Advancing music research.

The School of Music is a leader in music scholarship, from music theory to ethnomusicology. Faculty contribute actively to all aspects of music research, and support students develop their research interests.

Research Spotlight

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Alberta composer looks to Indigenous culture for composition, Controlled Burn

 
UBC Music Alum Cris Derksen’s (BMus'07) composition, "Controlled Burn" begins with a “col legno” passage, which is when the strings are hit by the wood back of the bow. For the Cree composer, the “crackly sound” is meant to emulate nature.

Music and Disability Studies Q & A with Dr. Anabel Maler, Professor of Music Theory

 
"I’d like to suggest that songs like River Song reveal that music can be better defined as organized movement, rather than organized sound. How might this change our understanding of musical expression? What does it mean for movement to become musical?" ~ Dr. Anabel Maler

‘What if I told you I’m a mastermind?’ The Taylor Swift effect

 
Dr. David Metzer, UBC musicology professor on Swift’s unique brand and music, “I always joke with my classes about Wikipedia … they’re always trying to pigeon hole things into genres. But even this one defied them...I find this quite fascinating, that she’s now in a sound world which I don’t know how to classify.” / The Ubyssey
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Areas of Study

Areas of Study

Faculty
Explore the profiles of our faculty members, their achievements, publications and current initiatives.
Graduate Students
Learn more about our graduate students and their research areas, interests and performances.

Understories

Ensemble: Dálava Featured UBC Students and Alumni: Julia Úlehla (PhD '21) and Aram Bajakian (PhD Candidate) Recording details: Pi Recordings,…

Keyboard | Early Music

Julius Rontgen: Piano Music, Vol. 6

Artists: Mark Anderson Recording details: Nimbus Records, April 4th, 2025 This recording provides the listener with a chronological overview of…

Acoustic Alloy

Ensemble: Vancouver Brass Collective Featured UBC Alumni: Jaelem Bhate (conductor, artistic director, and featured composer), Matheus Moraes (trumpet), Albert Wu (horn),…

Composition

Histoire des Métis: The Freedom Songs

Composer: T. Patrick Carrabré Artists: Vancouver Chamber Choir, Kari Turunen (director) Recording details: WinterWind Records, 2024. Recorded by James Perrella at…

Featured Publications & Productions

Musicology

Space fantasy: Nagaoka Shusei's contributions to Afrofuturist visual culture

Author: Nathan Hesselink Publication details: Hesselink, Nathan. 2024. “ Space Fantasy: Nagaoka Shusei's Contributions to Afrofuturist Visual Culture.” The Journal of American Culture 00(0): 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/jacc.13598.

Musicology

Confraternities, Congregations and Aural Culture in Counter-Reformation Germany

Author: Alexander Fisher Publication details: In Listening to Confraternities: Spaces for Performance, Patronage and Urban Musical Experience, edited by Tess Knighton, 272–304.…

Music Theory

Seeing Voices: Analyzing Sign Language Music

Author: Anabel Maler  Publication details: Oxford University Press, Oxford Studies in Music Theory Weblink: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/seeing-voices-9780197601976?cc=ca&lang=en&   Abstract: First monograph-length analytical study…