Lawton Hall is a composer, music researcher, and collaborative builder. His work investigates the intersection of embodied performance and the expressive potential of music technology, drawing on his classical conservatory training, professional experience as an audio engineer, and research into the historical and social dimensions of music. He develops interfaces and compositional methods that empower performers and listeners through the convergence of music theory, technological systems, and human perception, cognition, and nonverbal communication. In his current practice, he explores new approaches to spatial audio, kinesthetic models of rhythm and meter, and reimagined systems for digital music notation and interaction.

His music has been performed by ensembles and artists including Newfound Chamber Winds, Khemia Ensemble, 5th House Ensemble, percussionist Abby Fisher, and cellist Ashley Walters, at venues such as ArtX Arizona, Open Ears Festival, nief-norf, the Akropolis Chamber Music Institute, and the So Percussion Summer Institute. He has presented research and creative projects at the International Conference on Live Coding and the IEEE VIS Arts Program. Lawton worked closely with Pauline Oliveros to prepare her seminal books Sounding the Margins and Anthology of Text Scores for publication.

Lawton is currently a Ph.D. student in Music Composition and Computer Technologies at the University of Virginia. He holds a B.M. in Music Theory and Composition from Lawrence University and M.M. degrees in composition and musicology from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Before moving to Charlottesville, he founded and managed Chair Company, a music studio and artist space in Milwaukee’s Harbor District.