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Staff Profile

Dr Rob Mackay

Senior Lecturer in Composition

  • Personal Website: https://robmackay.net
  • Address: School of Arts and Cultures
    Armstrong Building
    University of Newcastle
    NE1 7RU
Background

Rob Mackay is an award-winning composer, sound artist and performer. Recent projects have moved towards a cross-disciplinary approach, including geology, soundscape ecology, theatre, audiovisual installation work, and human-computer interaction. His work has been performed in 18 countries (including several performances on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 1 and Radio France), and a number of his pieces have received international awards (Bourges (1997 and 2001), EAR (1999), La Muse en Circuit (2007)). He has held composer residencies at Slovak Radio (Bratislava), La Muse en Circuit (Paris), the Tyrone Guthrie Arts Centre (Ireland), Habitación del Ruido (Mexico City), and CMMAS (Morelia).

He has collaborated with a number of poets, including Martin Daws (Young People’s Poet Laureate for Wales, 2013 – 2015) and John Wedgwood Clarke (for the Arts Council funded Dictionary of Stone and Sea Swim with Lara Goodband). This was a natural progression from working on a number of projects based on the theme of geology, including a collaboration with percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie on the Natural England funded Ruskin Rocks project, led by a team of scientists and musicians at the University of Leeds who created two stone instruments (lithophones). He also created a Jurassic soundscape for Scarborough’s Rotunda museum.

More recently, Rob has been working along the migration routes of monarch butterflies, collaborating with partners in Mexico, the USA and Canada. He has presented and co-produced a programme for BBC Radio 3's Between the Ears documenting some of this work: Flight of the Monarch.

Rob has been a reviewer for numerous international conferences, including ICMC (International Computer Music Conference), NIME (New Instruments for Musical Expression), DHRN (Digital Humanities Research Network), Balance/UnBalance, and journals (Organised Sound, Cambridge University Press). He is also on the editorial board for Interference, a Journal of Audio Cultures, and has been guest editor for Soundscape and Ideas Sónicas/Sonic Ideas.

He has played, written and produced in a number of bands including the Welsh Hip-Hop collective Tystion with whom he collaborated alongside John Cale on the film A Beautiful Mistake (Film 4), as well as recording three John Peel sessions on BBC Radio 1 and supporting PJ Harvey. The band have a chapter devoted to them in Sarah Hill’s book ‘Blerwytirhwng?’ The Place of Welsh Pop Music (Ashgate 2007).

Rob has done session work for Super Furry Animals producer Gorwel Owen, songwriter Euros Childs, and Hip-Hop producer Kista. He is currently enjoying playing in the Welsh Afro-tropical collective Drymbago, having supported Quantic and Tony Allen, and recently receiving play by Mr Scruff as well as Craig Charles and Lauren Laverne on BBC Radio 6.

Rob is currently a Senior Lecturer in Composition at Newcastle University. Previously, he was a Reader in Music at the University of Hull where he directed HEARO (Hull Electroacoustic Resonance Orchestra). He is also the Chair of UKISC (UK and Ireland Soundscape Community), an affiliate of the WFAE (World Forum for Acoustic Ecology). He holds a BSc in Geology and Music from Keele University where he studied electroacoustic music with Mike Vaughan. He also holds an MMus and PhD in Electroacoustic Composition from Bangor University where he was supervised by Andrew Lewis. 

More information at: https://robmackay.net

Research

My main area of research is in electroacoustic composition and sound art. Recent projects have moved towards a more cross-disciplinary approach, including theatre, text in performance, audiovisual installation work, acoustic ecology, and human-computer interaction. My work has gained international recognition in the form of prizes and honours, and my pieces are performed regularly worldwide (including several performances on BBC Radio 3).

Awards and recognition:

• Re-imagining the Jurassic. Finalist in the ‘art! ⋈ climate’ contest 2013, run in collaboration between the ‘Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre’ and CEIArtE (Centro de Experimentación e Investigación en Artes Electrónicas), Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febero.

• Winner in the Concours Luc Ferrari (7th International Radio Arts Competition) 2006. As a result I travelled to Paris for a two-week composer residency at the studios of La Muse en Circuit.

• Finalist in the Concours Luc Ferrari (6th International Radio Arts Competition) 2004. As a result I performed three of my pieces at the Archipel Festival in Geneva.

• Joyce’s Vision. Finalist in the ‘1er Concurso International de Minaturas Electroacústicas’, Spain, 2003, and included on Competition CD

• Voicewind and Embrace (with IMP). Short-listed for SPNM season, 2002 – 2005.

