Deadline 30 June 2026
The deadline for applications for the 9 scholarships offered by the “Vittore Branca” International Center for Italian Civilization Studies 2027 is approaching; the application deadline is June 30, 2026. The call for applications, set within the multidisciplinary context of the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore, covers one of the following fields: art history, history of Venice, literature, musicology, the music of Vivaldi, ethnomusicology, theater, rare books, comparative civilizations and spirituality, and digital humanities, and is open to national and international scholars under the age of 40.
In addition to these opportunities, the Giorgio Cini Foundation is also establishing a scholarship in memory of Benno Geiger, with a deadline of June 30, 2026, and open to doctoral students and postdocs who are no older than 40 years of age. This is a three-month residential fellowship, to be carried out between October 2026 and October 2027, dedicated to research projects related to literature and translation in Italian and the German-speaking world.
In addition, the Foundation is announcing the thirteenth edition of the Benno Geiger Memorial Prize for Poetry Translation, to be awarded to an Italian translation of poetic works from ancient, medieval, and modern Western languages published in the last two years. Eligible for the Prize are works by foreign authors published for the first time in book form between June 1, 2024, and May 31, 2026, and currently available on the market in print or e-book format. The deadline for submitting materials is June 30, 2026.
Deadline 30 May 2026
The conference will be held from 1 to 3 December 2026 and is organized jointly by the Centre for Comparative Studies of Civilisations and Spiritualities (Fondazione Giorgio Cini), The Centre for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents – HHP (University of Amsterdam), the Center for the Study of World Religions (Harvard Divinity School), and the Centre for Environmental Humanities – NICHE (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice).
This conference will begin by examining how religious traditions have historically been connected to the care of both the body and the soul. We will discuss religious rituals, practices, dietary norms, and activities that promote not only graceful aging but also spiritual purification. Secondly, the conference will consider how aging societies influence religious beliefs and practices. Thirdly, we will address how religions accompany individuals through the process of dying. Finally, we will examine emerging religious and quasi-religious movements that challenge the very concept of death, proposing transhumanist approaches to life extension.
Abstracts and Texts
Abstracts up to 300 words, accompanied by a short CV, should be submitted in English by the 30th of May to [email protected]. A notification of acceptance will be forwarded by the 15th of June.
Timetable
The call for papers is open from 3 April 2026.
Abstracts (300 words maximum) and CVs to be received by 30 May 2026.
Notifications of acceptance will be given by 15 June 2026.
The conference will be held from 1 to 3 December 2026.
Course Calander and Deadline
25 — 27 March 2026
Masterclass dedicated to basso continuo
Teacher: Antonio Frigé
Deadline for presentation of requests: 25 February 2026
14 — 18 April 2026
Masterclass dedicated to singing
Teacher: Gemma Bertagnolli
Deadline for presentation of requests:: 15 March 2026
19 — 23 May 2026
Masterclass dedicated to singing
Teacher: Gemma Bertagnolli
Deadline for presentation of requests: 19 April 2026
30 June — 4 July 2026
Masterclass dedicated to singing
Teacher: Gemma Bertagnolli
Deadline for presentation of requests: 31 May 2026
24 — 28 November 2026
Masterclass dedicated to singing
Teacher: Gemma Bertagnolli
Deadline for presentation of requests: 25 October 2026
The Italian Antonio Vivaldi Institute announces five advanced courses in 2026 devoted to the performance practice of the works of Antonio Vivaldi.
The programme is open to young singers and instrumentalists up to the age of 39 and aims to provide an intensive and specialised course of study focused on the interpretation, style and historical awareness of Vivaldi’s repertoire. The courses will take place at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, on the Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, within an internationally recognised centre for advanced musical research and training.
Teaching will be led by Gemma Bertagnolli (voice) and Antonio Frigé (basso continuo). In collaboration with the Fondazione Ugo e Olga Levi, each course will include scholarly contributions by musicologists from the research group La drammaturgia musicale a Venezia (1678–1792), fostering a dialogue between performance practice and current musicological research.
Each course consists of three or five days of intensive work, combining individual tuition with collective sessions. Participation is limited and candidates will be selected on the basis of the submitted application materials.
Application Procedure
Applications must be submitted by the deadline specified for each individual course and should include the documentation required in the official call. Selection will be based on the candidate’s curriculum vitae and artistic materials.
Successful applicants will be notified by email following the completion of the selection process.
Deadline 15 June 2026
An event organised by the Intercultural Institute of Comparative Music Studies, Fondazione Giorgio Cini and supported by Griffith University, Brisbane, the University of Exeter, UK and the University of Colorado Boulder.
