Romani musicians in Slovenia: social position, cultural practices, interactions

The proposed research project ROMA MUSICIANS IN SLOVENIA: SOCIAL STATUS, CULTURAL PRACTICES, INTERACTIONS is three-year research with a total of six participating scholars, led by prof. Svanibor Pettan. It focuses on Roma musicians, as members of a minority in Slovenia, and their past and present musical practices, which, until now, remain underresearched in the field of Slovenian ethnomusicology. Using the methodological foundations of field research, music analysis, and the study of documented media and other sources, the research will determine both the impact of cultural policies on the dynamics of musical engagement of Roma as well as the contribution of the direct engagement of Roma musicians on the recognition and position of Roma minority in the society. The research is a continuation of the previous research (Music and Ethnic Minorities: (Trans)Cultural Dynamics in Slovenia After the Year 1991). The geographical scope of this research will include the Roma community in various parts of Slovenia; namely in the Prekmurje, Dolenjska, and Gorenjska regions (the case of Sinti community) known for the traditional presence of Roma communities; and urban centres, Maribor and Ljubljana, where important musical interactions, relevant to this project, take place. The research scope will include also all forms of public presentation (on record, in situ, and online) of Roma music and, in addition to that it will also examine the media representation of Roma musicians. As members of a community that has been systematically and historically discriminated against and has only recently begun to improve its status, Roma musicians have a complex position, to which the dynamics of internal social stratifications, such as geographic-dialectal distinctions, gender, or age, are added. In this regard, the research will prioritise the bottom-up approach to the Roma musicians and also analyse the top-down impact, which is made even more complex by the engagement of non-Roma musicians with Romani repertoires. Such an extensive set of newly acquired knowledge about the musical practices of Romani musicians in Slovenia will also be relevant for placement, recognition, and comparative analysis in the wider European and global space of ethnomusicology. The research promises both a systematic and in-depth study, important for understanding the Slovenian soundscape from the music and minority perspective and a highly relevant contribution to international ethnomusicology. The project leader, prof. dr. Svanibor Pettan, is an internationally renowned researcher on music and minorities, and he has also conducted important research that takes into account the position of Roma musicians in music creation. He has devoted himself to this topic for 30 years and is one of the leading authorities In field research on this topic and for developing methods and theory on Roma music. As members of the research group, we are aware of the important role of our Roma research partners, and we approach the Roma community during the research based on the principle of dialogical knowledge exchange. In that respect, the values of Roma musicians will be taken into consideration with a heightened understanding. With this project, namely through cooperation and consideration of the community's perspective, we also want to encourage young Roma to study ethnomusicology in the near future. We will take the first steps by inviting community members to participate as part of the support group.