freedom?  

In SibA Research Days 2025 presentation, the West African diatonic balafon, with its sonic expression enhanced by pioneering technology, transports the listeners from the conventional into experimental dimensions. In recognition of the artistic research methodology and the balafon’s storytelling traditions, the openings for ethical reflection are embedded in the musical tapestry. Graphic art projected on the stage backdrop enriches the presentation thematics with visual imagery.  

From the time-tested perspective of an internationally touring non-African balafola, and having submitted myself as the autoethnographic focal lens to examine a sociocultural phenomenon, Maarika will aim to steer the discussion towards the ethical aspects of drawing inspiration from different cultural arts and instruments. The viewpoints of the artist will be considered, as well as those of the audiences and the event organizers selecting performers for their venues. 

Since 2023, Maarika Autio has been a PhD student at the MuTri Doctoral School of Sibelius Academy. Her preceding master of global music -program was provided by SibA in cooperation with the Royal Academy of Music in Denmark. Earlier, she became a bachelor of culture and arts at the LAB University of Applied Sciences. Maarika received a traditional balafola apprenticeship training in Dakar, Senegal, in the early 90s. In the field of dance, she completed the Finnish National Opera Ballet School education from beginner to professional level. Today, her professional dancing expertise is firmly anchored in coastal West Africa.  

Maarika began touring as a member/leader of various formations based in Senegal, Finland and Scandinavia in the late 90s. In 2013, she received the Finnish Concert Centre Association’s Recognition Award for a 10+ year career as a school concert musician. 

Hanna Backer Johnsen (MuTri/SibA)

Towards an ecological understanding of adolescents’ musical lives  

In an era of increasing immigration and socio-economic disparities, accessibility within institutional music education has become a pressing issue. Social innovations, characterized by structural flexibility and cross-sector collaboration, have emerged as a means of fostering sustainable systemic change. This study critically examines the paradoxical role of such innovations in promoting equity, using the case of Floora—a social innovation in Finland’s music school network—and qualitative research with its adolescent music students. 

Grounded in Bourdieu’s theory of reproduction, the analysis challenges the assumption that increasing diversity through access alone leads to meaningful transformation. It argues for music education professionals to adopt critical responsibility in addressing changing student demographics and societal shifts. This involves dual responsibilities at both the micro level (student-teacher interactions) and the macro level (institutional practices), emphasizing transformative approaches to equity and inclusion. 

The study also problematizes professional “salvation stories,” which portray marginalized groups—immigrants, low-income students, or vulnerable populations—as needing rescue through music education. While such narratives may secure funding and promote socially driven initiatives, they risk oversimplifying students’ lived experiences and perpetuating structural inequities. This, in turn, hinders the development of genuinely inclusive and ethical practices that address the interconnectedness of students’ social and musical ecosystems. 

To foster systemic transformation and more ethical learning environments, the study calls for critical self-reflexivity among educators, institutional leaders, and policymakers in dismantling structures shaped by class dynamics and socio-economic inequalities. Drawing on empirical data from Floora’s students, it also advocates for an ecological understanding of music education, one that moves beyond social class dynamics and considers the broader meanings of music-making as articulated by the students themselves. 

Hanna Backer Johnsen is a Doctoral Researcher in music education at the MuTri Doctoral School, Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki. Her doctoral dissertation examines social justice in music education through the Floora project in Finland, a social innovation aimed at including children and youth from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds in music schools. Her research emphasizes the importance of prioritizing the voices and experiences of young people, counterbalancing the traditional focus on teachers and pedagogy. By incorporating the perspectives of students and their parents/guardians, her work addresses a knowledge gap and contributes to understanding policy-level processes in Finland’s Basic Education in the Arts system and music education more broadly. Backer Johnsen is part of the European music school research network PICMe (Partners for Change in Music Education) and a founding member of the Floora project (2013–2023). 

Spiros Delegos (DocMus/SibA)

Stylistic Heterotopias: The Impact of Aegean and Ionian Island Folk Musical Traditions on Rebetiko Sea Songs   

In the Mediterranean Sea, diverse musical traditions have significantly influenced one another, resulting in a rich tapestry of musical idioms. Numerous mobile musical agents have contributed to the development of amalgamated musico-cultural phenomena. The present-day Greek islands were historically governed by Ottoman, Venetian, and Italian authorities, reflecting a mosaic of music cultures. In the twentieth century, the violin and the mandolin emerged as the most emblematic solo instruments in Aegean and Ionian Sea-related songs, respectively, representing typical island folk styles. Rebetiko is a historically significant urban popular musical genre that originated during the interwar period, closely associated with Greek communities, with the three-course bouzouki serving as its quintessential instrument and shaping the corresponding style. How and why did violin and mandolin-based island folk idioms transition to urban settings through bouzouki-backed recordings? Why did Rebetiko protagonists record in this style, even incorporating references, such as to sponge-fishing expeditions to North Africa? In this paper, I aim to explicate these cases through the Foucauldian concept of heterotopia as an analytical and interpretive framework, encompassing the elements of representation, contestation, and inversion. Accordingly, I interpret the outcomes of these developments as musico-stylistic heterotopias: elements of violin and mandolin-based island folk traditions are represented in the bouzouki style, while simultaneously the rebetiko performers contest and invert the initial, primary island style. 

Spiros Delegos is currently a salaried doctoral researcher at the Sibelius Academy Uniarts Helsinki. An ethnomusicologist (Master’s degree, University of Athens), he is also a performer (guitar, bouzouki, lavta, and mandolin) and conservatory music teacher, and has given an array of musical workshops on makam modality and harmonisation in rebetiko and relevant urban popular traditions. In a research capacity, through conference presentations and articles, he has published the article “A Modal Heterotopia: Rethinking Makam Modality and Chordal Harmony in Interwar Rebetiko” (2024) in the ICTMD journal Yearbook for Traditional Music, and he is the translator/editor into Greek of the edited volume “Greek Music in America” (2019, University Press of Mississippi), scheduled for publication in 2025. He is actively involved in several international research organizations, including ICTMD, IMS, Popular Music in Greece: International Research Collective, ICTMD Greece, Hellenic Musicological Society. His research interests primarily focus on popular music cultures beyond ethnocentrism and hegemonism. 

Katrin Enni (MuTri/SibA)

Interactive Sonic Sculpture / Experiments in Being Together and Being In-Between  

Interactive sonic sculpture is an artistic practice that combines sound and physical form into objects or installations designed to be activated through interaction. This interaction may be performed by an audience engaging with the work in a participatory setting or by performers using the sculptures as musical instruments.  

The evolution of interactive sonic sculpture in contemporary art mirrors advancements in sound art and technology. Examples of such works can be found already in Dadaist and Futurist art, kinetic art, as well as the Fluxus movement and Happenings in the mid-20th century. The rise of digital technologies have introduced new possibilities for creating responsive sound environments.  

Although participatory sound art and interactive installations have been part of artistic practices for some time, these fields are still relatively unexplored in terms of understanding audience experience in interaction and the agency of non-human elements, such as the materiality and technology embedded within these works. My research aims to investigate the processes that unfold during interaction and to uncover how sound and materiality work together to create meaning and connection in these contexts.  

The artistic components of my research include making interactive sonic sculptures and using them both in installation contexts and as musical instruments in live performances. In the research process, I use the method of practice-based artistic research, combined with qualitative research methods (such as stimulated recall and participant interviewing), to analyze the interaction process from the perspective of both the creator and the audience.  

Having a background in sculpture, installation, and sound art, my artistic practice has been revolving around installations and performances with sculptural and sonic objects. These experiences have fueled my interest in exploring the possibilities of artistic expressions of sonic sculptures, thinking about them as musical instruments.  

My research focuses the intersection of music, sculpture, and technology. I investigate corporeality, materiality, and sound through practice-based artistic research, aiming to understand music in multi-sensory, interdisciplinary ways. My works address the topics of disembodiment, emotional distancing, and ecological alienation. I am making experimental sonic sculptures to combine spatial and material thinking with sonic thinking, investigating the potential of sound as a catalyst for emotional connectedness. I am interested in how digital technologies, combined with physical materials and sound, can shift the focus back to the tactile, corporeal, and ecological aspects of existence.  

Katrin Enni is a PhD researcher at the University of the Arts Helsinki, Sibelius Academy, in the department of Music Technology. Her research focuses on the experience of music in hybrid practices, where music intersects with sculpture and installation. She investigates corporeality, materiality, and the process of interaction through practice-based artistic research, aiming to understand music as a hybrid and relational experience.

Prem Gurung (MuTri/SibA)

Ethics in Gender-Opposite Research: A Critical Reflection from a Male Researcher’s Perspective  

The complex ethical dimensions of being a male researcher and conducting gender-opposite research (Ahmadi, 2023), particularly within the context of a Global South and Global North collaboration, underscore the importance of addressing shifting power dynamics and socio-cultural differences that influence the researcher’s positionality. This presentation aims to explore how the norms and values of research ethics are negotiated in such a research project from a male researcher’s perspective, where emphasis is given to gender inclusion through music education in school settings by engaging with music teachers and girls in Nepal. The study is carried out as part of the amplifyHer research project, which seeks systems understanding of gender exclusion in Nepal and identifies context-specific drivers for change against social, cultural, and political mechanisms that prevent gender equality in the field of music education. 

