Rita Aiello is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at New York University's College of Arts & Science. Her research focuses on the cognitive and perceptual processes involved in musical listening, with particular emphasis on neuroaesthetics, music learning, and memory. She holds an Ed.D. from Columbia University and has held faculty positions at institutions including the Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music. Her work bridges music theory, cognitive science, and education, with a lifelong background as a classical pianist. Education: Columbia University (Ed.D.), Manhattan School of Music (M.M., B.M.), Conservatorio San Pietro a Maiella (Diploma in Music Theory) Certifications: Kodály and Orff Methods Her research explores how musical training influences cerebral dominance, the relationship between mental representations and emotional responses to music, and the cognitive underpinnings of musical memory. She has published widely on topics ranging from musical expectation to pedagogical strategies for memorization. Recent work investigates evolutionary perspectives on singing and the psychological mechanisms behind musical communication. Publications reflect interdisciplinary engagement with music's structural rules, metaphorical dimensions, and its role in human cognition. While no specific grants or awards are listed, her extensive international teaching experience includes visiting roles at institutions in Rome and Lugano, Switzerland, and an honorary appointment at Columbia University's Teachers College.
Danuta Mirka is a Professor at Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music in the Department of Music Theory and Cognition. She holds the Harry N. and Ruth F. Wyatt Chair in Music Theory and has been recognized with major awards for her scholarship. PhD in Musicology from University of Helsinki Senior Fulbright Fellow at Indiana University Humboldt Fellow and DFG Research Fellow at University of Freiburg Leverhulme Trust Research Fellow at University of Southampton Her research synthesizes historical music theory with contemporary cognitive approaches, focusing on metric manipulations in Haydn/Mozart, sonoristic structuralism in Penderecki, and topic theory in eighteenth-century music. She has developed analytical frameworks for textural and timbral systems in avant-garde compositions. Key trends across her publications include: cross-disciplinary application of semiotics and fuzzy logic to music analysis; systematic studies of cadential structures in Classical-era works; and innovative methodologies for analyzing non-traditional instrumental techniques. Her article on Penderecki's sonoristic style introduced groundbreaking concepts of six-dimensional textural analysis. Society for Music Theory Citation of Special Merit (2015) Wallace Berry Award (2011) Marjorie Weston Emerson Award (2023) Roland Jackson Award (2017) Mirka has edited major reference works and served on editorial boards of leading journals. Her scholarship bridges Polish avant-garde traditions with Western analytical methodologies.
Courtney N. Reed is a Lecturer in Digital Technologies at Loughborough University London, where she joined in November 2023. She maintains a dual role as a visiting research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics. Her academic journey includes a BMus in Electronic Production and Design from Berklee College of Music (2016), followed by an MSc (2018) and PhD (2023) in Computer Science from Queen Mary University of London. Prior to her current position, she completed postdoctoral research at both the Max Planck Institute for Informatics and King's College London. Bachelor of Music: Electronic Production and Design, Berklee College of Music (2016) Master of Science: Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London (2018) Doctor of Philosophy: Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London (2023) Dr. Reed's research explores the entangled relationships between humans, bodies, instruments, and technology in music interaction, with particular focus on vocal electromyography (VoxEMG) and the vocalist-voice relationship. Her work incorporates feminist and post-human theories to examine sociopolitical contexts within arts technology, aiming to design for creativity while acknowledging individual, messy bodies in artistic practice. She has developed an open-source platform for vocal electromyography to investigate how biosignal feedback changes understanding and perception of the body in vocal performance. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges music technology, human-computer interaction, and embodied interaction studies. Analysis of Dr. Reed's recent publications (2023-2025) reveals a strong thematic focus on embodied interaction in music technology, with particular emphasis on vocal performance, biosignal feedback, and the philosophical underpinnings of digital instrument design. Her work consistently integrates theoretical frameworks like Karen Barad's agential realism with practical applications in digital musical instruments. Key trends include the exploration of ambiguity in data representation, the sociocultural dimensions of timbre in instrument design, and the development of novel methodologies for understanding embodied musical experiences through micro-phenomenology and ethnographic