History of the Peabody Computer Music Department
Peabody's Electronic Music Studios were founded in 1967 by
Dr. Jean Eichelberger Ivey. Summer Workshops for
school music teachers were offered first, and public electronic music
programs took place from the beginning. In the fall of 1969, Peabody
opened its year-round studio with regular courses for conservatory
students. It was the first such studio in Maryland, and was one of the
first anywhere to be located in a conservatory.
In that first full season, electronic works composed
in the new studio by Dr. Ivey and her students were heard in public
concerts here at Peabody, at New York's Carnegie Recital Hall, and on
radio and television. Annual concerts have continued since that time,
often featuring collaborations with performing musicians, dance, film,
and special visuals. Works from other studios and by many distinguished
guest composers have also been presented.
Frequent
public lectures and demonstrations have extended the studio's educational
role beyond its immediate students to a wider audience. A burgeoning
expansion of musical resources came with the addition of computers. The
affiliation of Peabody with the Johns Hopkins University in 1977 made
extension into this field possible, initially utilizing computers,
advanced technology, and expertise available through the university.
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Geoffrey Wright
established the Computer Music Studio, of which he is director,
in 1982. In the same year he founded the Computer Music Consort as
a professional performance group in residence at Peabody, to expand
the already established tradition of presenting high-level musical
performances including electronics and multimedia collaborations with
diverse artists. McGregor Boyle is the technical director of the Computer
Music Consort. The combined Electronic and Computer Music Studios serve
as a working laboratory for music composition and research, and as a
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| L to R: Ichiro Fujinaga, Geoffrey Wright, Greg Boyle |
center for courses, demonstrations, and public programs.
In 1989 the Electronic and Computer Music Studios joined
into a single department and inaugurated a new Master of Music degree in
Computer Music with specialized tracks in composition, performance/concert
production, and research/technology.
In 1993 the Sidney M. Friedberg Lecture Series in Music and Psychology was founded to bring distinguished
musicians and psychologists to the Peabody Conservatory and Johns Hopkins
University. The lecture, an annual event, is part of a program undertaken
jointly by the Peabody Computer Music Department and the Psychology
Department of the School of Arts and Sciences. The program focuses on
education and research relating to musical composition and performance,
psychoacoustics, and music perception and cognition.
Doctoral level (DMA) study in computer music was
established in 1998. Students may emphasize Computer Music studies in
conjunction with another department, such as Composition, Conducting,
or Performance.
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