Kerry Hagan

Dr. Kerry Hagan is an Associate Professor of Composition-Theory at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and concurrently serves as President of the International Computer Music Association (ICMA). She holds degrees from Carnegie Mellon University (BS Electrical Engineering, BFA Music Composition) and UC San Diego (MA/PhD Music). Her work bridges acoustic and electronic media through real-time spatialization, stochastic algorithms, and interdisciplinary collaborations. She co-leads the Higgs whatever ensemble and the Bowers-Hagan Duo, performing globally at festivals like Piksel and ICMC. Previously (2007-2023), she was a Lecturer at the University of Limerick where she founded the Spatialization and Auditory Display Environment (SpADE) lab. Key roles include founding the Irish Sound, Science and Technology Association (ISSTA) as its inaugural President (2010-2015).

Research focuses on algorithmic methods for composition, spatial audio techniques, and electronic musicology. Major works include Memento Mori, Transmogrificaciones Incesantes, and Agus í á bá, performed by ensembles like RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. Recent activities span curating ICMA events, developing IoT-based music systems, and exploring gesture-controlled timbre transformation. Teaching includes graduate-level composition, live coding with Pure Data, and advanced electroacoustic analysis courses.

Her work has been featured at SEAMUS, ICMC, and SMC conferences, with publications in Computer Music Journal and Organised Sound. Collaborations span composers like Miller Puckette (co-author of Between the Tracks) and John Bowers, emphasizing experimental performance formats and networked music systems.