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A personal note from the President of the German Lute Society

A conference such as this does not function without teamwork and a viable infrastructure, and Joachim Held and the University of the Arts Bremen provided this brilliantly! The school not only contributed financial support for the conference and this publication, but also provided an excellent venue and technical support for the talks and social gatherings. Joachim was an ideal co-director, full of creative ideas, warmth and enthusiasm, who made sure that the conference proceeded smoothly and without mishaps. Heartfelt thanks go to him and the school. We are additionally grateful for our partnership with the Lute Society of America (LSA) on this publication, the first tangible product of close collaboration between our two lute societies. Special thanks go to Cathy Liddell, President of the LSA, who travelled from the USA for the conference and has been an enthu- siastic supporter of this cooperative project, as well as to Sigrid Wirth (DLG) and John Griffiths (LSA) who have worked tirelessly to help turn the talks into a book for the ages!
As a closing thought: at the round-table discussion I shared my regret that there was only one woman among the eleven speakers in Bremen. Although this was influenced by generational and availability issues, I took and take full responsibility for this, and have dedicated myself, in various ways, to striving for a more gender-balanced future.

Peter Croton

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