Research
The CCT Program develops and maintains a number of advanced computer music and multimedia research facilities including the Virginia Center for Computer Music (VCCM), the Jefferson Starship Recording Studio, the Music Interactions Lab (MIL), and the Wilson Interdisciplinary Maker Space (WIMS). Students may become involved in groups such as the Interactive Media Research Group (IMRG), which develops the NOMADS System, and the DIY Electronics Circuit Bending and Design Group. CCT Ph.D. student dissertations engage topics such as physical modeling synthesis, interactive dance, musical networks, games, improvisation, voice, robotics, and multimedia.
More broadly, the University of Virginia (UVA) Music Department (http://www.music.virginia.edu) has been a leader in music technology innovation for almost 100 years. The first Chair of the Music Department, Arthur Fickenscher was an electronic music instrument inventor who developed a new interface for musical expression called the Polytone. Fickensher joined the faculty of UVA in 1918 and became the Chair of Music in 1920 when the Department was formed. In 1967, UVA Professor Donald MacInnis, a student of Milton Babbitt and Vladimir Ussachevsky, created one of the first computer music languages, MUSIGOL, in consultation with Max Mathews at Bell Labs and UVA Engineering Faculty. In the 1970s the VEMS (Virginia Electronic Music Studio) supported work by students and faculty, resulting in UVA's first substantial contributions to electronic music composition. Founded in 1987, the Virginia Center for Computer Music (VCCM) in Old Cabell Hall, ushered in a new focus on computer music for UVA.