approaches. ACM SIGCHI Outstanding Dissertation Award (2024) for her thesis 'Imagining & Sensing: Understanding and Extending the Vocalist-Voice Relationship Through Biosignal Feedback' Best Newcomer Award at Loughborough University London's Community Awards Celebration (2024) Dr. Reed actively contributes to the academic community through conference organization and leadership roles. She serves as Member-at-Large on the NIME Board, previously chaired papers for NIME 2024, and co-organized the IBM SkillsBuild Sprint at Loughborough London. She has also chaired sessions at the ACM TEI Conference and co-chaired the Student Design Competition. Her collaborative work spans multiple institutions and includes significant contributions to interdisciplinary projects that bridge music, technology, and human experience. She has been instrumental in developing the senSInt research group and the RaveNET wearable network project. Dr. Reed leads the senSInt research group which focuses on sensorimotor interaction in music and performance contexts. The group develops innovative technologies including the VoxEMG platform for vocal electromyography, the Bones anti-corset for vocal performance, and the RaveNET network of wearable biosensing nodes. These projects explore the intersection of biosignals, embodied interaction, and musical expression, creating novel frameworks for understanding how technology mediates human creativity and performance. The group frequently collaborates with musicians, technologists, and theorists to develop and test these systems in real-world performance contexts.
Theodore Levin serves as the Arthur R. Virgin Professor of Music at Dartmouth College, with significant international engagements including Senior Advisor to the Aga Khan Music Programme and former Executive Director of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project. His work bridges academic research and cultural advocacy across Central Asia and Siberia. His educational foundation includes a B.A. from Amherst College and both M.F.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Princeton University. Levin's research centers on ethnomusicological fieldwork examining the intricate relationships between sound, environment, and cultural identity among nomadic communities, with particular focus on spiritual practices and oral traditions along historical Silk Road routes. His publications reveal consistent thematic trajectories exploring musical preservation in rapidly changing societies, the ecological dimensions of sound production, and cross-cultural dialogue through artistic exchange. These works collectively document endangered traditions while analyzing their contemporary revitalization through international cultural development frameworks. As an educator, Levin teaches world music and American 'roots' music courses at Dartmouth, mentoring students in ethnographic methodologies. His professional activities extend to shaping global cultural policy through former leadership at Open Society Foundations' Arts and Culture sub-board, demonstrating sustained commitment to integrating arts into international development paradigms. Levin maintains active involvement with international initiatives including the Aga Khan Music Programme, where he contributes to preserving musical heritage across Muslim contexts through performance, education, and documentation projects that connect traditional artistry with contemporary creative expression.
Steve Waksman is the Leverhulme International Professor of Popular Music in the Department of Media, Humanities and the Arts, School of Arts and Humanities, University of Huddersfield, and a member of the Centre for Research in Music and its Technologies. A leading scholar of popular music, he is author or editor of numerous award-winning books and essays on the electric guitar, heavy metal, punk, live music and music technology. Education & Awards: Dissertation on the electric guitar awarded the 1998 Ralph Henry Gabriel Prize (American Studies Association) Woody Guthrie Prize (International Association for the Study of Popular Music, U.S. Chapter) Music in American Culture Award (American Musicological Society) Research Interests: Waksman’s work spans the history of musical instruments, intersections of music and technology, genre studies (with special attention to heavy metal and punk), live-music studies, sound studies, and the politics of race, gender, sexuality and identity in popular music from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries. He is currently initiating a major five-year Leverhulme-funded project on amplification technologies and amplified sound. Recent Publications: His recent outputs focus on the electric guitar’s cultural history and the broad sweep of American live music. These works collectively illuminate how instruments, genres, and performance spaces shape—and are shaped by—technological, social and economic forces. Grants & Projects: Leverhulme International Professorship Scheme: £5 million “Amplification Project” (2025–2030) Outreach & Media: Known as the “Doctor of Rock” on WRSI radio (The River, Western Massachusetts), Waksman regularly contributes historical segments for Black History Month and Women’s History Month. He has also participated in international public-engagement podcasts and press coverage concerning the electric guitar.