This presentation draws upon two different qualitative methods of data generation: a researcher diary (own monologue) and a duo ethnographic dialogic researcher diary (interactive monologue with a female co-researcher). The data thus consist of continuous reflective accounts of the collaborative research process that contemplate issues such as positionality, bias, and ethics. Therefore, this presentation exemplifies how ongoing critical reflection on the research process can be essential for navigating and addressing power dynamics between participants and researchers. By situating the study as gender-opposite research, this presentation argues that the practice of ethical research requires such continuous reflection and an understanding of ethics as a socio-cultural aspect that is context-specific, dynamic, and deeply intertwined with power relations. 

Reference: Ahmadi, M. (2023) Navigating gender dynamics: a male researcher’s experiences on conducting feminist HCI research. Front. Hum. Dyn. 5:1234421. 
doi: 10.3389/fhumd.2023.1234421 

Prem Gurung has expertise on developing and implementing music education and music teacher education programs in community and school settings. He is a doctoral researcher at the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki. His doctoral research project, Pathways toward gender inclusive music education in Nepal, focuses on understanding the politics of girls’ music making in Nepali music education systems; co-constructing visions for gender-inclusive music making; and co-designing spaces for performing these visions with music teachers and schoolchildren. 

Megumi Harada (University of Tokyo)

The meaning of music education at school in Finland: Curriculum and music teacher

This master thesis aims to clarify the meaning of learning music at school in Finland focusing on the National Core Curriculum reform and the music teachers. 

In the Finnish education system, teachers have high autonomy, and they make their music classes while referring to the National Core Curriculum. Then, in Finnish school music education, how Finnish music teachers interpret (or participate in) the curriculum reform and make their music classes? How is the subject ‘music’ given meaning by Finnish music teachers and how has it been changing according to the NCC reform? 

In order to examine the research question, this research begins by analyzing the music curriculum reform from two points of view: the changes in music education and the curriculum reform as a whole. Secondly, I interview the Finnish music teachers (semi-structured) and examine how the subject ‘music’ is given meaning by Finnish music teachers and how it has been changed according to the NCC reform. 

In this presentation, I will mainly discuss how to analyze the interview data and examine the theme. 

Liisamaija Hautsalo (MuTri/SibA)

Suomalaisen oopperan tietokanta AINO ja sen ennakkoesittely  

Suomalaisen oopperan tietokanta AINO on aineisto, johon on koottu kaikki löydetyt Suomessa kantaesitetyt oopperat vuosilta 1852–2024. Aineisto koostuu tällä hetkellä 618 tietueesta, mikä tarkoittaa 618 oopperaa tai oopperan kaltaista teosta. Tietokanta ei ole vielä julkinen.  

Tässä esitelmässä valotan sitä, mitä tietoa AINO-tietokanta tarjoaa ja miten aineisto on kerätty. Esittelen myös tapaa, jolla aineistoa on rajattu. Tietokanta on rakennettu pääasiassa vuosina 2017–2023, jolloin työtä rahoitti Suomen Akatemia. Sen jälkeen työtä on tehty satunnaisesti apurahan turvin. Tietokanta on suomenkielinen. 

Filosofian tohtori Liisamaija Hautsalo on musiikkitieteilijä, joka työskentelee Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemiassa yliopistotutkijana erityisalanaan oopperatutkimus. Hän on musiikkitieteen dosentti Helsingin yliopistossa. Hautsalolla on ollut kaksi Suomen Akatemian rahoittamaa tutkimushanketta, joista jälkimmäinen, The Politics of Equality in Finnish Opera, oli akatemiatutkijahanke. Tällä hetkellä Hautsalo viimeistelee Suomalaisen oopperan AINO-tietokantaa ja kirjoittaa monografiaa suomalaisesta oopperasta akatemiatutkijahankkeen tuloksiin perustuen. 

Harri Homi (MuTri/SibA)

Ethics, Truth, and Power: Reflecting on the Habermas–Foucault Debate  from the Perspective of the Cultural Study of Music

In this presentation, I examine German critical theorist Jürgen Habermas’s critique of French historian Michel Foucault. In The Order of Things (1966), Foucault problematized the contemporary scientific conception of the human and the resulting definitions of what is considered good or not. This line of reasoning challenged much of the critical theory of the time, including Habermas’s. Habermas condemned Foucault’s research as antihumanist, since Foucault refused to evaluate whether certain human practices are good or bad. This debate opens a broader discussion on the ethics of science—specifically, the truth value of science. My aim is to portray this question as fundamentally methodological and especially relevant for critically analyzing contemporary society, including the cultural study of music. 

Harri Homi is a PhD researcher at the University of the Arts Helsinki, Sibelius Academy, specializing in the cultural study of music. His research employs Michel Foucault’s concept of the dispositive to analyze music listening on streaming platforms, uncovering the cultural dynamics enforced by music listening in the 2020s.  

Homi’s work reconciles music as a culturally situated way of knowing and raises question about its kind. Rather than evaluating how music listening should be, his research problematizes the measures that define qualities which music listening is understood by, shifting the focus on investigating relationship between discourse and practice – cultural power – and how this format shapes music listeners’ subjectivity. 

Irja Kajander-Vierkens (DocMus/SibA)

“We were there as well, my brother Kalle and I” – Relative as Object of Research 

The ethical questions surrounding biographical research are manyfold and most of them unsurprisingly have to do with people. In this presentation I examine the various ethical questions that arise from having a relative as an object of one’s research.  

My doctoral dissertation is a microhistorical research into the musical life and networks of Hannes Hällström (1869–1947). He was a medical doctor and an enthusiastic amateur musician, amateur historian and genealogist who left behind an extensive, well-organized collection of writings, letters and notes including several manuscripts about his and his extensive family’s musical life. Just in his personal musical memoirs he mentions over 300 connections by name. 

The basic ethical considerations of human rights, respect, responsibility and privacy apply in all biographical research. With historical research into the lives of deceased persons the most important thing to remember is that the object cannot object. The biographer holds a position of power in a one-sided relationship. Any researcher is likely to feel fondness and admiration towards their object, even “falling in love” with them. It is however important to approach historical people as they were, as whole human beings, fallible and contradictory, sometimes acting in incomprehensible ways. 

With the object of one’s research being a relative we will face a whole host of additional considerations. We might have preconceived notions and feelings and personal memories about them. Other family members might have shared their memories, family legends and knowledge of family relationships. Unlike with people who are not relatives, these memories and preconceived notions have likely been formed at least partly in childhood from vague comments and half-listened stories. Our own feelings towards the tellers of these stories influence us as well. To make sure we do not we must consider the accuracy of each memory individually. Where do they come from? Who has told it to them originally? When? Does someone in the family remember the same story differently? Are there any outside sources supporting this story? 

Digging the past will reveal surprises. Before embarking with research involving family it is a good idea to think whether something might be revealed that one doesn’t want to know. If the research reveals unsavory facts or family secrets, we must consider them not only as part of the research but also as facts, that might have an impact on the people nearest to us. The right to know is often in conflict with the right to not know.  

As a researcher my aim is to learn the aspects of bygone lives that are pertinent to my research and to respect the privacy of matters that are not. I strive to treat everyone as autonomous individuals, with respect, understanding and kindness, as I would treat any human beings. 

Irja Kajander-Vierkens (M.A.) is a first year Doctoral Researcher in music history at the DocMusDoctoral School, Sibelius Academy University of the Arts Helsinki. Her doctoral dissertation examines the musical life and networks of Hannes Hällström (1869–1947). She works as a flamenco teacher. 

Assi Karttunen (DocMus/SibA)

The Ethics of Interdisciplinary Realms of Sounding bodies in Artist Pedagogy  – Soivien kehojen taiteidenvälisyyden etiikasta taiteilijapedagogiikassa

Taiteenkentälle valmistuvilta odotetaan yhä enemmän oman taiteenalan sisäisten lainalaisuuksien kommunikointia ja sen eettisten periaatteiden artikulointia osana työyhteisöjä, taiteenpedagogiikkaa ja useampien taiteenalojen yhteisiä taideprojekteja.  

Suomen Akatemian Profi6-hankkeeseen sisältyvä tutkimukseni (tammikuusta 2025 joulukuuhun 2026), jonka nimi on Groans and muffled tones – hybrid, multidisciplinary realms of sounding bodies, tarkoituksena on ennakoida tätä koulutuksellista tarvetta ja antaa eväitä taiteiden väliselle yhteistyölle.  

Miten voimme työskennellä yhdessä juuttumatta siilomaisen taiteenalan yliopistokoulutuksen rakenteisiin? Profi6-hankkeen taiteilijapedagogiikan (Artist Pedagogy) osana on ajankohtaista pohtia sitä, miten substanssiltaan vahvan, aineryhmäkohtaisen taiteenalan koulutuksen saanut osaaja toimii turvallisesti myös monialaisissa työympäristöissä.  

Siilomainen, aineryhmäkohtainen koulutus luo substanssiltaan syvää ja ammattimaista osaamista. Aineryhmiä siis tarvitaan ja niiden erikoisosaamista tulee vaalia. Taideyliopiston pedagogiassa on kuitenkin hyvä jo ennalta tunnistaa yksinomaan itseensä ja omaan ilmiökenttäänsä uppoavan koulutuksen riskit, koska valmistuva taiteenalan ammattilainen työskentelee viime kädessä toisten ihmisten kanssa maailmassa, joka on alati muuttuva ja monialainen.  

