Current Members

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Behrad Madahi, PhD Student (Music Technology)

My field of research combines three rather different yet complementary approaches – neuroscientific, psychological, and computational – to timbre perception. By investigating the neural correlates that contribute to timbre perception, I am attempting to reach a computational model that helps improve our understanding of the perceptual dimensions of timbre. This research is supervised by Stephen McAdams.

behrad [dot] madahi [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca

Yuval Adler, PhD Student (Music Technology)

During my Bachelor's in Music Composition at Tel-Aviv University I began my path in Music Technology when I was frustrated by the available amount and quality of software tools aimed at contemporary music composers. Though my interests have broadened beyond that aspect of Music Technology, especially during my Master's in Music, Science and Technology at Stanford's CCRMA, I hope to return to that initial motivation with the work I undertake at MPCL. I intend to help bridge the gap between composers and researchers by making knowledge and tools more accessible to those musicians who wish to explore topics of perception and orchestration.

yuval [dot] adler [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca

Erica Huynh, PhD Student (Interdisciplinary Music Studies)

I graduated with a B.Sc in Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour with a specialization in Music Cognition at McMaster University, which led me to pursue a Master's degree in Music Technology at McGill University. Under the supervision of Stephen McAdams at the MPCL, I examined how listeners identify excitation methods and resonance structures when they are combined in ways that are typical (e.g., bowed string) or atypical (e.g., bowed air column) of acoustic musical instruments. This research project was conducted in collaboration with Joël Bensoam from IRCAM, who guided us through the process of synthesizing our strange stimuli in Modalys. I am now pursuing an Interdisciplinary PhD to continue the work I have started at the MPCL. I am particularly interested in how our mental models for musical instruments are shaped by previous exposure as well as the perception of mechanical plausibility. I am also curious about how these mental models help listeners categorize sounds as coming from specific musical instruments.

erica [dot] huynh [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca

Jade Roth, PhD Student (Music Theory)

As a music theorist, I am fascinated by music's unique ability to shape our emotions, actions, and perception of time. In my Master's research, I examined the use of rubato as an expressive element of music and its influence on the performance and perception of musical silence. I combine aural and score-based analysis to better understand the audible features that draw us toward music in the first place. My doctoral research expands on this analytical model by examining timbre through the study of orchestration techniques. Through my research, I aim to better understand the role of timbre in musical structure. My research is co-supervised by Stephen McAdams and Robert Hasegawa.

jade [dot] roth [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca

Joshua Rosner, PhD Student (Music Composition)

Upon graduating from Oberlin College and Conservatory with degrees in Music Cognition and Perception (Individual Major) and Jazz Studies/Composition, I founded a contemporary music organization, The Syndicate for the New Arts, in Cleveland, Ohio. My time as executive director and ensemble guitarist not only allowed me to commission and perform new works, offer free educational programming, and present touring ensembles but also the opportunity to observe different audiences perceive and enjoy (or dislike) unfamiliar and complex music. My research is primarily concerned with how people structure sound over time and the role that attention plays in grouping and segmentation. More specifically, my doctoral research as a music theorist focuses on how listeners hear form in contemporary chamber music that focuses on non-default instrumental playing techniques. A major motivation behind my research is to expand the repertoire covered in music theory classes to include and highlight marginalized musical traditions and in turn develop curricula which help create musicians who are not bound by genre. My work draws from gestalt psychology, embodied cognition, and phenomenology, as well as my experiences as a composer and performer. My doctoral research is co-supervised by Robert Hasegawa and Stephen McAdams.

joshua [dot] rosner [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca

Linglan Zhu, PhD Student (Music Technology)

During my master’s studies in MPCL, my research interests consolidated around composers’ timbral practice and the role of inner hearing in it. My general interests concern how timbre can be used as an important parameter in analysis of contemporary music, and how listeners’ perception can lever the process of analyzing and evaluating composers’ compositional plan. Prior to my graduate studies, I received a B.Sc. in chemistry from Fudan University.

linglan [dot] zhu [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca

Yifan Huang, PhD Student (Music Technology)

I am currently pursuing a PhDin Music Technology at McGill University. My research interests include timbre perception in emotion, cross-cultural studies, and cross-modal studies. I'm enthusiastic to investigate how timbre and orchestrations affect people's feelings and understanding of music, and how we can use this knowledge to enhance people's understanding of music from different cultural backgrounds. Before doing my graduate studies, I obtained a bachelor's degree in computer science from Zhejiang University in China, as well as a minor in archaeology and museum studies. During my undergraduate studies, I conducted research on machine learning music generation. I really enjoy my "timbre life" at MPCL!

yifan [dot] huang3 [at] mail [dot] mcgill [dot] ca