1. Upcoming Conferences
Birmingham Messiaen 2008 International Centenary Conference: Birmingham, England, June 21 - 24 2008.
Call for Papers: The Meadows School of the Arts and The Perkins School of Theology of Southern Methodist University announce an international symposium 'Olivier Messiaen: The Musician as Theologian' celebrating the 100th birthday of the composer. Southern Methodist University/Dallas, 25-26 September 2008. Proposals for papers are invited on any aspect of Messiaen related to the theological nature of his work, including its reception and performance. A curriculum vitae and an abstract of 200-300 words should be directed on or before 1 June 2008 to: Dr. Christopher Anderson, Associate Professor of Sacred Music, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, P. O. Box 750133, Dallas, TX 75275-0133 USA. [csander at smu.edu]. Submissions via email are encouraged.
Conference and festival at Chicago University in October.
2. Competitions
The Olivier Messiaen Contest: This international contest, devoted to the performance of contemporary piano music, is held as part of the Concours internationaux de la Ville de Paris. The Olivier Messiaen Contest was last held in 2007.
3. Past Festivals and Conferences
BUMP Inaugural Conference: The Boston University Messiaen Project hosted a Messiaen conference 21-22 September 2006. Speakers include Peter Hill, David Kopp, Andrew Shenton and Nigel Simeone.
Messiaen au pays de la Meije 2006: Program and related material for the 9th Messiaen Festival, "Messiaen au pays de la Meije", held 20-30 July 2006 in the villages of La Grave and Villar d'Arène in the French Alps.
Messiaen 2002 International Conference: This site contains the conference schedule, speaker list and other material related to this conference (hosted by the University of Sheffield) commemorating the tenth anniversary of Messiaen's death.
Forum on Music Christian Scholarship: the second day of this 9-10 March 2007 conference featured papers on Olivier Messiaen and his music. by Vincent benitez, Christopher Dingle and Andrew Shenton.
Messiaen the Theologian: The Boston University Messiaen Project [BUMP] hosted a Messiaen conference 12-13 October 2007. This conference explored one of the least understood and least discussed aspects of the composer. It included the Boston premiere of Messiaen's recently published Fantaisie (1933) pour violon et piano and a screening of Paul Festa's award-winning film ‘Apparition of the Eternal Church’.
Messiaen au pays de la Meije 2007: web site for the 10th Messiaen Festival, “Messiaen au pays de la Meije”, held 19-29 July 2007 in the villages of La Grave and Villar d'Arène in the French Alps. The theme for this conference was “Du Spirituel dans la musique” (“Spirituality in Music”).