As we welcome in the new year, we also welcome in new changes to the Musings section of our website. The revitalised Musings platform of the Composers Society of Singapore represents a strategic integration and reorganisation of our existing initiatives into a single, coherent framework. Comprising the CSS Writers’ Club, Contemporary Voices, and the Journal of Contemporary Music in Singapore, the new Musings consolidates our commitment to critical, inclusive, and interdisciplinary engagement with contemporary music in and from Singapore. This reorganisation aligns and strengthens ongoing activities while introducing new editorial formats and modes of engagement. As such, Musings serves both as an archival platform aand a forward-looking space for creative dialogue, bringing former projects together within a more cohesive and mission-aligned initiative.
Vision Statement
To be a leading platform for the study and writing about contemporary music in and from Singapore, fostering inclusive and interdisciplinary dialogue on the cultural, aesthetic, and social significance of new music.
Mission Statement
MUSINGS is dedicated to advancing critical and scholarly engagement with contemporary music through rigorous, inclusive, and interdisciplinary inquiry.
- Support multiple forms of contribution, including a CSS Writers’ Club (formerly called Writers Team) for emerging writers; an interactive format titled Contemporary Voices; and an online Journal of Contemporary Music in Singapore for peer-reviewed scholarly articles by senior writers and researchers.
- Embrace all musical genres, styles, and cultural traditions equally, within a transcultural and non-hierarchical framework.
- Examine the power, impact, and meaning of new music through perspectives from musicology, neuroscience, psychology, cultural studies, and artistic research.
- Maintain high scholarly standards through methodological rigor, analytical clarity, and a peer-review process (particularly for the Journal).
- Include in-depth analytical studies of works by Singapore composers.
- Encourage cross-disciplinary research that connects music with other art forms and fields of study.
- Work toward the publication of a research-based book on contemporary music in Singapore.
Activities
- Reviews, interviews, and short essays on an ongoing basis to be published online. These will come mainly from the CSS Writers’ Club. This includes an editorial / vetting process.
- The CSS Writers’ Club will have its own team to jump-start and encourage the reviews, interviews, and short essays and to grow the membership.
- Composer of the Month will be replaced by Contemporary Voices, an interactive series of topic-based forums and podcasts involving multiple contributors and perspectives. This initiative will be driven by the CSS Writers’ Club.
- At least twice a year gatherings of the CSS Writers’ Club members.
- Twice a year online publication of scholarly articles in the Journal of Contemporary Music in Singapore. An editorial board will be set up.
Dr John Sharpley, Chief Editor
