Search

Dr Aaron Einbond

Reader in Music

School of Communication & Creativity Department of Performing Arts

Contact details

Personal links

About

Overview

Aaron Einbond’s work connects instrumental music, field recording, sound installation, and interactive technology to explore relationships between instrument, loudspeaker, listener, space, and place. Record label all that dust recently released his portrait album Cosmologies performed by cellist Séverine Ballon, pianist Alvise Sinivia, and the Riot Ensemble. His album Cities features collaborations with ensemble Yarn/Wire and Matilde Meireles, and his portrait album Without Words was recorded by Ensemble Dal Niente. Other recent and upcoming collaborators include the ensembles L’Instant Donné, United Instruments of Lucilin, soundinitiative, line upon line, loadbang, TAK, Opera Lab Berlin; soloists Maxime Echardour, Samuel Stoll, and Marco Fusi; and festivals Présences, November Music, Transit, Nordic Music Days, and Académie du Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. He has received a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, a Giga-Hertz Förderpreis, and Artistic Research Residencies at IRCAM and ZKM. He teaches at City St George's, University of London and is Co-Artistic Director of Qubit New Music in New York. He has taught at Columbia University, the University of Huddersfield, and Harvard University and studied at Harvard University, the University of Cambridge, the University of California Berkeley, and IRCAM with teachers including Mario Davidovsky, Julian Anderson, Edmund Campion, and Philippe Leroux.

Qualifications

  • Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, United States, August 2002 - December 2009
  • D.E.M. 1er Prix, Conservatoire du Rayonnement Départmental “Erik Satie", France, September 2007 - July 2009
  • P.G.Dip., Royal College of Music, London, United Kingdom, September 2001 - July 2002
  • M.Phil., University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom, September 2000 - August 2001
  • A.B., Harvard University, Cambridge, United States, September 1996 - June 2000

Employment

  • Visiting Lecturer, Harvard University, Cambridge, United States, January - June 2014
  • Research Fellow, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, United Kingdom, February 2012 - January 2014
  • Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, Columbia University, New York, United States, August 2009 - August 2011

Fellowships

  • Fellow HEA, Higher Education Academy, July 2022 - present
  • Music & Artificial Intelligence: Building Critical Interdisciplinary AI Studies, IRCAM Artistic Research Residency supported by University College London and the European Research Council, October 2021 - September 2022
  • The Secret Inner Life of the Piano, ZKM EASTN-DC Residency, August - September 2020
  • Cosmologies of the Concert Grand Piano, IRCAM STARTS Residency, May 2019 - April 2020
  • A Factor Oracle for Timbre, IRCAM Artistic Research Residency, October 2014 - April 2015
  • John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, 2014 - 2015

Research

Artistic and Research Statement

My work explores the intersection of instrumental music, field recording, sound installation, and interactive technology, focusing on collaboration and transcription at the center of a creative process questioning the thresholds of perception between instrument, loudspeaker, stage, and place. Artistic practice and technological research support each other in my work to illuminate our experience of music. With the advent of big data, Music Information Retrieval (MIR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are some of the most exciting fields in the digital humanities today, and the focus of my research and creative activity at the intersection of instrumental composition and interactive technology. As ever-larger databases of recorded sound become available through the internet and digital archives, I would like to open a dialogue between musical practices to address the pressing question of how to make sense of this data and harness it for research, teaching, and music making focusing on three key issues: spatial sound, musical timbre, and computer improvisation.