• Augustine's Message. Finalist in the ' 28e Concours de Musique Electroacoustique de Bourges’, 2001.

• Voicewind. Special Prize in the 'EAR99 Competition of the HEAR Studio’ (Hungarian Radio), 1999.

• Sea Pictures. Residency Prize from ‘24e Concours de Musique Electroacoustique de Bourges 1997'. For this prize I travelled to Bratislava in August 1998 to compose in the experimental music studio of Slovak Radio.

• University of Wales, Bangor. Research Scholarship, 1997 - 1999.

• Sea Pictures and Environs. Short-listed for SPNM season, 1997 - 2000.

• Keele University. Music Department Prize for outstanding commitment to performance, 1993.


Projects, commissions and collaborations:

• Flight of the Monarch – Between the Ears. Commissioned by BBC Radio 3 for a 30 min radio feature for Between the Ears (using binaural decodes of ambisonic field recordings). Broadcast 3rd January 2021.

• Red River – Listening to a polluted river. Commissioned sound artist for collaboration with poet John Wedgwood Clarke on a £74,000 AHRC project. 2020.

• Following the Flight of the Monarchs. I am leading this international pilot project with partners in Canada, US, Mexico, Australia, and UK, investigating livestreaming of soundscapes from biospheres along the migratory routes of monarch butterflies, as well as collaborating with scientists and artists on public awareness raising immersive audio-visual installations. £6,800 GCRF HEIF Funded. 2017 – 2021.

• Above 8. Commissioned by Invisible Dust to produce a sound installation with poet John Wedgewood Clarke for ‘Offshore: Artists Explore the Sea’, a major exhibition at the Ferens Gallery and Hull Maritime Museum for Hull UK City of Culture. 3,000 funding from ACE. 2017.

• Voice Over Water. Commissioned by Invisible Dust to produce a sound piece with poet John Wedgewood Clarke for ‘The Ocean Connects Us’ symposium at Trinity Buoy Wharfe, London. £3,000 funding from the Gulbenkian Foundation. 2017.

• Flight of the Monarchs/Vuelo de las Monarcas. Commissioned audiovisual installation for the Amy Johnson Festival. Hull. Also presented at the Eden Project and Shambala Festival. 2016.

• Red Rust: Commissioned sound designer for Odd Doll puppet theatre company, on a production based on issues around dementia. Funding from Arts Council England, 2015.

• Connect: Resound: Partner with NYMAZ and UCanPlay on a project using online technology to develop music performance skills in rural Yorkshire. £104,000 NESTA Grant. 2014 – 2015. • Resounding Mulgrave: Commissioned to create an installation work with poet John Wedgwood Clarke for the Arts Council England funded Dictionary of Stone project curated by Lara Goodband. Rotunda Museum of Geology, Scarborough. 2014.

• Strata: Commissioned by Coastival to create an interactive audiovisual installation for the festival in Scarborough. 2013.

• Re-imagining the Jurassic: Commissioned to create a Jurassic soundscape for the Scarborough’s Lost Dinosaurs exhibit. Rotunda Museum of Geology, Scarborough. 2012.

• Flow: Commissioned by Mexican multi-media performance group to write a new piece for flute, live electronics and video. Realised in the studios of CMMAS (Mexican Centre for Music and Sonic Arts) during a residency in November 2012. Funded by The University of Hull Vice Chancellor’s Fund and the British Council.

• Fizz^Fizz: Collaboration with Prof Roger Moore (Chair of Spoken Language Processing at the University of Sheffield) on a piece for poet, soprano and laptops as part of my involvement with the EPSRC funded CreST Network (Creative Speech Technology), an interdisciplinary network of contributors to the field of computer speech.

• Sea Swim: Commissioned as sound artist/composer. Funding from Arts Council England (£27,000). Installations at MIMA, York Art Gallery, and The Poetry Library, Southbank Centre. 2011 – 12.

• Living Waves collaboration with Dame Evelyn Glennie. Commissioned for the £200,000 Ruskin Rocks project, Leeds University and Brantwood Museum [Full-page spread in the Guardian, feature on BBC’s Countryfile]. 2010 – 11.

• ‘Ways of Hearing’ – invited to be one of 36 researchers across the UK working on this interdisciplinary project set-up by Sound and Music to gain a wider understanding of ways of listening in the urban environment. Partners include ARUP, MAAP, Opera North and Lumen. 2011.

• Equanimity for Clarinet and computer commissioned by American clarinettist F.Gerrard Errante, for his CD project Delicate Balance. 2009.