Pohdin alustuksessani liminaaliteorian (liminal theory) pohjalta mahdollisuuksia avata taiteilijan osaamista itsereflektiivisen ja tutkimuksellisen pedagogisen otteen kautta. Kuvaan tulevan Fluorescence – syvämeren ääniä -taideprojektin kantavaa ideaa ja kartoitan sen edellyttämiä eettisiä toimintatapoja. 

Harpsichordist, researcher DMus Assi Karttunen has specialized in researching Artist Pedagogy, Ethics of Art, Early Music, Historically Informed Performance, Artistic Research and Artistic Thinking. She also performs as a soloist and chamber musician in interdisciplinary groups with experimental and contemporary repertory.  

Karttunen has recorded 4 CDs of solo works by Couperin, Rameau, Froberger, Lynch and Frescobaldi (Jubal, Alba, Divine Art Recordings Group, Pilfilnk Records). As a soloist she has performed in Italy, Belgium, UK, Ireland, Germany, Scotland, Japan, Russia, Germany, Estonia, Norway, Denmark and Sweden and played in several orchestras and ensembles. Karttunen played for 11 years in FiBo and worked as an artistic director during 2006– 2016 in the Elysian Fields-workshop. She performs in the Superpluck Trio, which premieres vast amounts of contemporary music.  

Karttunen works as a senior postdoc researcher at the Profi6 research project and as a supervisor and teacher at the DocMus, Doctoral school of Sibelius Academy and at the Early Music faculty. Karttunen has published her research in journals like a peer-reviewed quarterly journal Musiikki, Journal of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics JCLA, Trio Research Publication, and RuukkuStudies in Artistic Research. 

Jenni Kilpi (MuTri/SibA)

The possibilities of peacebuilding in and through music education – Utilising the findings of a scoping review  

This doctoral research looks into the transformative potential embedded within music, seeking to reconceptualize established theoretical paradigms within the field of music education, By exploring the many ways in which music and music education can function to build peace, the study aims to illuminate the capacity to contribute towards cultivating a more sustainable and secure future.  

Global policies highlight the importance of reinvesting in cultural resources and reimagining education to build peaceful, inclusive, and sustainable futures, like the UNESCO 2024 framework for Culture and Arts Education. Music has the potential to create unique forms of connection and shared experiences. It can contribute to shaping collective identities and play a role in encouraging participation. But while I am looking into the transformative potential of music in peacebuilding, it is equally important to recognize how music can be misused to bring exclusion, even violence. This dual potential requires careful consideration of ethics in music education practices.  

In this presentation, I explore the findings of the first phase of my doctoral research on the interconnectedness between music and peacebuilding. I aim to deepen the understanding of music as a social system from the perspective of the conducted scoping review. I will present preliminary directions of my upcoming research on how these findings can be applied to Finnish music education today and in the future, while reflecting also upon the limitations inherent in addressing complex societal issues.  

At the core of the research is the will to truly help the field of music education to understand better the mechanisms contributing to either fostering or impeding the realization of peacebuilding in music education. Simultaneously, the study aims to interpret the mentioned policy visions – the importance of investing in culture to build peaceful, inclusive, and sustainable futures – and understand what these look like in practice. 

Jenni Kilpi is a doctoral researcher at the University of the Arts, MuTri Doctoral School. Her background is in Music Education (University of the Arts, Sibelius Academy) and International Relations (University of Turku). Through her interdisciplinary work, she looks at the social systems of music, and how there can be new interpretations from its interconnectedness to peacebuilding.  

Taru-Anneli Koivisto (MuTri/SibA), Tuulikki Laes (MuTri/SibA)

Higher music education as a political site: Navigating procedural and virtue ethics in relation to research(er) integrity  

Increasing concerns around social responsibility, ecology, and sustainability in higher music education (HME) research reinforce ethical demands on researchers and educators, requiring adherence to institutional guidelines alongside ethical agency grounded in critical self-reflection and relationality. This presentation delves into the ethical dimensions of the ongoing Performing the Political: Public Pedagogy in Higher Music Education research project (Finnish Research Council, 2023–2027). We examine the interplay of procedural and virtue ethics in navigating research(er) integrity within the intersections of music performance, public pedagogy, and socially engaged practices (Laes & Koivisto, 2024). The presentation reflects procedural ethics guiding research, offering practical solutions and tools to ensure transparency, accountability, and ethical rigor. In parallel, we discuss how reflexive virtue ethics fosters research(er) integrity, emphasizing qualities such as advancing scientific knowledge and transformative change in society (e.g., Subramani, 2019). We expand on the “ethics of probability” and the “ethics of possibility” as conceptualized by Appadurai (2013) in HME as a research context. While the ethics of probability reflects risk-based, individualistic frameworks dominant in capitalist paradigms, the ethics of possibility fosters hope and collective agency through shared aspirations and grassroots collaboration (see also Schmidt & Laes, 2025). This distinction highlights the task of collective organizing in addressing uncertainties and situating institutional practices within a broader framework of ethical renewal. It foregrounds ethical deliberation as a balance between institutional frameworks and collective values, addressing the concept of ethical stress caused by conflicting moral beliefs and values. Ethical dilemmas, such as balancing researcher autonomy with public accountability, are explored as both opportunities for personal and institutional growth and sources of moral distress when unresolved. Finally, we propose strategies for mitigating ethical stress and bridging procedural frameworks with virtue-driven values to foster socially responsible and reflective practices in HME research. 

Keywords: ethical renewal, ethical stress, ethics of probability/possibility, higher music education, institutional change, integrity, virtue ethics 

References:  

• Appadurai, A. (2013). The future as cultural fact: Essays on the global condition. Rassegna Italiana di sociologia, 14(4), 649–650. 
• Laes, T. & Koivisto, T.-A. (2024). Performing the political: Public pedagogy in higher music education. Finnish Journal of Music Education, 27(1), 126–128. 
• Schmidt, P. & Laes, T. (2025). Policy entrepreneurship: Towards a new music education professionalism in a risk society. In T. Laes, G. Biesta & H. Westerlund (Eds.), The Transformative Politics of Music Education. Routledge. 
• Subramani, S. (2019). Practising reflexivity: Ethics, methodology and theory construction. Methodological Innovations, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/2059799119863276 

Taru-Anneli Koivisto is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of the Arts Helsinki, where she focuses on cross-cutting educational and social development in the fields of arts, music education, culture, sustainability, and well-being. Her expertise also includes research methodology, ethics, and music therapy. She is currently working on the project “Performing the political: Public Pedagogy in Higher Music Education” (2023–2027, Research Council of Finland). 

Tuulikki Laes holds a position as a University Researcher at the University of the Arts Helsinki, Finland. Her research areas include educational democracy, policy, inclusion, social sustainability, and systems thinking within higher music education. She is the co-chair of the International Society for Music Education (ISME) Commission on Policy: Culture, Education and Media. Currently, she is leading an Academy Research Fellowship project, “Performing the Political: Public Pedagogy in Higher Music Education” (The Research Council of Finland 2023–2027). 

Matleena Koivusaari (DocMus/SibA)

RINKI – essentialismi ja eskapismi (FI) 

Matleena Koivusaaren syksylle 2025 ajoittuva konsertti RINKI: PAGINAS Y PALABRAS (suom. sivut ja sanat) taiteelliseen tohtoriprojektiin ”Participation; one time I bathed for too long..” tutkii sirkulaarisia, eli usein kehämäisiä, pyöreitä tai toisteisia musiikillisia elementtejä ja ajattelutapoja leikitellen niiden yhdistymisellä mielikuviin feminiinisyydestä. Luentoresitaalissa kuullaan otteita konsertin ohjelmistosta, esim. Caroline Shawn teos Gustave Le Gray (2012), ja pohditaan essentialisointiin liittyviä eettisiä ongelmia sekä toisaalta mielikuvien luomia mahdollisuuksia. 

Pianisti ja psykologi Matleena Koivusaari keskittyy parhaillaan Suomen Kulttuurirahaston tukemana tohtoriprojektiinsa”Participation: One time I bathed for too long..” yhdistellen työssään musiikkia, filosofiaa ja fiktiota, myös omaa sävelkieltään luoden. Koivusaari opiskeli esittävää säveltaidetta Pariisin konservatoriossa ja Madridin Kuningatar Sofía-koulussa ja valmistui maisteriksi Sibelius-Akatemiasta 2015.    

Eläväisen persoonallisesta muusikkoudestaan tunnettu Koivusaari on esiintynyt kansainvälisesti solistina ja kamarimuusikkona esim. osana Lincoln Center Stage -pianokvintettiä. Koivusaari on soittanut useiden suomalaisten orkesterien solistina ja taiteillut osana lukuisia festivaaleja, esimerkiksi Helsingin Juhlaviikkojen Helsinki Fest, Kauniaisten musiikkijuhlat, Kuhmon kamarimusiikki, Meidän Festivaali, Katrina Chamber Music, Flow, PianoEspoo, Kultuurikomppania Eloa, Musica Nova, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Jyväskylä Sinfonia, Lappeenrannan kaupunginorkesteri, Lapin Kamariorkesteri ja Game Music Collective. Erityisen merkittäväksi Koivusaari on kokenut yhteistyön sellisti Liina-Mari Raivolan kanssa ja Henrik Sandås -kvintetin pianistina toimimisen. Koivusaari on tuttu myös Ylen tuottamasta Joonas Josefssonin ohjaamasta Sibelius-aiheisesta videoteoksesta. Koivusaaren levytysprojekteista mainittakoon 2018 julkaistu Brahms&Lindberg-levy. Sisarellisen Women of Birch Island -yhtyeen albumi Pauliina Koivusaaren kanssa piirtyy esiin toivon mukaan lähitulevaisuudessa. 