Publications

Featured publications

  1. Gioti, A.-.M., Einbond, A. and Born, G. (2022). Composing the Assemblage: Probing Aesthetic and Technical Dimensions of Artistic Creation with Machine Learning. Computer Music Journal, 46(4), pp. 62-80. doi:10.1162/comj_a_00658

    [publisher’s website]

  2. Einbond, A. (2017). Mapping the Klangdom Live: Cartographies for Piano with Two Performers and Electronics. Computer Music Journal, 41(1), pp. 61-75. doi:10.1162/COMJ_a_00397

    [publisher’s website]

Publications by category

Book

Chapters (3)

Compositions (28)

  • Einbond, A.(2025). Buried Gardens for eight voices and electronics. (voices and electronics)
  • Einbond, A.(2025). Dans Tous les Sens for seven instruments and electronics. (ensemble and electronics)
  • Einbond, A.(2024). Prestidigitation II for percussion solo, five instruments, and three-dimensional electronics. (ensemble and 3-D electronics)
  • Einbond, A.(2022). Unspeakable Home performed installation for ensemble and electronics. (performed installation for ensemble and electronics)
  • Einbond, A.(2022). Prestidigitation for percussion and three-dimensional electronics.
  • Einbond, A.(2021). Nordbahnhof for horn and electronics.
  • Einbond, A.(2020). Cosmologies III for three dimensional fixed electronics.
  • Einbond, A.(2020). Cosmologies for piano and three-dimensional electronics.
  • Einbond, A. and Meireles, M.(2019). London Scenes for fixed stereo electronics. (Vinyl LP)
  • Einbond, A.(2019). Attempt at Exhausting a Place for flute, soprano saxophone, viola, percussion, piano, and electronics.
  • Einbond, A.(2018). Kate Frankenstein for for bass clarinet, trombone, violoncello, percussion, harp, piano and video.
  • Einbond, A.(2017). Central Park for baritone, bass clarinet, trumpet, trombone, and electronics.
  • Einbond, A.(2017). Central Park for trombone and electronics.
  • Einbond, A.(2016). The Kind of Problem a City Is for two percussionists, two keyboard players, and electronics.
  • Einbond, A.(2016). Hidden in Plain Sight for mezzo-soprano, baritone, clarinet/bass clarinet, violoncello, and electronics. (Site-specific music theatre)
  • Einbond, A.(2016). Graphology for violoncello solo, bass flute, bass clarinet, violin, percussion, and electronics.
  • Einbond, A.(2015). String Trio with Field Recording.
  • Einbond, A.(2015). Xylography for violoncello and electronics.
  • Einbond, A.(2014). Cartographies for piano with two performers and electronics.
  • Einbond, A.(2013). Endangered Sound for orchestra and field recordings.
  • Einbond, A.(2012). Resistance for bass clarinet and electronics.
  • Einbond, A.(2012). Without Words for soprano, 11 instruments, and electronics.
  • Einbond, A.(2011). Paläontologie for four baroque instruments and four modern instruments.
  • Einbond, A.(2010). Passagework for two pianists, two percussionists and electronics.
  • Einbond, A.(2009). What the Blind See for five players and electronics.
  • Einbond, A.(2009). Starting Over for contrabass Paetzold recorder in F and electonics.
  • Einbond, A.(2008). Beside Oneself for viola and electronics.
  • Einbond, A.(2006). Temper for bass clarinet and electronics.

Conference papers and proceedings (16)

Journal articles (3)

Media (8)

  • Einbond, A., Ballon, S., Sinivia, A., Holloway-Nahum, A. and Riot Ensemble, (2023). Cosmologies [CD].
  • Einbond, A. and Dal Niente, E.(2022). Attempt at Exhausting a Place.
  • Einbond, A., Meireles, M. and Yarn/Wire, (2019). Cities [LP].
  • Roche, H., Einbond, A., Morishita, C., Iddon, M., Bauck, M., Alvarez, P.... Murray, M.(2015). Patelea [CD].
  • Einbond, A. and van Cauwenberghe, K.(2015). Silent Screen on Give My Regards to 116th Street [CD].
  • Einbond, A. and Ensemble Dal Niente, (2013). Without Words [CD].
  • Einbond, A., Politano, A. and PRIME Recorder Ensemble, (2012). Just Like Starting Over on Spray [CD].
  • Einbond, A. and Yarn Wire, (2010). Passagework on Tone Builders [CD].

Software