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A two-year
postdoctoral position is available at the Schulich School of Music
of McGill University, starting in Fall 2026. The postdoctoral fellow (PDF) will work within an international, interdisciplinary partnership co-directed by Profs. Stephen McAdams and Robert Hasegawa, and including McGill faculty members in composition
(Philippe Leroux, Eliot Britton), music theory (Robert Hasegawa, Nicole Biamonte), ethnomusicology (Althea SullyCole), sound recording (Martha de Francisco), music technology (Philippe Depalle, Stephen McAdams), information studies (Catherine Guastavino),
percussion (Fabrice Marandola), and conducting (Mélanie Léonard). The Analysis, Creation, and Teaching of Orchestration (ACTOR) Project has received funding for the Timbre and Orchestration Network (TONE) from the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council. TONE 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. TONE links major North American, European,
East Asian, and African universities, conservatories, research centres, and orchestras. Together we will develop a solid theoretical basis for orchestration practice and pedagogy, stimulate the development of new creativity-enhancing digital tools for teaching,
learning, and researching orchestration, and apply tools of corpus analysis and machine learning to better understand orchestration practice in music spanning several cultures and traditions. TONE is organized into two primary research axes: 1) Analysis of
Timbre and Orchestration (in composition, performance, and perception, as well as specific cultural contexts) and 2) Research-Creation (including collaborative contemporary orchestration research ensembles, improvisation, and work with acousticians and recording
engineers). Frequent interdisciplinary exchanges between the axes will support a groundbreaking expansion in our scholarly understanding and creative practices, including an engagement with popular music, jazz, contemporary classical music, electronic music,
and traditional musics from around the world.
The post-doctoral researcher will work primarily on either the Analysis Axis or the Research-Creation
Axis. They will conduct their own research or research-creation on timbre and orchestration in the fields of
music theory, musicology, ethnomusicology, composition, music psychology, or music-related computer science with a strong background in orchestration (defined broadly) and/or timbre.
They will also be involved in project coordination and will participate in the development of methods for evaluating the impact of this research in those domains. They will have the opportunity to mentor
graduate and undergraduate students. There will be ample opportunity for collaboration with team members at McGill and with the other institutional partners. The PDF will be co-supervised by
TONE Co-Directors Robert Hasegawa and Stephen McAdams. The ideal candidate will have a doctoral degree in one of the fields listed above and an interest in pedagogical innovation.
Additional tasks will include being co-chair of the TONE Training and Mentoring Committee or Knowledge Mobilization Committee, coordinating development of the Timbre and Orchestration Resource website,
co-organizing semi-annually the hybrid (virtual/in-person) TONE Symposium on Orchestration Studies, contributing to the annual TONE Workshops, co-editing the TONE newsletter, and communicating with specialist and general audiences (including dissemination
through social media and blog posts). We are particularly interested in people researching timbre and orchestration from a cross-cultural perspective. Ability to communicate fluently in French is an asset.
Applicants must have received their doctorate (PhD, DMA, DMus) within 3 years of the starting date of the fellowship. They should submit a cover letter, CV, and 3 representative research papers (or
2 papers and a composition for research-creation applicants), and arrange for 3 letters of reference to be sent to
actor-project.music@xxxxxxxxx.
Applications will be reviewed as of July 15, 2026 until the position is filled. The ideal start date is early Fall semester 2026. The successful candidates will receive a stipend of $50,000 CAD/year for two years (non-renewable). For further details on TONE
and to decide if this PDF is a good fit for you, please contact Stephen McAdams
(stephen.mcadams@xxxxxxxxx)
and Robert Hasegawa (robert.hasegawa@xxxxxxxxx). The Schulich School of Music is an internationally recognized university-based music faculty supporting research in the humanities, sciences, engineering, composition, and 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. |