Program
Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies – Digital Arts & Humanities Theme
Research Supervisor
Dr. Miles Thorogood
Hometown
Vancouver, Canada
Awards
Killam Doctoral Scholarship
SSHRC CGS-D Doctoral Award
UBC Okanagan Distinguished Doctoral Scholar Award
UBC Okanagan Graduate Research Scholarship
What inspires you about your research?
My research is focused on the temporal and affective perception of music and sound recordings with an objective of creating generative immersive media compositions and performance spaces that build from, or blur, the recognizable historic aesthetics of music production. I’m investigating new uses of machine learning algorithms to explore the historic timbral aesthetics and production processes linked to the temporal and affective properties in music recordings. My research is also focused through a lens of nostalgia, hauntology (lost potentials of the past that haunt the present), and post-digital aesthetics to explore how interdisciplinary, participatory, and narrative strategies may be deployed in immersive works. I am inspired by the potential of exploring generative music/sound, immersion, and aesthetics such as hauntology to bring awareness to present global challenges such as climate change.
Why did you decide to pursue a graduate degree?
I took a break after my master’s degree and had worked in the music instrument industry and as a university admin. I had been a research assistant in my master’s, and there was a part of me that wanted to continue my research.
Why did you choose to come to UBC Okanagan?
I chose UBCO as there was an excellent opportunity to explore my research work with my supervisor Dr. Miles Thorogood at the Sonic Production Intelligence Research and Applications Lab. I also was given the opportunity to participate in the NSERC CREATE Immersive Technologies program.
Where do you hope your degree/research will take you next?
I’m hoping my research will lead to academic contributions advancing knowledge in the fields of AI, computer music, and sound design for immersive media.
I’m looking to contribute to the critical aesthetic discourses on musical nostalgia, fetishization of past and present music production technologies, and the use of AI in music and culture.
What advice do you have for new graduate students?
Try not to feel too overwhelmed at the start, especially if you haven’t been a student for a while. The research flow does come back.
Please share a little bit about yourself.
My background is originally in jazz music. I received a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies from Capilano University.
I’m an inter-disciplinary musician, composer, sound designer, and artist, so I like to make, perform, and listen to music.