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Welcome to the APMExMEMECO Italy 2026 Conference!
Here you can register and update your Sched profile. A draft schedule will be available May 15th, when you’ll be able to explore sessions and build your agenda.

Questions? Visit our website or email [email protected].

Join us July 14–16 in Sulmona, Italy, as we share voices and shape the future of popular music, identity, and education.

Tuesday July 14, 2026 4:00pm - 4:25pm CEST
Childhood is marked by a vivid imaginative engagement with sound, rhythm, and movementthrough which children begin to communicate and make sense of their environment. Drawing onresearch on early musicality and language development, this presentation explores therelationship between music, multilingual development, and translanguaging in early childhood.Because music and language development seems to be deeply intertwined in early childhooddevelopment, playing with music can become crucial in supporting communication, emotionalattunement, and early linguistic development, particularly for children growing up with morethan one language. Building on translanguaging theory, in this presentation I consider whetherand how music can function as a translanguaging space in early childhood settings, reflecting ondata from three early childhood contexts: multilingual music classes in a university setting and ina center for refugee and asylum seekers; and interviews collected with Italian expatriate families.The aim is to illustrate how children and adults use singing, chanting, movement, playfulvocalizations along with folk and current pop songs from their culture of origin to navigate andintegrate linguistic and cultural resources.Considering the contemporary musical landscapes, shaped by globalization and digital media, itis critical to analyze children's everyday musical experiences, and understand how music maysupport the development of their identities as individuals navigating diverse linguistic andcultural environments. A comprehensive analysis of the most salient aspects involved in theconstruction of translanguaging musical spaces in early childhood contexts will serve todemonstrate how musical play enables young children, along with the significant adults aroundthem, to explore multiple languages, exercise agency, and participate actively in shared meaning-making practices. The presentation will further explore the role that popular music and culturallyrelevant songs play within the complex multilingual and multicultural contexts in which youngchildren are currently immersed.
Speakers
avatar for Claudia Calì

Claudia Calì

Assistant Professor of Music Education, Queens College
Claudia Calì is Assistant Professor of Music Education at Queens College (CUNY) in NewYork. A native of Italy, Claudia Calì holds a Degree in Piano Performance from the Conservatoryof Perugia, as well as degrees from the University of Perugia and the Catholic University ofMilan... Read More →
Tuesday July 14, 2026 4:00pm - 4:25pm CEST
Liceo Ovidio - Room 4 PIAZZA XX SETTEMBRE 13, 67039 SULMONA (AQ)

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