Dr. Aniruddh Patel is Professor of Psychology at Tufts University's School of Arts and Sciences. His pioneering research program in music cognition examines the mental processes underlying music perception and production, with emphasis on music-language relationships, rhythmic processing, and cross-species studies. He employs diverse methodologies including brain imaging, behavioral experiments, and comparative research with nonhuman animals. Education includes a PhD in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University. Dr. Patel previously served as Senior Fellow at The Neurosciences Institute (2005-2012) and President of the Society for Music Perception and Cognition (2009-2011). He is currently Fellow in the Azrieli Brain, Mind, and Consciousness program at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. His research output focuses on evolutionary foundations of rhythm perception, cross-species comparisons of musicality, and neural mechanisms underlying auditory illusions and predictive processing, with recent expansion into clinical applications for neurodevelopmental disorders. Fellow, Azrieli Brain, Mind, and Consciousness Program (CIFAR)
Petr Janata is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Davis, and a faculty member at the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain. His research centers on cognitive neuroscience of music, investigating neural mechanisms underlying music-evoked autobiographical memories and the experience of "groove." He serves on the Board of the Society for Music Perception and Cognition and co-founded the UC Music Experience Research Community Initiative (UC MERCI). Janata's educational background includes: Ph.D. in Biology (Neuroscience) from the University of Oregon (1996) B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies (Biology/Psychology) from Reed College (1990) His research employs behavioral experiments, fMRI, EEG, and computational modeling to explore how music engages memory, emotion, and sensorimotor systems. Key projects examine music-evoked remembering, the psychology of groove, auditory attention mechanisms, and timbre-emotion links. His work reveals how music activates domain-general brain networks for expectation, memory, and emotional processing. Recent publications (2018-2025) show increasing focus on cross-cultural emotional responses to music, neural correlates of nostalgia, mental replay mechanisms, and clinical applications of music cognition. His lab develops innovative paradigms like the Groove Enhancement Machine (GEM) to manipulate sensorimotor synchronization while measuring subjective enjoyment. Janata's scientific recognition includes: Guggenheim Fellowship (2010) Dual Fulbright Fellowships (1990-91, 2010-11) Music Has Power Award from the Institute of Music and Neurological Function (2010) He has delivered over 100 invited lectures globally and served as scientific advisor to Coro Health LLC before founding Meamer, Inc. in 2017 to connect people through memories and music. His translational work bridges basic cognitive neuroscience with real-world applications in health and technology. The Janata Lab at UC Davis integrates neuroimaging, behavioral testing, and computational modeling to advance understanding of music cognition. Current projects explore lifespan neural changes in music processing, adaptive virtual partners for synchronization studies, and sonification systems for physiological monitoring.
Miguel Chuaqui is a Chilean-American composer and Professor at the University of Utah School of Music, where he serves as Chair of the Composition Area since 2009. Born in 1964 in Berkeley, California, and raised in Santiago, Chile, he holds a PhD in Composition from the University of California at Berkeley, with academic roots in both Mathematics and Music. Education: BA in Mathematics and Music (University of California-Berkeley, 1987), MA in Music (University of California-Berkeley, 1989), PhD in Music (University of California-Berkeley, 1994) Chuaqui's creative practice spans orchestral, chamber, vocal, and electroacoustic works, with performances across the U.S. and internationally by ensembles such as Speculum Musicae, Earplay, and the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS). His research emphasizes collaborations in diverse areas, including interactive dance systems with Modern Dance and therapeutic musical applications with the School of Medicine. His compositions reflect an intersection of technology and traditional instruments, often incorporating live electronics and interactive elements. Recent compositions like La Búsqueda (2024), Inseparable (2024), and Encuentro Fugaz (2024) highlight his focus on chamber works and electroacoustic innovation. He has also demonstrated a sustained commitment to solo and ensemble works, integrating Latin American cultural motifs with contemporary techniques. Scientific and Musical Awards Award in Music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters Aaron Copland Recording Grant Eisner Prize Nicola de Lorenzo Award Society for Universal Sacred Music award Induction into the National Association of Composers of Chile President’s Award from SEAMUS (2008) 2024-2025 Big 12 Faculty Fellowship As an educator, Chuaqui has taught courses including Advanced Electronic Music Composition, Senior Composition, and PhD-level Composition at the University of Utah since 2024. He hosted the 2008 SEAMUS National Conference and serves as a NASM Visiting Evaluator, maintaining leadership roles in music education and composition pedagogy.
