Media & Projects
It is deeply important to me that my scholarly work is complemented by activism, education, performance, and collaboration. While this makes for a busy schedule, I find artistic collaboration and teaching to be grounding and inspiring. See below for some projects on which I am proud to have worked in the past few years.
Dissertation Posted: June 2023
"The Hi-Fi Man: Masculinity, Modularity, and Home Audio Technology in the U.S. Midcentury"
My recently completed dissertation is now available on ProQuest! Many thanks to my committee members--Christina Baade, Andrea Bohlman, Michael Figueroa, Aaron Harcus--and advisor--Mark Katz--for all their support throughout this project. If you are not able to access the dissertation, please feel free to reach out for a copy. I welcome and invite any questions or conversation!
Student Podcast Series: November 2022
UNC College of Arts and Sciences
Done in collaboration with Professor Anne MacNeil and the students of Music 254: Music Before 1750. I facilitated a project in which students wrote and recorded a series of 10 minute podcasts designed for the general public. QR codes with links to the podcasts were distributed around campus on the last week of classes and a map to the codes was posted across UNC social media.
Publication: June 2022
"'The Silent Partner':
Tonearms and Modular Masculinities in U.S. Midcentury Hi-Fi Culture"
Published online in June 2022 and included in the Summer 2022 issue of Journal for the Society of American music, this article explores midcentury advertising for record player tonearms and the ways advertisers struggled to masculinize a technological object that was "delicate," "sensitive," "obedient," and "passive." These struggles manifest as an ambiguous and fluid--but always masculine--gendering of this beguiling musical object. Through analysis of magazine articles and advertisements, I reveal a home audio industry that was reckoning with and stretching the boundaries of masculinity the U.S. 1950s.
Press Feature: April 2022
UNC College of Arts and Sciences
As part of Arts Everywhere Day at UNC, the College of Arts and sciences ran a feature describing my dissertation research and work in the UNC Beat Lab.
Press Feature: September 2021
UNC Arts Everywhere
Inaugural Music Technology Fellow
During the 2021-2022 academic year, I was awarded the inaugural Arts Everywhere Music Technology Fellowship. My work for this fellowship included hosting workshops with guest artists, starting an electronic music club, and generating performance opportunities for UNC undergraduate students in the Chapel Hill and Durham communities.
UNC Beat Lab: Fall 2021-Spring 2022
Guest artist workshops and community building in the Beat Lab
As a part of my Arts Everywhere Fellowship, I became deeply involved with the UNC Beat Lab, bringing several in guest artists and industrial professional to teach beat making and electronic music. Guests include DJs Suzi Analogue and PlayPlay, as well as Dustin Ragland of Ableton and Jam Phelps of Denk Studios.
Media Production: Spring 2022
Installation Design with the UNC Opera Workshop and Raleigh Contemporary Art Museum
In collaboration with Marc Callahan (UNC Opera Director), Allen Anderson (UNC Professor of Composition), and Tama Hochbaum (Artist and Director at HighTree Photo & Design), I designed the technical infrastructure for a multi-media performance of Hildegard von Bingen's Ordo Virtutum. The production included lighting, custom projection design, and dynamic sound cuing. We ran shows at both UNC Music Department and the Raleigh Contemporary Art Museum. This performance was the winner of the Division I National Opera Association 2021-2022 Production Competition.
Vinyl - Gender - Trouble: February 2020
Guided discussions around music and technology
Done in collaboration with Andrea Bohlman (UNC Associate Professor of Music), Diane Steinhaus (UNC Music Librarian), and UNC student radio station WXYZ. This team came together to facilitate a three-part series hosted by the UNC Music Library. Session topics included how to select audio gear, vinyl collecting, and the gender dynamics of audiophile culture. This series ran in February of 2020.
Electronic Music at MSU: 2016-2018
Composing and performing laptop music
During my time at Michigan State University, I worked with fellow graduate students Edward Stumpp and Sarah Palermo to found the Electronic Music Workshop. This group composed and performed electronic music as an ensemble, including concerts given in the Music Department and at the MSU Art Museum.
