For its 7th annual plenary, the SMI held a joint conference with the RMA (Royal Musical Association), hosted by the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin, on 9-12 July 2009.

The conference featured two keynote lectures. The RMA Peter Le Huray Memorial Lecture was given by Professor Carolyn Abbate: 'The Damnation of Mignon'. The SMI Frank Llewelyn Harrison Medal was presented to Professor Kofi Agawu, whose lecture was entitled 'Iconicity in African Musical Thought and Expression'.

The conference programme is available here.