Aino Kukkonen (Research Institute/University of the Arts)

Some ethical questions when doing research on art and wartime  

In my current post doc research project, I am investigating the role of dance and professional dancers in entertainment business during the Continuation War. During the Winter War (1939-1940), there was no official entertainment, but during the Continuation War (1941-1944), the situation changed when first an entertainment department was established in the State Information Service. In the autumn of 1941, it officially became The Defence Forces Entertainment Office, which operated very actively under the command of the Finnish Army Headquarters until fall of 1944. 

The theme of ethics seems to compass my research on many levels. First of all, it is a serious personal question of morals and ethics, when you are living in the middle of wartime. What was the role and the place of an artist in the war? What was it like to work in a war zone? Artists were not equal: some could practise their profession, while others were in the front lines. I found that the professional male dancers from the Finnish Opera Ballet, unlike many opera singers and actors, were not released to work in the Opera or transferred to the Army’s Entertainment Forces. 

The questions concerning ethics came forth when I started to dig in the Finnish National Archive. The material had been labelled confidential and restricted during the war and after, but now it is open for research. I found, for example, detailed information about crimes and punishments concerning certain artists, that explained their war paths. There was also personal medical information. The information of surveillance of women performers and their morals raises also ethical questions. There was also information about political views and family background in the reports, because of the security risk artists might offer when allowed to travel to the war zone. How can I discuss these matters in the context of research? How can I be open about my own ethical choices as a historian? 

Aino Kukkonen (PhD) works as a Visiting Researcher at the Research Institute of the University of the Arts Helsinki. Her expertise is related to the history of Finnish dance and theatre, as well as to contemporary dance issues. She is interested in historiography, the work of artists in institutions and in the free field, and art criticism. Kukkonen completed her PhD in Theatre Research at the University of Helsinki in 2014 on the topic of postmodernism in Finnish dance art in the 1980s. Since then, she has been a researcher at Helsinki Term Bank for Arts and Sciences and has curated exhibitions at the Theatre Museum in Helsinki. She also gives lectures and works as a theatre and dance critic. Her most recent books are Sinikka Gripenberg – Life of Dance in Photos (in Finnish and English, 2023) and Operettiteatterin historia 1959–1995 (2024).  

Jenni Lappalainen (DocMus/SibA)

Spiritistisiä istuntoja ja sateenkaarihistoriaa: eettisiä näkökulmia Ilmari Hannikaisen päiväkirjoihin 

Esitelmä tarkastelee empaattisella tutkimusotteella Ilmari Hannikaisen kahta päiväkirjamerkintää ja pohtii niiden tulkintaan liittyviä eettisiä kysymyksiä. Luentaa merkinnöistä ohjaa tietoisuus elämäkerrallisesta kokonaisuudesta. Hannikaisen päiväkirjoja on arkistoitu vain kuusi kappaletta satunnaisilta vuosilta 1921–1942. Hannikaisen tiedetään polttaneen osan päiväkirjoistaan talvisodan alla 1939. 

Ilmari Hannikainen (1892–1955) oli aikansa kansainvälisimpiä suomalaisia pianisteja, säveltäjä ja Sibelius-Akatemian ensimmäinen pianonsoiton professori. Hänen ammatillisia roolejaan on toistaiseksi tutkittu vähän, useita sävellyksiä on yhä julkaisematta, sävellystuotannosta ei ole toimitettu systemaattista teosluetteloa eikä laajaa biografista tutkimusta ole tehty lainkaan. 

Pianisti Jenni Lappalainen valmistelee taiteellista tohtorintutkintoa Sibelius-Akatemian klassisen musiikin DocMus-tohtorikoulussa. Taidetta ja tutkimusta yhdistävä hanke tarkastelee Ilmari Hannikaisen konserttitoimintaa ja sävellyksiä biografisesta näkökulmasta. Hanke pohjaa yksityisten ja julkisten arkistojen julkaisemattomiin alkuperäisaineistoihin. Sen tuloksena syntyy konsertteja ja artikkelimuotoinen kirjallinen tutkielma. Hanketta tukee Suomen Kulttuurirahasto nelivuotisella apurahalla. 

Lilja Lehmuskallio (MuTri/SibA), Laura Valoma (MuTri/SibA)

Ethical Dimensions and Decolonial Approach in Researching an Intercultural Collaboration Project between the Indigenous Gabrielino-Tongva tribe and Finnish and U.S. Music Students (EN) 

In March 2025, a research project connected to Sibelius Academy’s 4-year-project “VOICE AND JUSTICE – Music as a Facilitator of Diversity” will take place in Los Angeles, California. Funded by the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation, the project promotes diversity in music education through international cooperation, and more broadly, cultural equity in society. The Department of Arts Management is responsible for the research of the project. Two researchers, Lilja Lehmuskallio and Laura Valoma (Arts Management, University of the Arts Helsinki) with deep interest towards equity, diversity, and decoloniality are conducting the research along with Dr. Violeta Simjanovska (Head of Department) and Dr. Toni-Matti Karjalainen (Professor of Arts Management, Head of MuTri).  

In this presentation we are sharing the first phase of the research, a collaborative project with the Gabrielino-Tongva Tribe of the Los Angeles Basin, Thornton College of Music, and the SibA Early Music department. The project is called “The Mission Music” and focuses on music played at mission stations in Latin America and California–especially in the languages of the indigenous peoples of the regions. The data is gathered through interviews and focus groups. The Gabrielino-Tongva have inhabited the Los Angeles Basin for 7000 years and the history of mission music is documented specifically in the Catholic Church archives from the San Gabriel (founded in 1771) and San Fernando (founded in 1797) mission stations. Members of the tribe are participatingin the project. 

In this presentation we approach the ethical questions of this research project. How to approach histories of colonization; how to practice radical intercultural sensitivity; how to deal with the possible power imbalances of the project participants? Approaches from critical heritage studies, decolonial analysis, and decolonial knowledge production are utilized. The research will take place in Los Angeles in the beginning of March 2025 and we are sharing initial analysis and thoughts from the research process. 

Lilja Lehmuskallio (MA in Arts Management, 2021, MA in Dance Performance, 2004) is a Doctoral Researcher in Arts Management and teacher of Intercultural Communication Skills at Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki. At the core of Lehmuskallio’s work and research are ethical and sustainable working conditions in the arts, intercultural communication, diversity, cultural policy, and feminist and antiracist practices. Lehmuskallio believes that through intersectional and decolonial examination in the arts and cultural fields we can create strong policies and diverse organizations which are credible and resilient actors in the fight against polarization and the rise of the far-right in today’s societies.  

Laura Valoma (MA in Arts Management, 2024) is an experienced production manager with a 20-year career with international festivals and a researcher of cultural policy. Valoma has presented her research on the topics of decolonization, cultural rights and equity within cultural policy and funding at various national and international conferences. Valoma believes in the transformative power of knowledge, research advocating change and amplifying an intersectional and decolonial knowledge base. 

Martin Malmgren (DocMus/SibA)

Moses Pergament on the periphery of Nordic music history (EN) 

What does a composer do when the doors to the musical establishment are shut, and remain shut for decades? The Finnish-born cosmopolitan Moses Pergament (b. 1893) became a naturalized Swedish citizen in 1919 – yet in Stockholm he was treated as an outsider by some, in part due to his place of birth and his Jewish background. This presentation offers insights into the life and music of a broadminded composer who appears to have chosen to take a path of his own rather than a path of convenience throughout his life. With the help of archival research and interviews, we are able to get a better sense of the composer, his life and struggles. 

The case of Moses Pergament’s brother Simon Parmet, and his marginal position in Finnish music life, will also be discussed. 

Music history is rife with examples of composers, works and performers that had to wait a long time until they got the recognition they deserved. Has the time finally arrived for a proper re-evaluation of Moses Pergament and the unique music he left behind? 

Pianist Martin Malmgren is a versatile performer who loves exploring both the knowns and the unknowns of the musical universe. He has performed widely across four continents and enjoys making music in all possible settings – as soloist, lied pianist, chamber musician, orchestra pianist, in contemporary music ensembles and occasionally in folk music groups. 

As a sought-after soloist, he has appeared with Sinfonia Lahti, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Belgrade Symphony, Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, Torun Philharmonic Orchestra, Oulu Sinfonia, Jyväskylä Sinfonia and others. He has given Finnish premieres of Elliott Carter’s “Dialogues II”, Doreen Carwithen’s piano concerto and Guillaume Connesson’s Concertino.  

His work in music archeology has led to the rediscovery of the Finnish-born composer Moses Pergament. The recently-released CD “Volume One: A Musical Miscellany” (Toccata Classics) includes the world premiere recording of Pergament’s piano concerto, and upcoming Pergament CD releases include songs with soprano Tuuli Lindeberg, as well as the complete works for violin and piano, with violinist Sebastian Silén. 

