Dan Trueman

Dan Trueman is Professor of Music and Department Chair at Princeton University, where he also directs the Princeton Sound Kitchen. A versatile musician working at the intersection of traditional and electronic music, he is renowned for his work with the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle and his development of new digital instruments including the bitKlavier (Prepared Digital Piano) and co-founding of the Princeton Laptop Orchestra.

Trueman's research interests focus on the rhythmic connections between traditional dance music and machines, the integration of Norwegian traditional music elements into contemporary composition, and the development of new digital instruments that enable novel musical expressions. His work explores the unusual phrasing, tuning and ornamentation of traditional Norwegian music while creating music that is uniquely inspired by, and only possible with, his custom-designed digital instruments.

His recent compositions span a wide range of formats from intimate solo works to large-scale collaborative projects including operas, dance pieces, and interdisciplinary collaborations with scientists and poets. Trueman's work has been described as mixing "George Crumb's knack for unearthly timbres, Alvin Lucier's infinitesimally fine gradations of tone and the fierce creative audacity of Jimi Hendrix" (The New York Times).

• Bessie Award 2016 (Outstanding Music Composition)
• American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship 2015
• Barlow Commission 2014
• Fulbright Fellowship 2010
• MacArthur Foundation Digital Innovations Grant 2008
• Guggenheim Fellowship 2005

Trueman has mentored numerous emerging musicians through his roles at Princeton and through collaborative projects with ensembles like So Percussion and the JACK Quartet. His research has been supported by major grants including the Barlow Commission, Fulbright Fellowship, and MacArthur Foundation grant, enabling him to pursue innovative cross-disciplinary projects that bridge traditional music forms with cutting-edge technology. He leads the Princeton Laptop Orchestra, which has inspired similar ensembles worldwide from Oslo to Bangkok.