Inner Music and Wellbeing International Symposium

Overview

What does it mean to imagine music?

The Inner Music and Wellbeing Network invites proposals for its inaugural international symposium, held at Durham University, UK, 18–19 May 2026. The event brings together scholars, practitioners, and artists to investigate how imagined musical sound—whether intentionally imagined or involuntarily triggered—shapes emotional, cognitive, and physical states across diverse contexts. Specifically, the symposium will explore the intersection of inner music and wellbeing. 

About the Symposium

‘Inner music’ refers to a mentally generated representation of musical sound. Examples include, but are not limited to, everyday ‘earworms’, clinical cases of musical hallucinations, and voluntary musical imagery, including within creative practice. Inner music is often rich in emotional, sensory, and motoric content, and is increasingly recognised in relation to practices of emotion regulation, therapeutic engagement, memory and identity, and personal expression. 

The symposium is hosted by the AHRC-funded Inner Music and Wellbeing Network, led by Dr Freya Bailes (University of Leeds) and Prof Kelly Jakubowski (Durham University). Its mission is to foster interdisciplinary dialogue that links inner music with mental health, clinical practice, artistic innovation, and cultural experience. The disciplinary backgrounds of our core members span humanities, arts, social science and health science research; symposium contributions from these and any other related disciplines are invited. 

The symposium is held in association with Sempre. Students and unwaged delegates will be eligible to apply for funding to support their attendance. Please note that funding typically covers relatively local travel rather than long-distance flights. 

Symposium Themes

The symposium brings together a diverse range of perspectives on the intersection between inner music and wellbeing. The accepted contributions collectively highlight several key themes:

• Inner music as a tool for mental health and wellbeing 
• Inner music, creativity and wellbeing 
• Cultural, spiritual, and pedagogical perspectives on inner music and wellbeing 
• Therapeutic and community-based applications of inner music 
• Clinical cases of inner music 
• Historic perspectives on inner music and wellbeing 

Key Dates

• Deadline for submissions: 4 November 2025
• Notification of acceptance: January 2026
• Symposium dates: 18–19 May 2026