Malmgren is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at the Sibelius Academy, where he has previously received a Master of Music degree with Ilmo Ranta as his main piano teacher. Other important teachers have included Konstantin Bogino, Jerome Lowenthal, Henri Barda, Liisa Pohjola, Antti Hotti, Juhani Lagerspetz and Tuija Hakkila. 

Elena Mindru (MuTri/SibA)

Ethics of Interpretation: The Second Chorus in Vocal Jazz (EN) 

This recital lecture examines the second chorus in vocal jazz as a case study for the ethical dimensions of artistic interpretation. The second chorus, a practice where the vocalist restates the theme with variations, offers a space for balancing creative innovation with a responsibility to honor the original composition, its historical context, and the jazz tradition. 

Key ethical questions addressed include: 

• How can vocalists maintain respect for a composition while asserting individual artistic expression? 
• What role does acknowledging earlier performers’ contributions play in ethical jazz interpretation? 
• How do performers navigate their obligations to audiences in balancing tradition and innovation? 

Using examples from my artistic research, I will exemplify how the second chorus serves as a microcosm for these broader issues. Live musical examples will highlight its capacity to foster dialogue between tradition and creativity, revealing its role as a vital tool for artistic exploration in jazz. 

Through this exploration, I aim to exemplify that ethical considerations in jazz performance are not abstract but rather an essential part of the artistry itself, shaping how musicians honor, reinterpret, and share their craft. 

Elena Mindru is a doctoral student at the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, conducting artistic research in vocal jazz. She has presented research papers at conferences in Finland, Scotland, and France. A Montreux Jazz Voice Competition awardee, recognized by legendary producer and musician Quincy Jones, she has released six albums and performed in over 20 countries. Elena Mîndru writes most of her music, including for jazz quintets, big bands and symphony orchestras. She co-founded the International Jazz Voice Conference and is the executive director of Oulu Music Festival, bridging cultures and inspiring audiences worldwide. 

Heidi Henriikka Mäkelä (KaMu/SibA), Outi Valo (MuTri/SibA)

Arkistoäänitteiden käyttämisen etiikasta ja suomalaisesta kansanmusiikista: kuvitelluista kenttäretkistä yhteisölähtöisyyteen 

Tarkastelemme esitelmässämme lähtökohtia, joista käsin arkistoäänitteitä on tuotettu ja käytetty kansanmusiikin alalla Suomessa. Keskitymme erityisesti taiteilija-arkistoäänite-suhteen problematisointiin ja pohdimme, millä ehdoin nykymuusikolla on mahdollisuus tavoittaa menneisyyden ihmisten ääniä ja esityksiä arkistoäänitteiden kautta. Tarkastelemme, millaisia eettisiä näkökulmia näihin prosesseihin liittyy. Avaamme samalla myös Heikki Laitisen (1991) ”kuviteltujen kenttäretkien” menetelmällisen lähtökohdan vaikutuksia suomalaisen ammattimaisen kansanmusiikin kenttään ja sen arkistoäänitesuhteeseen. 

Tarjoamme esitelmässämme myös arkistoäänitteiden käytön problematiikkaan liittyviä tuoreita näkökulmia ja jatkokehittelymahdollisuuksia, jotka kumpuavat aineettoman kulttuuriperinnön ja kulttuurisen kestävyyden tutkimuksesta. Näitä ovat esimerkiksi yhteisölähtöisyyden aspektin syvällinen integrointi arkistoäänitteiden kanssa työskentelyyn. Tällaisia lähtökohtia on Suomessa käytetty esimerkiksi museologian ja museotoiminnan alalla (esim. Rastas 2024; Tohmo & Seck 2024), mutta kansanperinnettä koskevien arkistoäänitteiden ja -aineistojen kohdalla tutkimusta ja yhteisölähtöisiä kokeiluja on ollut Suomessa hyvin vähän (ks. Mikkola 2021; Uuttu 2024). Esitelmämme pohjautuu aluillaan olevaan tutkimukseemme, jossa käsittelemme arkistoäänitteen, muusikon ja yhteisölähtöisyyden yhteenlimittymiä ja rajapintoja sekä teoreettisista että käytännöllisistä lähtökohdista. 

Kirjallisuus 

• Laitinen, Heikki. 1991. Oma perinne vieraana kulttuurina. 1800-luvun suomalainen kansanmusiikki tutkimuksen kohteena. Teoksessa Moisala, P. (toim.), Kansanmusiikin tutkimus. Metodologian opas, 59–85. Helsinki: VAPK-kustannus. 
• Mikkola, Kati. 2021. Vähemmistöjen roolit muuttuvassa arkistopolitiikassa. Perinnekokoelmien etnisiä ja kielellisiä rajanvetoja Suomessa ja Virossa. Teoksessa Hupaniittu, O. & Peltonen, U. (toim.), Arkistot ja kulttuuriperintö. Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura. 
• Rastas, Anna. 2024. Uudet diasporayhteisöt ja monipaikkainen kulttuuriperintötyö: Esimerkkinä afrikkalaisten diaspora Suomessa. Teoksessa Lähdesmäki, T. ym. (toim.), Kenen kulttuuriperintö?: Tunteet, tilat & teot, 263–289. Tampere: Vastapaino. 
• Tohmo, Kristina & Aty Seck. 2024. Kulttuuriperintöä kuratoimassa. Suomen senegalilainen yhteisö ja Helinä Rautavaaran Museo. Teoksessa Lähdesmäki, T. ym. (toim.), Kenen kulttuuriperintö?: Tunteet, tilat & teot, 263–289. Tampere: Vastapaino. 
• Uuttu, Emil Santtu. 2024. Huomioita nimestä: Ihana tytär Erika. että hän kirjoitti itsensä näkyviin ja sitten vapaaksi. Helsinki: Tutkijaliitto. 

Heidi Henriikka Mäkelä (FT, dos., MuM) on folkloristi ja musiikintutkija, joka toimii kansanmusiikin lehtorina Taideyliopistossa ja tutkijana Helsingin yliopistossa. Mäkelän osaamisalaan kuuluvat kalevalamittaisen runolaulun ja Kalevalan, aineettoman kulttuuriperinnön, maiseman, medievalismin, uushenkisyyden ja kansanmusiikin tutkimus. Mäkelä tutkii erityisesti kansanperinteeseen liittyviä ideologisia merkityksiä nykypäivässä. 

Outi Valo (FT) toimii vierailevana post doc -tutkijana Taideyliopistossa ja vastaavana arkistonhoitajana Kansanmusiikki-instituutissa. Valon tutkimusintresseihin kuuluvat kansanmusiikin keruun ja arkistoinnin historia, aineettoman kulttuuriperinnön tutkimus ja arkistojen ja yhteisöjen vuorovaikutus. 

Jussi-Pekka Piirainen (MuTri/SibA)

Can career self-management help musicians to move towards more ethical career?  

My research aims to study and develop self-regulation-based career management training for musicians. Many musicians have a multi-role work life where income, duties, and career paths are divided into several areas. Musicians must actively maintain core musical skills, look for job opportunities, and plan future projects. Many work roles and tasks that need time and effort overlap in time, which requires strong career self-management skills. Goal setting, time management, and adaptability are important self-regulation skills to build a healthy portfolio work life. While self-regulation research shows that deliberate use of these skills enhances learning and performance, no link exists between self-regulation research and career management in music. 

The research question is how adapting self-regulation skills to career management can help musicians navigate multi-role work life more fluently. 

It can be argued that with proper career self-management musicians can devote more time and effort to creative work and performance on stage, boosting motivation and work-life satisfaction, and reducing burnout and dropout rates from music careers. By building a solid career management skill rooted in self-regulation a musician is able to move towards more value driven career orientation where ethics and inner values mostly dictate the musician’s artistic endeavors instead of extrinsic motivators like money or status. 

Jussi-Pekka Piirainen is a musician, composer and doctoral researcher. His area of research is to study how musicians navigate complex work-life and develop a career self-management tools to help musicians’ in this situation. His multi-role freelance career in music industry as guitarist, composer, artistic director and teacher has lead him to discover how musicians could maintain and develop their careers into more healthy and sustainable direction. He has graduated from University of the Arts Helsinki with a masters degree in folk music. 

Petteri Pitko (HY)

Navigating Conflicting Values – Teacher-Researcher in the Modern University World  

The prevailing economic discourse permeates the field of higher education, much like it does in broader society. Education is often regarded as a mere production machine for the economy, and universities are expected to efficiently prepare a workforce for the market. Within the domain of adult education, the principles of personal development, growth, and liberation have been eclipsed by techno-economic imperatives. However, the personal aspirations and meanings that adult learners ascribe to their studies frequently stand in stark contrast to the formal objectives of educational institutions. Research on adult learning has highlighted the wider benefits experienced by learners, which concern the whole realm of adult life, not just the acquisition of new skills or the improvement of their labor market position. 

I will present my research on the continuing education of classical music professionals in the adult education program in Baroque music at Novia University of Applied Sciences, where I am employed as a lecturer. I will briefly introduce the topic of my case study and then contextualize my research within the wider field of adult education. The presentation will discuss the multiple meanings and values of adult learning, highlighting the incongruence between the prevailing technocratic discourse and the meanings adult learners ascribe to their learning. 

In my presentation, I will also discuss the relevance of my research to my own work as an artist-teacher. The conceptualization of my own teaching work has clarified the value base of my work. This in turn has strengthened my critical stance towards the dominant economic-technocratic discourse. The theoretical grounding gained through my research has provided me with a compass to navigate the murky waters of conflicting values and goals. 

