Brian Bridges

Brian Bridges is Senior Lecturer in Music and Creative Audio. He has served as Research Director for Music, Drama, Performing Arts and Film/Screen Studies since 2017, leading Ulster’s submission to the UK REF (Research Excellence Framework) 2021 assessment, which saw his unit being ranked joint first in the UK for research impact, alongside achieving a 100% 'world leading' and 'internationally excellent' research environment score for the first time.

Brian is a composer/sonic artist, electronic musician and arts-technology researcher, having graduated from Trinity College Dublin (MPhil in Music and Media Technologies, 2003) and National University of Ireland, Maynooth (BA in English and Music, 2001; PhD in Music, 2013), in addition to private studies in the US with Glenn Branca (2005) and Tony Conrad (2006), supported by the Arts Council of Ireland. 

Research Interests

Much of Brian's work is inspired by connections between cognitive-perceptual processes and creative - and creative-technological - practices.

Research fields include composition and installation practices, musical HCI, sound design, modular synthesis, soundtrack studies, microtonality, and spatial/immersive music.

Research interests include the application of embodied models to musical practices, sound design, and the design of performance systems and interfaces, including immersive contexts and generative approaches, with publications in fora including the proceedings of New Interfaces for Musical Expression, International Conference on Auditory Display, International Computer Music Conference, journals including Journal of Sonic Studies and the Journal on Multimodal User Interfaces and volumes on sound design, sound spatialisation, and sound in interaction published by Routledge (including Focal Press) and Springer.

Creative outputs include sound–based spatial/immersive installations, audiovisual pieces and electroacoustic and acoustic composition, with particular interests in microtonal music. He is a founder–member of the Dublin–based Spatial Music Collective and his compositions have been programmed at festivals in Europe, the Americas and China. He has received support and commissions from arts organisations including the Arts Council of Ireland, Culture Ireland, the Contemporary Music Centre and Resonance FM. Recent performances include Huddersfield and Belfast festivals in 2023, and the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival in 2024.

Current projects include leading on the £469k Presence Lab (Higher Education Research Capital: DfE) and serving as a co-investigator on the AHRC CoSTAR Lab. 

Broader interests include connections between arts and humanities and STEM, and he has served as Vice-President and President of the Irish Sound, Science and Technology Association, as well as co-founding the Hearts of STEM (2016-18) and Oscillations and Modulations conference-festivals (2018-present). 

PhD supervision

(all FT PhDs DEL/DfE or VCRS Scholarship)

Current (4): 

co-supervised with Dr A. Melvin

Peter O’Doherty - topic: Spatial Music Composition (title TBC)

co-supervised with Prof. B. Irvine and Dr R. Casey

Patrick Moore - Integration of technology expanding the audience experience in contemporary composition through interactive systems

Co-supervised with Dr A. Melvin and Dr R. Casey

Aaron McGlinchey - The Sound of Pre-Christian Ireland: An Environmental Sound Art Portfolio of Ireland’s Unique Acoustical Spaces

Colin Woods - Erosion of the creator-performer-observer paradigm in improvised open works

Completed (8): 

co-supervised with Prof. F. Lyons and Prof. B. Irvine:

Darragh Morgan (completed, 2023): PhD by Published Work: 

Unlocking the unconventional: investigating the multifaceted role of the contemporary violinist with new perspectives on style, collaboration and innovation. 

co-supervised with Prof. F. Lyons and Dr R. Casey: 

Lewis Smith (completed, 2023): Inclusive software design enabling disabled and non-disabled musicians to compose and perform music in an immersive virtual environment

co-supervised with Dr Liz Doherty: 

Aidan O'Donnel (completed 2020): Tuning In: Practices in tuning and pitch related inflections in the Donegal fiddle sound community.

co-supervised with Prof. F. Lyons:

Matthew Jacobson (completed 2021): The Space Between: exploring spontaneity, group interaction and social context in improvised performances of motivic compositions

Mike Nielsen (completed 2017): Improvising a System: Microtonal Practices on a Self-Designed Customised Guitar; Lecturer in Jazz, Dublin Institute of Technology Conservatory of Music

John King (completed 2015), Topic: Rhythmic Interaction Design for Electronic Music: multitouch technologies, affordances, embodied image schemas and performance practice; Lecturer in Music Technology and Production at Dundalk Institute of Technology (2015–16);  Developer and R&D at Sensum Ltd, Belfast (2016–17); Qualcommm (2018–present)

Brendan McCloskey (completed 2014), Topic: Accessible, Inclusive Design of Digital Musical Instrument (DMI)/Performance Systems for Musicians with Cerebral Palsy. Awards:shortlisted for the OHMI/Ars Electronica Prize 2013 and semi–finalist in Georgia Tech 2014 Margaret Guthman Prize.

Ricky Graham (completed 2012), Topic: The Expansion of Electronic Guitar Performance through the Development of Interactive Digital Music Systems; Assistant Professor of Music and Technology, Stevens Institute of Technology, NJ, USA (2012–2017); currently founder and CEO at Delta Sound Labs, USA

Teaching Interests and Experience

Brian currently teaches on the BSc Creative Audio and BMus.

He was awarded the SFHEA (Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy) in 2022, with case studies around arts-technology pedagogies and creating a supportive research culture for PhD students in Music, Drama, Film/Screen and Heritage. 

He was awarded the FHEA (Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy) in 2016 for work on arts-technology pedagogy and supporting students from different disciplinary backgrounds and perspectives as part of his role in establishing the BSc Creative Technologies at Ulster in 2008.

Current Modules

CRE507 Final Project -theory and context (module coordination and writing skills classes)

CRE506 Final Project -practice (supervision)

CRE334 Acoustics and Cognition (acoustics/psychoacoustics and auditory perception theory and writing/research skills) 

MUS329 Music and Sound Practices (experimental music and modular synthesis, co-taught with Dr Rob Casey)

CRE105 Sound, Technology and Culture (history, cultural theory and writing/research skills)

CRE129 Music Creation (music theory and practices through electronic music tools)