The Institute of Ethnomusicology ZRC SAZU studies folk song, music, dance, and sound practices primarily in Slovenia, as well as in border regions and the diaspora. Its research encompasses the documentation, analysis, and interpretation of musical practices within their social, cultural, and historical contexts. Particular attention is devoted to processes of transformation of musical practices and traditions, their re-creation and heritagization, as well as to the role of music in shaping communities, identities, and cultural memory. The institute’s research also addresses the social, economic, and political relations that shape contemporary musical practices, as well as cultural policies, representations of heritage, and the relationships between local traditions and global cultural flows.

The institute integrates fieldwork with archival research, digitisation, scholarly analysis, and public accessibility of materials. It maintains one of the central collections of audio and documentary materials on Slovenian musical heritage, developed continuously since 1934, and systematically expands and makes it accessible to both researchers and the wider public, including in digital form.

The institute’s research strength is grounded in long-term, systematic fieldwork, international engagement, and interdisciplinary collaboration across ethnomusicology, ethnochoreology, folklore studies, anthropology, ethnology, and heritage and ecocritical studies. The institute disseminates its findings through scholarly publications, digital collections, and public presentations, and contributes to the development of expert frameworks in the field of intangible cultural heritage. Its work makes a significant contribution to understanding musical practices as a dynamic dimension of social life.