Petteri Pitko is a harpsichordist and organist who performs regularly as a soloist and with various ensembles in his native Finland and abroad. He is a senior lecturer in early music at Novia University of Applied Sciences in Jakobstad, Finland, and a doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki. 

Pitko’s current artistic work focuses on interdisciplinary projects and imagining future possibilities for classical music. His research interests include adult education and lifelong learning in classical music, collaborative teaching and learning, and creative practices, including various forms of musical improvisation.  

Petteri Pitko has performed as a soloist with renowned orchestras such as the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Ensemble Resonanz and the Zürcher Kammerorchester. He has performed at numerous European music festivals, in China, Korea and the USA, and has worked as an orchestral musician and continuo player with various ensembles, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. He was Artistic Director of the Finnish Baroque Orchestra 2018–2022. 

Päivi Rissanen (DocMus/SibA)

Suomalaisten orkestereiden toimintakulttuuriin liittyvien tutkimustulosten julkituomisen eettiset kysymykset 

Esitelmäni aiheena on suomalaisia orkestereita koskevan väitöstutkimukseni tulosten julkaisemisen mahdolliset vaikutukset sekä orkesteriorganisaatioille että niiden toimijoille. Minkälaisia riskejä voi sisältyä orkestereiden kehittämiskohteiden esilletuomiseen nykyisessä yhteiskunnallisessa tilanteessa, jossa useiden taideorganisaatioiden toimintaedellytyksiä ei tueta riittävästi? 

Väitöstutkimukseni kohde on suomalaisten orkestereiden toimintakulttuuri. Tutkimuksessani fokusoin erityisesti orkesterimuusikoiden keskinäiseen johtajuuteen, muusikoiden taiteelliseen toimijuuteen ja heidän kokemuksiinsa työyhteisön psykologisesta turvallisuudesta. Toimintakulttuurin ja erityisesti johtamisen vaikuttavuus, sen haasteet ja kehittämistarpeet on tiedostettu jo pitkään tutkimuksen ansioista, mutta taidealoilla näitä on tutkittu toistaiseksi vähän ja kapea-alaisesti. Esimerkiksi orkestereita koskeva johtajuustutkimus on käytännössä rajoittunut kapellimestareihin. 

Kansainvälisen orkesteritutkimuksen mukaan orkesterimuusikot kokevat työssään paljon psykososiaalista stressiä. Tämä on yhteydessä muusikon taiteellisen integriteetin puutteeseen, mikä on sidottu orkesterin toimintakulttuuriin, sen hierarkkiseen rakenteeseen ja johtamiskäytäntöihin: orkesterissa jokaisella on oma positionsa, ja hierarkiassa on sopeuduttava ylempänä olevien tahtoon. Kuitenkin jokaisen luovan organisaation kuten orkesterin menestymisen perusedellytyksenä on henkilöstön työhyvinvointi ja motivaatio. Luovat ammattilaiset motivoituvat, kun he saavat toteuttaa mielenkiintoisia tehtäviä ja kokea arvostusta kannustavassa ilmapiirissä. Vaikka orkesterityöhön onkin sisäänkirjoitettu niukasti vapausasteita ja muusikot lähtökohtaisesti haluavat työskennellä orkesterin ehdoilla, tulisi työympäristön tukea taiteellista toimijuutta.  

Vaikka tuoretta tutkimusta orkestereiden toimintakulttuurista tarvitaan, yhteiskunnallinen ilmapiiri herättää kysymyksiä tulosten julkaisemisen mahdollisista vaikutuksista. Alustavien tutkimustulosten pohjalta voi todeta, että orkestereiden toimintakulttuurissa on merkittäviä tekijöitä, joihin kehittämiseksi tarvitaan nykyistä enemmän resursseja. Riittääkö yhteiskunnassa tahtoa tukea taideorganisaatioita ja taidetyöntekijöitä, jos orkesterit eivät pysty kehittämään käytäntöjään nykyisillä reunaehdoilla? Toivon yleisökeskustelua tutkimustiedon julkituomisesta niin, että se tukee orkestereiden toimintaa ja kehittämistyötä. 

Päivi Rissanen (VTM, MuM) on sosiaalipsykologi, työnohjaaja ja väitöstutkija, jolla on yli 25 vuoden kokemus orkesterimuusikon työstä niin Suomessa kuin ulkomailla. Tällä hetkellä hän toimii päätoimisena suomalaisten taideorganisaatioiden työhyvinvoinnin kehittäjänä, työnohjaajana ja työyhteisösovittelijana. Lisäksi hän valmentaa Sibelius-Akatemiasta valmistuvia tulevia ammattimuusikoita työelämätaidoissa.  
 
Rissasen työn alla oleva väitöskirja suomalaisten orkestereiden toimintakulttuurista on jatkoa hänen sosiaalipsykologian pro gradulleen (Rissanen, 2019), jossa hän tutki rivimuusikkona työskentelevien ammattiviulistien identiteettejä ja orkesterimuusikon taiteilijuutta. Väitöstutkimuksessaan Rissanen hyödyntää paitsi laadullisia ja määrällisiä tutkimusmenetelmiä myös pitkän muusikonuransa tuottamaa hiljaista tietoa sekä käynnissä olevaa kehittämistyötään useiden suomalaisten orkestereiden parissa. 

Florian Roderburg (MuTri/SibA)

Music Subculture Socialization of Teenagers in Germany: A Comprehensive Examination  

In Germany, the landscape of how teenagers engage with music subcultures is undergoing a transformative shift. This study seeks to unravel the intricate dynamics of this transformation, specifically focusing on the dwindling influence of traditional youth centers and the concurrent rise of high schools as potential spaces for socialization. In the age of digital media dominance, the discovery and consumption of music have undergone a profound evolution, raising questions about the interpersonal exchanges within music subcultures. The fundamental research question guiding this study is as follows: To what extent do municipalities and church organizations have an impact on the development and socialization of teenagers within music subcultures in Germany, and to what extent can high schools effectively fill the void left by the decline of youth centers in terms of providing a space for individual development and music subculture socialization? To address this overarching question, the study will delve into the historical role of youth centers as vital “third spaces” (Oldenburg 1989) that have been fostering a sense of community and facilitating individual development among teenagers. It will explore the potential of high schools to serve as alternative spaces for music subculture socialization. Furthermore, in light of the shift from physical to digital media in music consumption, the research will investigate how this transformation impacts interpersonal exchanges within music subcultures, emphasizing the diminishing reliance on face-to-face interactions for music discovery.  

Florian Roderburg is a doctoral student in the Research Study Program at the MuTri Doctoral School. He holds an M.A. degree from the Cologne University of Music and an M.Ed. degree from the University of Wuppertal. Florian completed his BA degree at the University of Wuppertal and the Australian National University (exchange year). Since 2018, Florian has been working as a high school teacher in Germany, teaching music and English. 

Marjo Smolander (MuTri/SibA)

The Six Rs of Indigenous Research as a base for ethical guidelines for transnational musical collaborations?  

Musicians love to play with each other, to collaborate with other musicians from different countries and cultures. What kind of ethical guidelines would be useful in such situations, i.e., when musicians come from different backgrounds and societies, with different musical experiences and different goals? What are the ethical responsibilities of the initiator of collaboration? What kinds of hierarchies, such as colonial ones, affect collaborations? 

The six Rs from Indigenous studies could also be good guidelines for artistic transnational collaborations. Those six Rs are: respect, relationship, representation, relevance, responsibility, and reciprocity. 

• Respect: Respect for others’ feelings, ideas, experiences, rights, worldviews, beliefs and well-being. Treating others with respect and kindness. 
• Relationship: The initiator of collaboration must be honest and clearly identify the purpose and motivation behind the collaboration. And take into account the world views of the participants. 
• Representation: It is good to reflect on the prevailing power relations and how they affect collaboration. And in doing so, let everyone speak for themselves and their experience in their own words. 
• Relevance: Collaboration must be meaningful and useful to participants and their communities, considering their worldviews and ways of knowing. 
• Responsibility: Responsibility is about people and knowledge. All the people involved are responsible for their stories, people, history, present and future generations. The initiator of collaboration is responsible for the reciprocal relationship with participants, their communities, and the community’s worldview. 
• Reciprocity: Reciprocity is an ongoing process. Reciprocity allows all participants to be involved in the collaboration. All are given equal responsibility to negotiate the relationship. Reciprocity is also about giving back, what the collaboration gives, and how it benefits the community being studied. 

Marjo Smolander is a Finnish folk musician, kantele player, singer-songwriter, music pedagogy and an expert on cultural well-being. She holds two Master of Music degrees, in Folk Music from Sibelius Academy and Global Music from the Royal Academy of Music, Denmark. She graduated with a Master of Culture and Arts from Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. Since 2006, Smolander has worked as a musician in Finland, Senegal and Mali in different transnational collaborations. She is a founding member of the Finnish-Senegalese Sunuy Xale collective that promotes children’s culture in the Wolof language, a member of the Malian-Finnish all-female group SINIMUSO and one-half of the Senegalese-Finnish duo Eve Crazy & Mar Yo. 

