Music

"A key feature of the MA program at Western is definitely the flexibility and the freedom that students have to work on whatever they like, and whatever their interests are across all the courses offered.”

Why did you come to Western for your graduate degree?
I was drawn to the one-year 3-term structure that Western offers for their MA music programs. Having already completed an M. Mus in conducting at Memorial, I wanted to gain more research experience at the graduate level without having to commit to another two-year program. I also had conversations with faculty members via Zoom while working on the application which gave me a great impression of the welcoming environment and community dynamic at the school!

Describe your research.
My major research project is titled Exploring Music Categorization, Consumption and Creation Through Genre in the Age of AI and looks at how the use of artificial intelligence can reshape what genre means in music. I looked at the work being done by streaming services like Spotify in how AI is programmed to recommend music and curate playlists, but also how it is used to collect listening data from millions of users and create new genre titles based on that data. I also looked at the implications of AI-generated music for artists in how they go about categorizing their work.

What’s your favourite music?
My studies have introduced me to a wide variety of classical and popular music, but in recent years my favourite genres have been Folk, Alt-Country, Post-Punk, Yacht Rock and Japanese City Pop - whatever any of those might mean.

What is your “dream” career?
I aim to be a professor of music. However, the best part of a career in music for me is the opportunity to always be involved in as many facets of music as you like, so in many ways my current work as a freelance performer, arranger, conductor and educator is already a dream job!