The conference will bring together scholars from interdisciplinary perspectives: musicologists, ethnomusicologists, popular music scholars, sociologists, experts in music and well-being, specialists in neuroscience applied to music, anthropologists, musicians, and cultural activists. Extensive research in music psychology, historiography, and aesthetics demonstrates how musicians and music-makers can experience a more active later life, enhanced psychophysical well-being, and greater creative freedom and innovation. This meeting aims to investigate how demographic change shapes musical production from concerts to media, how demographic change from “nostalgia” effects to the persistence of musical practices over time, how it leads to the development of new sound production, communication technologies and creates new professions. Understanding different adaptation strategies and cultural policies through intercultural comparisons – for example, in China, Japan, the Amazon rainforest, sub-Saharan Africa, and not only in the Western world – can help us understand how societies engage with global population aging and what role sound and music play (and can play) in these processes.
Abstracts and Texts
An abstract of 150-200 words with 3-5 keywords and brief biographical note (max. 100 words) should be submitted in English by the 15th June 2026 to [email protected]. A notification of acceptance will be forwarded by end of July.
Timetable
Abstracts (200 words maximum) and biographical note to be received by 15 June 2026.
Notifications of acceptance will be given by end of July 2026.
The conference will be held 10-12 November 2026.
Deadline 22 March 2026
Dimensions of Current Compositional Practice (2) explores how, over the past 125 years, contemporary composition has developed a sustained and intense theoretical reflection. Through a dialogue between composers and musicologists, the project focuses on four key concepts — notation, time, nature and voice — and on their different interpretations throughout the twentieth century and into the new millennium.
The seminar is led by two internationally renowned composers, Georg Friedrich Haas and Liza Lim, alongside two prominent musicologists, Ingrid Pustijanac and Nikolaus Urbanek. It will conclude with a concert at the ‘Lo Squero’ Auditorium featuring works by Haas and Lim.
The seminar will be held in English.
The call is aimed at composers with theoretical interests and musicologists researching 20th- and 21st-century music, with particular attention to candidates in the early stages of their careers. The committee will also consider the international composition of the group and gender balance.
Six composers and six musicologists will be selected with scholarships. Applications must be sent by email to [email protected] by 22 March 2026.
For detailed requirements and selection criteria, please refer to the attached call document.
Deadline 15 April 2026
The Intercultural Institute of Comparative Music Studies, as part of the project Eyes on Music: Projects on audiovisual ethnomusicologys, has established a research grant in memory of Diego Carpitella, aimed at the creation of an audiovisual product of ethnomusicological interest.
Young Italian or foreign researchers with experience in the field of audiovisual ethnomusicology (preferably under the age of 40 on the closing date of the call for applications) are eligible to apply, provided they submit a project for the creation of an original and unpublished audiovisual product.
To participate in the selection process, candidates must complete the form by 15 April 2026.
Deadline 30 June 2026
The Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice offers 9 residential scholarships to PhD students and postdoc students who must not be over 40 years old on June 30, 2026, interested in spending two consecutive months in Venice at the Vittore Branca International Center for the Study of Italian Culture between January and December 2027.
The residential scholarships are offered, within the interdisciplinary context that characterizes the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice to Italian and International scholars wishing to further their studies of Italian culture, especially that of the Veneto – in one of the following fields: art history, history of Venice, literature, musicology, ethnomusicology, drama, early printed books, comparative cultures and spiritualities, digital humanities.
Candidates shall propose a research topic preferably focused on the archives and documents at Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice.
Call for applications for the selection of young singers for the awarding of scholarships for the Masterclass on Dramma per Musica ‘L’Olimpiade’ by Antonio Vivaldi from 3 February to 22 February 2026
Deadline for submission of applications 14 December 2025
From 3 to 14 February 2026, at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini (Venice), and from 15 to 20 February at the Teatro Comunale ‘Mario del Monaco’ in Treviso, there will be a special session of the Accademia Vivaldi, led by soprano Gemma Bertagnolli and aimed at staging Antonio Vivaldi’s musical drama ‘L’Olimpiade’. ‘L’Olimpiade’ will be performed at the Teatro Comunale ‘Mario del Monaco’ in Treviso on 21 February 2026 at 11 a.m. and on 22 February 2026 at 4 p.m., conducted by Francesco Fanna and directed by Fabio Condemi.
On the occasion of the award ceremony for the 12th Benno Geiger Prize for Poetry Translation, to be held on 20 November at 5 p.m. in the Sala del Soffitto at the Giorgio Cini Foundation, the new calls for applications for the 2026 Prize and the 2026 Literary Scholarship will be published on the website.