Maija Turunen (DocMus/SibA)

Restaurointi historiallisten lauluäänitteiden tutkimusmenetelmänä – Restoration as a research method for historical vocal recordings

The restoration of historical recordings is a complex process, where the aim may simply be to preserve the original recording in its original form and to eliminate wear and tear over time. Another aspect of restoration involves enhancing the original recording by addressing limitations inherent in historical recording methods. This process seeks to bypass the constraints of the recording device, such as the gramophone, and reveal the nuances of the captured voice. The aim is to bring old recordings closer to the sound quality of today’s recordings and thus serve the listener who is used to the sound quality of the digital age. Various methods based on artificial intelligence offer endless possibilities for processing sound. However, the task is particularly challenging for historical vocal recordings. It is almost impossible to know what the result should be, i.e. what the singer’s voice sounded like. However, the restorations produced by generative methods can open ears to new aspects and bring historical singers closer to the contemporary listener. This also opens interesting perspectives for research. 

Maija Turunen has a master’s degree in vocal performance and music technology. She specialises in recording classical music and has worked extensively with singers in a studio environment. Turunen has performed as a singer in several opera productions and has performed a variety of lied repertoire with a pianist. The PhD project concerning historical vocal recordings and AI based restoration methods is done in collaboration with the Acoustics Laboratory at Aalto University and with Dr. Inja Stanović, a research fellow at the University of Surrey. The research has been funded by Kone Foundation, Finnish Cultural Foundation, Finnish Concordia Fund and Sibelius Academy Foundation. 

Antti-Ville Villén (MuTri/SibA)

Käännösvirheitä, välinpitämättömyyttä ja välineellistämistä: kulttuurinen musiikintutkimus eettisenä epäkohtana 

Käsittelen kulttuurisen musiikintutkimuksen etiikkaa sekä oppihistorialliselta että tiedepoliittiselta kannalta. Kriittisen diskurssianalyysin vinkein kysyn, millaisia sosiaalisia epäkohtia kulttuurinen musiikintutkimus ilmentää. Otteeni on tieteentutkimuksellinen eli pyrin edustamani tieteenalan kriittiseen itsearviointiin ja siten sen toimintamahdollisuuksien edistämiseen – kuten muun muassa yliopistolakikin edellyttää. Rajaan tarkasteluni ensisijaisesti Suomeen ja hyödynnän aineistonani tutkintovaatimuksia, koulutusohjelmien dokumentaatiota sekä aihetta koskevaa tieteellistä kirjallisuutta. 

Oppihistorialliselta kannalta kiinnitän huomiota etnomusikologian, musiikkitieteen ja kulttuurintutkimuksen välisiin jännitteisiin pohtimalla erityisesti eroa muotojen ”kulttuurinen musiikintutkimus” ja ”musiikin kulttuurintutkimus” välillä. Termien ero ei ole vain nimellinen, vaan liittyy eritoten metodologisiin ja tutkimuseettisiin painotuksiin ja valintoihin. Ne rinnastuvat edelleen muotoihin ”kulttuurinen musiikkitiede” ja ”kulttuurinen musiikkianalyysi”. Lisäksi sikäli kun kulttuurinen musiikintutkimus on kiertoilmaus etnomusikologialle, esiin nousee joukko kysymyksiä sekä ”kulttuurin” että ”etnon” moniselitteisyydestä. 

Tiedepoliittinen tarkasteluni puolestaan kohdistuu perustutkimuksen asemaan ja arvostukseen yliopistollisen tulosvastuullisuuden ja aluepoliittisen välineellistämisen ristipaineissa. Kulttuurinen musiikintutkimus on joutunut osaksi laajempia alueellisia strategioita, joissa tieteenalan arvo määrittyy sen paikallisten elinvoimavaikutusten ja muiden taloudellisten hyötyjen perusteella. Harvaan asutussa maassa yliopistoprofilointia ei voi erottaa aluepolitiikasta, mutta samalla tieteenalanimikkeistä uhkaa tulla mainoslauseita koulutusohjelmien sisällöistä tai oppihistoriasta piittaamatta. 

Esitykseni päämääränä on herättää keskustelua siitä, miten kulttuurisen musiikintutkimuksen terminologiaa, hallintokäytäntöjä ja tieteenalan paikkaa yhteiskunnassa voisi – tai kenties pitäisi – uudistaa. Tavoitteena on purkaa rakenteellisia epäkohtia sekä vahvistaa tieteenalan ja laajemminkin humanistis-yhteiskuntatieteellisen tutkimuksen eettistä ja poliittista antia. 

Translation errors, indifference and instrumentalization: cultural music research as an ethical flaw (EN) 

I deal with the ethics of cultural music research from the perspectives of both educational history and science policy. Using tips from critical discourse analysis, I ask what kind of social injustices cultural music research represents. My approach is based on scientific research, i.e., I strive for critical self-assessment of the discipline I represent and thus promote its operating possibilities – as required by the Universities Act, for example. I primarily limit my examination to Finland and utilize degree requirements, degree program documentation and scientific literature on the subject as my material. 

From a doctrinal historical point of view, I draw attention to the tensions between ethnomusicology, musicology and cultural studies, considering the distinction between the forms ”cultural music studies” and ”cultural studies of music”. The difference between the terms is not only nominal but especially related to methodological and research ethical emphases and choices. They are still equated with the forms ”cultural musicology” and ”cultural music analysis”. Moreover, insofar as cultural musicology is a euphemism for ethnomusicology, a number of questions arise about the ambiguity of both “culture” and “ethno.” 

My examination of science policy, on the other hand, focuses on the status and appreciation of basic research in the cross-pressures of university accountability and instrumentalization of regional policy. Cultural music research has become part of broader regional strategies in which the value of a discipline is determined by its impact on local vitality and other economic benefits. In a sparsely populated country, university profiling cannot be separated from regional policy, but at the same time, discipline titles threaten to become advertising slogans, regardless of the contents of degree programs or the history of learning. 

The aim of my presentation is to provoke discussion on how the terminology, administrative practices and place of cultural music research in society could – or perhaps should – be reformed. The aim is to dismantle structural shortcomings and to strengthen the ethical and political contribution of the discipline and, more broadly, research in the humanities and social sciences. 

Antti-Ville Villén työskentelee kulttuurisen musiikintutkimuksen professorina Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemiassa. Hän on populaarimusiikin tutkimuksen dosentti Helsingin yliopistossa ja vuosina 2016–2019 hän toimi Suomen etnomusikologisen seuran puheenjohtajana. Hän on vastuullinen johtaja Koneen Säätiön rahoittamassa hankkeessa ”Musiikkiperinnön moninaisuus Suomessa” (2023–2025) sekä NordForskin rahoittamassa hankkeessa ”Olfactory Cultural Studies” (2023–2025). 

Sanna Vuolteenaho (DocMus/SibA)

Yhdessä soiden – osallistavien konserttien eettinen tarkastelu

Tässä luentokonsertissa tarkastelen muusikoiden laajenevaa roolia yhdessä yleisön kanssa luodussa taiteessa sekä pohdin osallistavien konserttien etiikkaa. Luentokonsertin aluksi luomme vuorovaikutteisen, dynaamisen ja orgaanisen ääni-improvisaatioteoksen hetkessä, johon yleisö voi halutessaan osallistua. Osallistuminen voi tapahtua myös pelkästään kuuntelemalla. Toimin tilanteen fasilitaattorina samalla itse improvisoiden. Luento-osuudessa esittelen taiteellisen tohtorintutkintoni (Yhdessä soiden – Yleisön osallistumisen ja osallistamisen mahdollisuudet klassisen musiikin konsertissa) kahden ensimmäisen konsertin synnyttämiä eettisiä pohdintoja sekä niitä valintoja, joita olen tehnyt toteuttaakseni eettisesti kestävää taiteellista toimintaa.

Tutkimukseni lähtökohtana on kokeilla ja kehittää erilaisia toiminnallisia tapoja, jotka mahdollistavat yleisön osallistumisen musiikin tekemiseen ja äänen antamisen sellaisille kuulijoille, jotka ovat tähän mennessä ehkä tahtomattaan olleet ”vain kuulijoita”. Keskeinen työskentelymenetelmä tutkintokonserteissani on improvisaatio yhdessä yleisön kanssa. Konsertit ovat kohdennettu tavallisille aikuisille konserttikävijöille. Tutkimukseni aineisto koostuu kolmesta tutkintokonsertista, niiden tallenteista, yleisöpalautteista, valitun reflektioryhmän keskusteluista sekä omista kokemuksistani. Ensimmäinen konsertti järjestettiin lokakuussa 2023 ja toinen joulukuussa 2024.

Tarkastelen yhteisötaiteen ja osallistavan taiteen tekijöiden käymää eettistä keskustelua sekä vuorovaikutuksen etiikan että sosiaalisen oikeudenmukaisuuden näkökulmista. Esimerkiksi yleisön on pohdittava omaa asemaansa uudella tavalla, kun kuulijan rooli muuttuukin konserttitilanteessa esiintyjäksi. Avoin vuoropuhelu ja keskinäinen ymmärrys ovat hyvän taiteellisen käytännön perusta. Vapaus ilmaista itseään ja tulla kuulluksi ovat keskeisiä osallistavassa taiteessa. Taiteilijan itsearviointi sekä vuoropuhelu kaikkien toimijayhteisössä mukana olevien kanssa ovat olennaisia eettisen arvioinnin kannalta. Ennakkotarkastelu tukee yhteistyötä, ja jälkikäteen suoritettu arviointi syventää ymmärrystä ja kehittää toimintaa.

