PERMANENT SEMINAR IN HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL STUDIES IN MUSIC
The Permanent Seminar of the research group Historical and Cultural Studies in Music of INET-md intends to be a forum where all its members (integrated and collaborators), as well as other invited researchers from the academic, cultural and artistic circles, may present their work and discuss ongoing projects and research.
29-01-2026 | 4 pm | NOVA FCSH, Av. de Berna, Lisbon | Tower B – Room B307 & Online
Free access, in person and online:
Online session (Teams):
Meeting ID: 343 815 138 606 13
Pass code: xQ7e7ky2
Programming classical music in the territory: Public policies, audiences, and challenges of Portuguese Regional Orchestras
Filipa Lima | INET-md/NOVA FCSH
Portuguese Regional Orchestras emerged within the framework of public cultural policies associated with the democratization of culture, with the aim of decentralizing the provision of classical music and broadening access to territories outside major urban centers. The Orquestra do Norte, the Orquestra Filarmonia das Beiras, and the Orquestra do Algarve embody this model, which has been active in Portugal for over thirty years. This paper presents an ongoing research project funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), which seeks to understand the role of these orchestras in audience development, to assess the actual impact of the cultural policies that gave rise to them, and to critically reflect on the current model in light of contemporary challenges. The study has faced significant difficulties, particularly the scarcity of academic literature specifically dedicated to Portuguese Regional Orchestras, as well as constraints in accessing interviews and institutional data, raising relevant methodological questions regarding knowledge production in this field. In this seminar, I propose a more in-depth approach to the programming practices of these orchestras. In the face of evident structural limitations — particularly the challenge of programming for an orchestra with a fixed instrumental formation defined by decree-law — it becomes relevant to reflect on the various contexts that emerge from the ambition to build and sustain a regular orchestral season. Programming thus emerges as a central axis for understanding the relationship between public policies, territory, and audiences, revealing tensions between institutional mission, artistic sustainability, and responsiveness to local audiences’ expectations.
Filipa Lima | A flautist and researcher, Filipa Lima develops her activity across musical practice, cultural programming, and academic research. She completed her musical training at the Escola Profissional de Música de Viana do Castelo (ARTEAM), the Escola Superior de Música e Artes do Espetáculo do Porto (ESMAE), and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” (Leipzig), having been a scholarship recipient from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the Deutschlandstipendium. During the pandemic, she returned to academia, enrolling in master’s programs in Aesthetics and Artistic Studies and in Political Science and International Relations at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, in addition to postgraduate studies in Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Lusófona University, having interned at the National Arts Plan. She collaborated with the Gulbenkian Orchestra as a guest soloist between 2017 and 2020 and has been a member of the Guimarães Orchestra since 2014. She is the founder and president of the Associação Musicis Pontem – Orquestra do Alto Minho. Currently, she is an integrated researcher at INET-md, within the scope of the PhD in Artistic Studies – Art and Mediations, holding a doctoral scholarship from the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), grant number 2023.04684.BD. She conducts research in the area of public cultural policies, orchestras and musical programming and is a member of the INET-md Doctoral Committee.