• Map Maker: Commissioned by the Stephen Joseph Theatre as composer/sound artist for a £50,000 multi-media theatre project celebrating the restoration of William Smith’s Rotunda museum. 2005 – 2008.

• Song of Stones. This Hörspiel piece was composed during a residency at the studios of La Muse en Circuit (National Centre for Musical Creation) in Paris during January 2007 as a result of being a winner in the Concours Luc Ferrari.

• Altered Landscapes. Piece for Trumpet, percussion, and live audio-visual interaction commissioned by German group Duo Contour. 2005.

• Water Elated. Developed during a residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Annaghmakerrig. Collaboration with performance artist Fergus Byrne. Incorporating live processing of human voice, text, movement, and flute improvisation. Performed at the Dublin Fringe. 2004.

• Cain and Abel. Composer/Sound Designer for Twisted I Theatre Company. Working with live processing of human voice and recorded sequences to produce vocal soundscapes and real-time sound transformations. Funds from the Arts Council of England. 2003. National tour 2003 – 2004.

• Tell Tale Hearts Theatre Company. Research and development project, examining interactivity in theatre for Children from 3 – 6 years of age. Funds from the Arts Council of England. 2003

• Fragments. Piece for Harp, Tape and live electronics for Elinor Bennett. Commissioned by the Bangor New Music Festival, with funds from the Arts Council of Wales. 2003.

• Radiance. An interactive video and sound installation for the Festival of Light, Scarborough. Commission from Create, with funds from the Arts Council of England and Scarborough Borough Council. Collaboration with video artist Nick Cope. December 2002.

• Clofyrs, Pont 1 and Pont 2, commissioned by performance artist Eddie Ladd for Scarface. A multi-media performance piece incorporating blue-screen video technology, theatre, and dance. Performed throughout Wales (including Chapter Arts Centre), Scotland, Europe and USA (Including New York). 2000.

• Collaboration with Pwyll ap Siôn on Ffordd Osgoi for Mixed Choir and Tape. Commissioned by the National Youth Choir of Wales. 1999.

• Postcards from the Summer. Created at the Experimental Studio of Slovak Radio as part of a composer residency. Travel and accommodation grant provided by the ‘Institut International de Musique Electroacoustique de Bourges’. 1998.


Research Supervision:

I have supervised a number of PhDs in composition, including:

• Moss Freed – Composing for improvisors: information flow, collaborative composition and individual freedom in large ensembles (supported by a NECAH scholarship in partnership with the University of Huddersfield). Co-supervisor: Prof Pierre Alexandre Tremblay.

• Anthony Boorer – The Electroacoustic Trombone: An examination of trombone technique through augmented electroacoustic sound design in an original composition portfolio (supported by a NECAH scholarship in partnership with the University of Huddersfield). Co-supervisor: Dr Mark Bocowiec.

• Tariq Emam – The Yorkshire Soundscape Project (Supported by a University of Hull Interdisciplinary Scholarship)

• Alo Allik – Computational composition strategies in audiovisual laptop performance :(supported by a University of Hull 80th Anniversary Scholarship).

• Nick Del Nero – The relationship between technology and society (supported by an AHRC scholarship).



Teaching

Undergraduate Teaching:

MUS3012 - MUS3016: Specialist Study in Composition

MUS2086: Experimental Approaches to Musical Composition

MUS1005: Recording in the Music Studio

MUS1015: Composing in the Music Studio

Awards:

• Awarded Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), 2017.

• Nominated for an Employee Excellence Award for ‘Outstanding Commitment to the Student Experience’, University of Hull, (2017).

• University Teaching Fellow – I was awarded this fellowship for my contributions to excellence in learning and teaching. In addition, I was granted £1,000 to set-up SEALE (Scarborough Electro-Acoustic Laptop Ensemble). University of Hull, (2011).

• £5,000 award for Innovations in Student Learning from the Learning and Teaching Support Unit, University of Hull: Development of an interdisciplinary module in Acoustic Ecology. University of Hull (2010).

• £3,000 award for Innovations in Student Learning from the Learning and Teaching Support Unit, University of Hull: Development of professional links with a local museum and industry professional for student learning. University of Hull, (2009).

 

Postgraduate Teaching:

 

I have supervised 8 PhD students and 14 Masters students in composition. My main areas of expertise are: sound art; electroacoustic composition; sound and place; acoustic ecology; ecoacoustics; interactive technology; audiovisual interaction. 

 

You can see some of the PhD students I've supervised on my Research tab.

Publications