Tutkimukseni keskiössä oleva taide kumpuaa omasta henkilökohtaisesta taiteellisesta praktiikastani, johon kutsun muita mukaan ja jossa muodostamme hetkellisen yhteisön. Osallistamisen/ osallistumisen mahdollistamisen viitekehys tuo esiin toimijoiden keskeisiä taitoja, kuten aktiivisen kuuntelun, läsnäolon, selkeän viestinnän, reagoivuuden, avoimuuden, turvallisemman tilan tukemisen sekä rohkeuden, joita tilanne vaatii kaikilta osallistujilta. Esityksessäni pohdin muusikon ja yleisön fasilitoijan roolejani sekä yleisöltä saamieni konserttipalautteiden että oman kokemukseni valossa. Jo tässä vaiheessa tutkimustani olen havainnut, että yleisön moninaisten tarpeiden huomioiminen, osallistumismahdollisuuksien luominen ja eettisesti kestävän taiteellisen toiminnan toteuttaminen edellyttävät taiteilijatutkijalta rohkeutta asettua haavoittuvuuden ja epävarmuudenkin tilaan.

Sanna Vuolteenaho on improvisoiva laulaja ja Metropolia ammattikorkeakoulun musiikkikasvatuksen lehtori vuodesta 2010.  Vuolteenaho aloitti taiteelliset tohtoriopinnot Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemian DocMus -tohtorikoulussa syksyllä 2022. Hän haluaa taiteellisessa tutkimuksessaan kehittää konserttikonventiota niin, että yleisökin saisi osallistua yhteisen taiteen tekemiseen. 

Vuolteenaholle oma taiteentekeminen ja pedagoginen ajattelu kietoutuvat toisiinsa saumattomasti niin, että pedagoginen opetusprosessi on kuin hetkessä syntynyt taideteos ja taiteilijana toimiessa pedagoginen valppaus, herkkyys ja ajattelu ovat aina läsnä. Hän on esiintynyt laulajana pitkään ja laulanut aktiivisesti erityisesti vanhaa musiikkia kahdenkymmenenviiden vuoden ajan. Kaikenlainen musiikillinen improvisaatio on nykyisin lähellä hänen sydäntään. Laulaminen ja improvisaatio ovat hänelle myös yhteyden luomista omaan itseen, mielen ja kehon rauhoittumista kuulemaan ja oivaltamaan uutta. 

Sanna Vuolteenaho on aktiivinen uuden etsijä, vähän höpsö, ikuinen opiskelija ja elämän hyvään luottava. “Lupa leikkiä!” on Sannan motto.  www.sannavuolteenaho.com 

Kaisa Johanna Vähi (MuTri/SibA)

Ethical dilemmas concerning researcher bias: Conducting qualitative research in familiar settings  

It is not unusual for research interests to be sparked by researchers’ personal experiences. Indeed, being an insider is often considered essential for gaining a deeper understanding of a topic and its context. However, being closely affiliated with a certain field brings risks, such as bias and an inability to see beyond one’s own perspective. As someone who is not only an insider but also one who has been largely shaped by experiences within the music education system I am researching, navigating my positionality is a balancing act. Is there a middle ground between being well-informed and simply being biased? 

In my presentation, I explore the ethical challenges of conducting research when claiming to be neutral is not possible. How can I engage in reflexivity but avoid turning my research into “mesearch”? How can I leverage my insider knowledge without compromising the integrity of my findings? By addressing these questions, I aim to highlight the ethical complexities of qualitative research in familiar settings, propose strategies for ethical reflexivity, and consider how personal experiences can contribute to rather than detract from scholarly work. 

Kaisa Johanna Vähi is an Estonian violinist, teacher, and doctoral researcher at the Sibelius Academy. Her current research project investigates how the vocal/instrumental tuition in Estonia’s numerous public music schools has adapted to the country’s transition from communism to democracy, and the sustainability of such system in context of the transforming needs of the society. Having been involved with different music schools for almost her entire life both as a student and as a teacher, she is advocating for learner-centred pedagogies to increase the accessibility of an engaging vocal/instrumental education in Estonia. She is also a founding member of the non-governmental organisation Lesson to Lesson, which aims at promoting practical knowledge on smart learning as well as teacher and student well-being in various educational settings. Kaisa’s research is funded by the Estonian Education and Youth Board, and the Kone Foundation. 

Haiyun Yu (Arts Management/SibA)

From Theory to Methodology: A Decolonial Thinking of Language Policy and Planning in People’s Republic of China 

Language and culture are two intertwined concepts in the Chinese context. Language policy and planning (LPP) in People’s Republic of China since 1949 is at centre of my thesis research about the Chinese cultural policy framework. I will present a decolonial cultural perspective in the theoretical framework and research methodology of this thesis research. 

Since language was considered as one of the most effective instruments in helping China entre modernity during the colonial early modern history from 1840 to 1949, the decoloniality should also start from here by applying decolonial approaches to the LPP in China from 1949 on. This includes a reflection of the historical impact of the language reform that took place during the early modern China before 1949 and seeking a decolonial lens through the current Chinese LPP. Also, an alternative definition of “modernity” is needed to provide a contemporary Asian perspective to understand the current social context where language and modern culture grow in China. 

The thesis is a qualitative single case study with critical discourse analysis. Academic research materials in Chinses are all within a closed ecosystem – database CNKI monopolisesacademic materials in China, making Chinese academic materials inaccessible to researchers outside the country. Such Sinocentrism reflected from the language and discourse echoes with the decolonial theme of my thesis – to shift from “China vs. the outside world” and to change the Eurocentric perspective to understand the complexity of cultural phenomena in China. 

Research ethics are also reflected in making aware the position of the researchers (from research materials and myself). Translations between Chinese and English might neglect the nuance of terminologies in different research languages. There can be misreading based on my position and ideology as a Chinese person living in Europe, and using reflexive analysis as part of my literature review will reflect my ideological struggle as a native Chinese-speaking person living outside China. 

Haiyun Yu is a translator, writer and producer from Suzhou, China. With an educational background in linguistics, she places her research at the intersection of language, cultural policy and decolonial studies.  She received the Finland Scholarship in 2022 and is currently finishing her master’s study of Arts Management, Society and Creative Entrepreneurship at Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.  

Keynote-puheenvuorot

Esa Kirkkopelto (Tampereen yliopisto)

”Taidetta taiteen vuoksi”: Taidemuotojen sisäisestä etiikasta

Palaan puheenvuorossani kirjoituskokoelmaan Counterpoints in Art and Research, joka ilmestyi tänä vuonna Taideyliopiston ja Helsingin Yliopiston yhteistyönä, tarkoituksenani kommentoida joitakin sen artikkeleita eettiseltä näkökannalta. Oma kirjoitukseni samassa kokoelmassa päätyi nimittäin toteamukseen, joka koski taiteellisen tutkimuksen ja taiteenteon eettistä suhdetta: ”Sikäli kuin taiteellinen tutkimus on riippuvaista taiteen mahdollisuudesta, sen tehtävänä on avata taiteen todellisia vaikutuksia: kuinka taide rakentaa ja ylläpitää välttämätöntä ja vapaata suhdetta ihmiskokemuksen ja sen tuolle puolen jäävän sfäärin välillä. Tämä on taiteellisen tutkimuksen eettinen tehtävä.” Mistä kyseinen suhde koostuu? Miksi sitä tarvitaan ja miten taiteenteko kytkeytyy siihen elimellisesti? Pohdintojeni myötä haluan irrottaa kysymyksen taiteen vapaudesta ”ilmaisun vapaudesta”, josta viimeaikaisessa poliittisessa keskustelussa on tullut joka käteen sopiva kassara. Kuten haluan perustella, kysymyksessä ei ole itseisarvo. Kysyttävä olisi pikemmin missä määrin, miten ja keitä ilmaisu kulloinkin vapauttaa, eli millaiset kriteerit vapautumiselle asetamme. Mitä vapautuminen taiteiden itsensä piirissä merkitsee, ja mikä rooli taiteella on lopulta yleisessä vapautumisen prosessissa?

Heidi Partti (Music Education/SibA)

Research ethics as a question: Navigating ethical complexity in music research (EN) 

Research ethics is an integral part of all scholarly work, deeply intertwined with the reliability and credibility of research. In the artistic fields, ethical considerations extend beyond standard academic integrity to encompass creative autonomy, artistic expression, and researchers’ responsibilities toward communities, collaborators, and audiences. The freedom of research and artistic practice carries particular ethical responsibilities across all phases of the research process—from conceptualization and methodological choices to dissemination and societal engagement. Ethical competence in these fields requires not only adherence to shared principles of integrity but also the cultivation of ethical sensitivity and practical wisdom in navigating the complex ethical terrain of music research. In this keynote, I adopt a virtue ethics perspective, shifting the focus from rule-following to ethical character—the development of moral reflexivity, empathy, and responsibility toward others. Rather than offering fixed answers, I approach research ethics as an invitation to critical inquiry, asking: How can research communities foster ethical decision-making that is transparent and responsive to both scholarly and artistic integrity? By exploring the potential of ethics by guided dialogue (Mustajoki & Mustajoki, 2017), I suggest a way forward in fostering ethical sensitivity, grounded in shared responsibility.