EnIM 26 Brings the Music Research Community Together at the National Museum of Music in Mafra

4–6 November 2026 | National Museum of Music, Royal Building of Mafra

The EnIM 26 – 15th Meeting on Research in Music will take place from 4 to 6 November 2026 at the National Museum of Music, located in the Royal Building of Mafra. Organised by the Portuguese Society for Music Research (SPIM), in collaboration with the National Museum of Music, INET-md and CESEM, the meeting provides a major forum for presenting, discussing and exchanging scientific and artistic research across the diverse fields of music and sound studies.

Now in its fifteenth edition, EnIM reaffirms the importance of dialogue between different disciplinary traditions, methodological approaches and research practices. In a scientific field characterised by an increasing diversity of research subjects and perspectives, the meeting seeks to promote a broad discussion of music and sound, bringing together researchers at different career stages and encouraging exchanges between institutions and areas of specialisation.

Eric de Visscher and Luísa Cymbron will be the keynote speakers at this year’s meeting.

Eric de Visscher is a researcher and curator with an international career focusing on the relationships between music, sound, heritage and museums. He has served as Artistic Director of IRCAM in Paris, Director of the Musée de la musique at the Philharmonie de Paris, and Visiting Professor at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. His work has explored new ways of presenting, interpreting and experiencing musical and sonic heritage in museum settings.

Luísa Cymbron is Associate Professor at the Department of Musicology of NOVA FCSH and Executive Director of CESEM. A specialist in nineteenth-century Portuguese music history, her research addresses opera, musical theatre, the circulation of musical repertoires and musical relations between Portugal and Brazil. She has published extensively in these fields.

The scientific programme encompasses different forms of participation, including individual and collaborative papers, thematic panels, performance presentations and workshops, reflecting the diversity of approaches to producing, presenting and discussing knowledge in music research.

EnIM also provides an opportunity to showcase research by Master’s and doctoral students, whose accepted presentations may be eligible for the 2026 Joaquim de Vasconcelos Prize, awarded by SPIM.

Mafra as a meeting point for research, musical heritage and artistic creation

Hosting EnIM 26 at the National Museum of Music is particularly significant at a time when the Royal Building of Mafra is strengthening its role as a centre for music research.

The recent inauguration of NOVA Mafra – Music, Art and Technology, involving INET-md and CESEM, has created new opportunities to connect scientific research, musical heritage, technological innovation and artistic creation.

In this context, INET-md’s participation as a co-organiser of EnIM 26 reinforces its commitment to scientific and institutional cooperation and to promoting spaces for dialogue between researchers, artistic practices and cultural institutions.

Further information: SPIM – Portuguese Society for Music Research | EnIM 26 – Meeting information