Aaron Cassidy is an American composer and conductor based in Berlin and Hannover. He serves as Professor of Composition and Director of Incontri – Institut für neue Musik at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover. His work emphasizes innovative graphical notations prioritizing physical sound production and non-geometrical rhythm theory. Cassidy’s compositions have been performed globally across 29 countries, with 12 commercial recordings on major labels like Kairos and NEOS. As a conductor, he specializes in contemporary and historical repertoire, leading over 100 world premieres with ensembles such as Ensemble Musikfabrik and ELISION. Notable engagements include the Munich Biennale and Melbourne Recital Centre. His recent research includes a 2025 reflection on non-geometrical rhythm and collaborative Erasmus+ residencies in Klagenfurt. Current projects include works for bassoon, violin-piano duet, and ANAM residency with ELISION in Melbourne (2025). Cassidy’s academic focus bridges compositional theory and performance practice. His research explores notation’s role in shaping musical interpretation, with particular attention to rhythm’s non-metric frameworks. Recent works like Reassessing Non-Geometrical Rhythm (2025) synthesize a decade of theoretical development. His teaching integrates experimental techniques and historical context, fostering innovation in Hannover’s new music institute.
Beatriz Naranjo Sanchez is a researcher at the University of Murcia, Spain, currently affiliated with the Translation, Didactics and Cognition research group and previously with the Translation, Lexicology and Writing Group. Her work bridges translation studies, cognitive psychology, and musicology through experimental methodologies. She earned her PhD from the University of Murcia in 2017 with the dissertation La influencia de la música sobre la calidad y la creatividad en traducción literaria (inglés-español, inglés-italiano) una aproximación estético-psicológica , supervised by Dr. Ana María Rojo López. Her research centers on psychological and emotional dimensions of translation processes, particularly examining how background music influences literary translation creativity, how anger affects decision-making with offensive content, and emotional processing in dubbing. She employs cognitive-experimental approaches to investigate narrative engagement, vocal qualities in emotionally charged scenes, and pandemic-related stressors on evaluative language translation. Analysis of her 2015-2023 publications reveals consistent focus on music-translation interactions and emotional variables, with methodological emphasis on laboratory experiments, psycholinguistic measurements, and cognitive assessments. Her work demonstrates interdisciplinary innovation through the fusion of aesthetic theory, cognitive science, and translation practice. Scientific awards: No awards documented in provided sources. Regarding advising and grants, while she supervises research within university groups, no specific students or funded projects were mentioned. Her institutional affiliation suggests collaborative research within translation psychology frameworks. She actively contributes to the Translation, Didactics and Cognition research group, which investigates cognitive-affective translation processes through experimental paradigms, likely involving lab-based studies on emotional and musical variables in professional translation contexts.
Professor Michael Clarke is a distinguished academic at the University of Huddersfield , serving as Director of IRiMaS (Interactive Research in Music as Sound) and holding leadership roles including former Dean of the School of Music, Humanities and Media and Dean of the Graduate School . His career spans over three decades at Huddersfield, where he has pioneered innovative software for music composition, pedagogy, and analysis. Education: PhD in Music (Durham University), MTC in Teaching (UCL Institute of Education) Clarke's research focuses on composition , particularly in live interactive works , and the development of software like Max/MSP for musicological analysis and sound synthesis. His work intersects with UN Sustainable Development Goals , emphasizing technological innovation in education and cultural preservation. Recent publications highlight his contributions to interactive aural analysis and fluid corpus manipulation tools. Clarke has secured major funding, including a €2.5m ERC Advanced Grant for IRiMaS and AHRC grants for collaborative projects. Awards include the National Teaching Fellowship (2011) and multiple European Academic Software Awards . Scientific Awards: National Teaching Fellowship (2011) European Academic Software Awards (record 3 wins) As a Principal Investigator , he has led projects with Prof Peter Manning and Dr Frédéric Dufeu, while actively supervising PhD students and contributing to REF assessments.
