CALL FOR PROPOSALS — FELLOWSHIP APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR
The Sociable Fortepiano: A New Space for Redefining Fortepiano Musicking and Practice
March 5–9, 2026 – New York City
Open to scholars, keyboard technicians, and performers, including singers and instrumentalists (strings and winds) collaborating with early keyboardists.
Organized and curated by:
Yi-heng Yang, Faculty, The Juilliard School — pianist, fortepianist, and interdisciplinary artist known for her work connecting historical performance, improvisation, and contemporary music practices (www.yihengyang.com)
Patricia García Gil, Postdoctoral Associate and Artist in Residence, Cornell Center for Historical Keyboards — pianist, fortepianist, and researcher whose work bridges performance, historical inquiry, and social imagination, exploring underrepresented voices in the keyboard tradition (www.patriciagarciagil.com)
About the Initiative
We are delighted to announce The Sociable Fortepiano, a new concept workshop / artist residency / mini-festival that creates a welcoming and rigorous space dedicated to rediscovering and reimagining fortepiano musicking. The initiative explores lost repertoire and performance practices from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as well as innovative contemporary initiatives inspired by them.
Historically, the sociability of the fortepiano played a central role in cultural life—bridging domestic and public spaces, fostering intellectual discourse, and creating opportunities for exchange across gender, class, and artistic boundaries. Today, The Sociable Fortepiano seeks to reinterpret this legacy as a living platform for connection, inviting participants to uncover diverse perspectives and reexamine historical narratives through artistic and scholarly experimentation.
This residency will include concerts, open studios, and discussions, fostering an atmosphere of openness, collaboration, and curiosity. Frameworks will be established to ensure that all participants can actively contribute, share work, and learn from one another in a supportive, non-hierarchical environment.
Purpose, Vision, and Funding
The Sociable Fortepiano responds to an urgent need to expand inclusivity in musical education and historical performance practice. It aims to bring together performers, scholars, and technicians who wish to engage in creative dialogue about the role of the fortepiano—past, present, and future.
Through the Westfield Center for Historical Keyboard Studies, selected fellows will receive modest financial support in the form of small grants to help offset travel, accommodation, and meal costs. The residency is tuition-free and selective, designed to encourage participants to develop artistic and research-based projects that contribute to a more diverse and equitable field.
Eligibility is open to all applicants, with no restrictions based on age, nationality, gender, race, background, or institutional affiliation. Both independent and affiliated practitioners—scholars, keyboardists, historical keyboard technicians, instrumentalists, and singers—are encouraged to apply. What matters most is a genuine interest in collaboration and in reimagining performance practices that connect history with contemporary thought.
Participants must hold an active Westfield Center membership (student reduced rate available) by the time of acceptance of the residency. https://westfield.org/membership/
To apply, visit: https://westfield.org/the-sociable-fortepiano.html
