Teaching & Research
Dan writes, presents and examines syllabus focused on studio practice and composition; interactive electronics and computer music; sound design; and lectures on areas such as critical listening and acoustics. He routinely works with graduate and undergraduate students to help them shape their ideas in research, performance and studio practice.
current Oxford syllabus Teaching and Examining
2012 – present Prelims: Sound Design & Studio Techniques
2013 – present FHS: Interactive electronics for composition & performance
2016 – present FHS: Recording & Producing Music
2018 – present Prelims: Critical Listening: Representing Timbre
Introduction to FHS: Recording & Producing Music, option on the Oxford BA Music.
He is co-founder and one of the directors of the University of Oxford’s EMPRES (Electronic Music Practice RESearch) group. EMPRES exists as a research interface between music industry and academia. They regularly host workshops, talks and concerts including the popular Art of Noises concert series at Modern Art Oxford (more below).
His current research interests are focused on spatial sound and studio music production; specifically how all recorded music can be represented and re-imagined using immersive audio formats such as Higher Order Ambisonics.
In 2018 he received funding from the John Fell Fund and RODE Microphones to research and direct a documentary on the history of Ambisonics. Into the Soundfield focuses on the ground-breaking innovations and little-known story of Michael Gerzon. The associated website has become an invaluable resource for other researchers in the field.
Into the Soundfield: Michael Gerzon and Ambisonics at Oxford - Documentary
A documentary film and accompanying website to introduce to the public the work of Gerzon and other members of the Oxford University Tape Recording Society (OUTRS) whilst students at Oxford during in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Gerzon's contributions to the world are recognized by his peers, but now his legacy is being acknowledged beyond the audio industry, as Ambisonics has become the standard immersive surround-sound format of Virtual Reality.
music faculty: Electronic music practice research
The University of Oxford’s Electronic Music Practice RESearch group (EMPRES) aims to promote and advance research and public dissemination in Electronic Music Practice. It does so by working with musicians, composers, producers, researchers and academics from a wide range of disciplines interested in electronic music, as well as other members of the music industry.
‘art of noises’ concert series; with modern art oxford.
Dan curates this regular concert series where EMPRES takes over the Modern Art Oxford galleries to present innovative performances and research that explores the boundaries between music, sound and technology.