Brad Osborn is an Associate Professor of Music Theory at the University of Kansas, specializing in the analysis of popular music, particularly within the realms of music video aesthetics, electronic dance music (EDM), and rock genre studies. His research interrogates the intersections of sound, visual narrative, and cultural meaning in post-MTV era media. Research Focus: Music Video Analysis, Rock Harmonic Systems, EDM Structural Functions, Film/TV Music Theory Notable Themes: Through-composed Forms in Post-Rock, Timbre in Icelandic Music, Cognitive Salience in Audiovisual Media Recent publications examine terminally climactic forms in modern rock, transmedia analysis of music videos, and the subdominant tritone in visual media scoring. Osborn advocates for innovative pedagogical approaches integrating music video analysis and digital resources.
Eloi Moliner Juanpere is a Doctoral Researcher and Doctoral Student at Aalto University's School of Electrical Engineering, Department of Information and Communications Engineering. His research focuses on audio signal processing, leveraging diffusion-based generative models for tasks such as dereverberation, timbre transfer, and audio restoration. His work aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals through innovative contributions to audio technology. Proficient in deep learning and inverse problem solving, Moliner Juanpere has published extensively in top conferences like IEEE ICASSP and DAFx, emphasizing unsupervised methods for audio enhancement. Recent publications highlight advancements in diffusion models for room acoustics estimation blind bandwidth extension neural audio effects modeling timbre transfer in musical signals Scientific recognition includes Best Student Paper Award (1st place) at IWAENC 2024 Best Student Paper Award at ICASSP 2023 Third Best Paper Award at DAFx-22 He contributes to collaborative projects such as NordicSMC (2018–2023) and SA Profi 6 (2021–2027), focusing on neural networks and audio signal enhancement. His research also involves creating datasets like the Magnetic Tape Recorder Dataset (2023) for audio restoration applications.
Benjamin Hayes is a research scientist at Sony Computer Science Laboratories Paris and a PhD candidate in Artificial Intelligence and Music at Queen Mary University of London's Centre for Digital Music (C4DM). His research focuses on neural audio synthesis, generative models, and perceptual aspects of sound design. He has held internships at Spotify, Sony CSL, and Bytedance, and previously worked as a music producer and lecturer in Electronic & Produced Music at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. His work bridges digital signal processing, deep learning, and creative sound exploration. Education: PhD in AI and Music (Queen Mary University of London), Master’s/Undergraduate qualifications not explicitly stated but inferred from professional roles. Research Interests: Neural audio synthesis, differentiable digital signal processing, timbre perception, generative models, and psychoacoustics. Current project explores perceptually motivated deep learning approaches for sound synthesis, emphasizing semantic associations in timbre. Professional Experience: Over 10 years in music production, internships at leading tech firms, and academic collaborations across institutions like IRCAM, CNRS, and KTH. Key Contributions: Developed frameworks for end-to-end sound synthesis, addressed challenges in unordered neural network targets, and pioneered gamified systems for crowdsourcing timbre semantics (e.g., timbre.fun). Active in conferences such as ICLR, ICASSP, and DMRN workshops.
Stefan Hagel is a Research Fellow at the Austrian Academy of Sciences and Privatdozent at the University of Vienna, specializing in ancient Greek and Roman music. His work bridges archaeology, philology, and digital reconstruction to analyze ancient musical instruments, notation systems, and performance practices. His research focuses on: Reconstruction of auloi (double-pipes) and hydraulis (water organs) Computational analysis of instrument acoustics Cross-cultural transmission of musical technologies Ancient harmonic theory and notation decipherment He leads major projects including Ancient Music Beyond Hellenisation (ERC Advanced Grant), Digitising Aspects of Graphical Representation in Ancient Music (FWF), and the European Music Archaeology Project . Hagel has developed specialized software for instrument analysis and serves as editor for the Journal of Music Archaeology . His publications demonstrate consistent focus on technical aspects of ancient music through interdisciplinary methodologies.
