Research Associate (Analysis, creation and teaching of orchestration (ACTOR))

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Hiring Unit:

Analysis, creation and teaching of orchestration (ACTOR)

Schulich School of Music

Position Summary:

Under the co-supervised of Robert Hasegawa, ACTOR Associate Director, and Stephen McAdams, ACTOR Director, the incumbent will work within an international, interdisciplinary partnership directed by Prof. Stephen McAdams, and including McGill faculty members in Composition (Philippe Leroux), Music Theory (Robert Hasegawa, Nicole Biamonte), Sound Recording (Martha de Francisco), Music Technology (Philippe Depalle, Ichiro Fujinaga, Stephen McAdams), and Conducting (Mélanie Leonard). The ACTOR Partnership proposes to bring the often-neglected topics of timbre and orchestration to the forefront of musical scholarship and practice through a collaboration including world-class artists, scholars, and scientists. This Partnership links major North American and European universities, conservatories, research centres, orchestras, and companies to develop a solid theoretical basis for orchestration practice and pedagogy, to stimulate the development of new creativity-enhancing digital tools for teaching and learning orchestration, and to apply tools of corpus analysis and machine learning to better understand orchestration practice in over four centuries of music.

The partnership is organized into three primary research axes: 1) Analysis Axis – score, text, audio, perception and performance analysis of orchestration practice and interpretation, 2) Tool Development Axis – development of computer-aided orchestration and orchestral simulation environments, an orchestration research database, and an online interactive orchestration resource, 3) Output Innovation Axis – applying the analysis-based research and tools to innovation in orchestration pedagogy, music scholarship and composition.

The Research Associate will work primarily on the Analysis Axis. They will be involved in project coordination and research on orchestration in the fields of music theory, musicology, orchestration pedagogy, and compositional practice. They will participate in the development of methods for evaluating the impact of this research in those domains and will co-supervise graduate and undergraduate students.

Additional tasks include being a member of the ACTOR Executive Committee and of the Knowledge and Mobilization Committee (co-chair), coordinating development of the Timbre and Orchestration Resource, co-organizing the hybrid (virtual/in-person) ACTOR Symposium semi-annually, contributing to the annual ACTOR Workshops, and communicating with specialist and general audiences (including dissemination through social media and blog posts).

There will be ample opportunity for collaboration with team members at McGill and with the other institutional partners.

The Schulich School of Music is an internationally recognized university-based music faculty with humanistic, scientific and engineering research, composition and music performance. It houses the multi-university Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT). McGill University is a world-class institution in the culturally and scientifically vibrant city of Montreal.

For further details on the ACTOR Partnership to decide if this position is a good fit for you, please contact Stephen McAdams ([email protected]) and Robert Hasegawa ([email protected]).

Qualifications:

• PhD degree in Music Theory, with a strong background in orchestration and an interest in interdisciplinary innovation.
• Previous experience with SSHRC-funded partnership grants.
• Deep knowledge of common-practice and contemporary orchestral repertoire is a significant plus.
• Ability to communicate fluently in French is an asset.

Before applying, please note that to work at McGill University, you must be both authorized to work in Canada and willing to work in the province of Quebec at the campus where the position is based / located.

McGill University is an English-language university where most teaching and research activities are conducted in the English language, thereby requiring English communication both verbally and in writing.

Hourly Salary:

$32.60

Hours per Week:

35 (Full time)

Location:

Strathcona Music

Supervisor:

Professor

Position Start Date:

2025-06-01

Position End Date:

2025-07-31

Deadline to Apply:

2025-02-07

This position is covered by the Association of McGill University Research Employees (AMURE) collective agreement.

McGill University hires on the basis of merit and is strongly committed to equity and diversity within its community. We welcome applications from racialized persons/visible minorities, women, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and persons of minority sexual orientations and gender identities, as well as from all qualified candidates with the skills and knowledge to productively engage with diverse communities. McGill implements an employment equity program and encourages members of designated groups to self-identify. Persons with disabilities who anticipate needing accommodations for any part of the application process may contact, in confidence, [email protected].

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