About
Medieval and Renaissance Music Conference (MedRen Warsaw 2026)
We are pleased to invite you to the Medieval and Renaissance Music Conference (MedRen), which will take place in Warsaw from July 6 to 10, 2026. As always, its topics cover a broad spectrum of issues related to medieval and renaissance music. However, we suggest a few specific topics:
- Thomas Stoltzer (d. 1526) and music in Silesia
- Valentin Greff Bakfark (d. 1576) and lute music
- Lost music heritage
- Musical materialities
- Myths in music historiographies
Presentation formats
- individual papers (20 minutes + discussion)
- paired papers (60 minutes)
- themed sessions (90 minutes)
- roundtables (up to 90 minutes)
- workshops/lecture-recitals.
- posters (DIN A0 upright / max. DIN A1 landscape)
Contact
- email: medren2026@uw.edu.pl
- address: University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28, 00-927 Warszawa, Poland
We look forward to welcoming you to Warsaw!
Conference Team
Coordination
- Agnieszka Leszczyńska
- Paweł Gancarczyk
- Jacek Iwaszko
- Katarzyna Spurgjasz
Local Programme and Organizing Commitee
- Irena Bieńkowska
- Paweł Gancarczyk
- Bartłomiej Gembicki
- Dominika Grabiec
- Jacek Iwaszko
- Tomasz Jeż
- Agnieszka Leszczyńska
- Szymon Paczkowski
- Emily Peppers
- Katarzyna Spurgjasz
External Programme Committee
- James Cook
- David Burn
- Antonio Chemotti
- Nicolò Ferrari
- Erika Supria Honisch
- Christian Thomas Leitmeir
- Katelijne Schiltz
- Thomas Schmidt
- Hana Vlhová-Wörner
- Magnus Williamson
Cooperation
- Piotr Bocian
- Paweł Kozłowski
- Magdalena Lejman
- Piotr Maculewicz
- Emilia Mroczkowska
- Vital Wałyniec
- Sonia Wronkowska
Student helpers
- Kseniia Ahapova
- Michał Jagosz
- Edith Jurkiewicz-Pilska
- Maria Kur
- Wiktoria Lasek
- Natalia Lechowska
- Zuzanna Lis
- Maja Majczak
- Maria Marchlewska
- Piotr Mazurkiewicz
- Michalina Piwowaron
- Iga Przybylska
- Krystyna Siciarek
- Urszula Świątek
- Antoni Wala
- Zofia Waniek
- Kamil Watkowski
Warsaw Mermaid
With the conference drawing near, it is high time we explain the inspiration behind our official MedRen 2026 logo. As some of you may have guessed, it features the Warsaw Mermaid (Syrenka Warszawska) — the proud and ancient symbol of our host city.
The legends surrounding her are truly fascinating! The most famous tale says that a beautiful mermaid, swimming up the Vistula River, was once rescued by local fishermen after being captured by a greedy merchant. In eternal gratitude, she vowed to protect Warsaw and its residents whenever they were in need. That is exactly why, unlike the mermaids in typical fairytales, the Warsaw Mermaid is a fierce warrior armed with a sword and a shield! For centuries, she has been the city’s steadfast guardian, evolving from a medieval dragon-bird creature into the iconic half-woman, half-fish figure we know today.
During your stay, you will find her watching over the city at every turn — on magnificent monuments, historical building facades, charming streetlamps, and even hidden in architectural details.
We warmly encourage you to keep an eye out for her, snap pictures of the mermaids you find, and share them on our Facebook page. There are so many scattered across the city that even we surely don’t know all of them. Let’s see how many you can discover!