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Professor Matt Wright

Composer, producer and sound designer.

Matt Wright is a composer, producer and sound designer based in Kent, UK.He is Professor of Composition and Sonic Art; Research Lead for UOA33 (Music, Dance, Drama and Performing Arts); Route Lead for the Mmus (Master of Music) and PhD supervisor for students with interests in composition, improvisation and technology.

 

2005 - joined CCCU as lecturer in Commercial Music; 2006 - became Programme Director of Access to Music; 2008 - became Senior Lecturer and Programme Director of BA (Hons) Creative Music Technology; 2010 - became Reader in Composition and Sonic Art; 2014 - became Director of Research for Music, Dance, Drama and Performing Arts; 2015 - promoted to Professor of Composition and Sonic Art; 2023 - promoted to Professor Level 2

Matt Wright is a composer, producer and sound designer based in Kent, UK. His output stretches from scores for early music ensembles and contemporary chamber groups to digital improvisation, experimental turntablism and website installations, alongside collaborations with dance, theatre and film. As a performer he works with turntables, laptops and surround sound installations to create post-DJ, multichannel music embracing hip hop, avant and improvised traditions.

He works alongside Evan Parker in their live/studio project Trance Map (featuring guests such as Toma Gouband, Peter Evans, Spring Heel Jack and Mark Nauseef) as well as performer for The Evan Parker Electroacoustic Ensemble (EAE). He also runs Spheric Totemic, a flexible electronic ensemble founded with keyboard player Alexander Hawkins and bassist Neil Charles and featuring collaborators such as Mandhira de Saram, Stephen Davis, Nick Dunston and Olie Brice. Other notable collaborations include with Ensemble Klang (The Hague); Bl!ndman (Brussels); Champ D'Action (Antwerp); The Six Tones (Stockholm / Hanoi); Ensemble Offspring (Sydney); CEPROMusic (Mexico City); B’Rock Orchestra (Ghent); Elaine Mitchener projects and the Alexander Hawkins Ensemble (UK).

Duo projects include Speak Cities with Keir Neuringer (Irreversible Entanglements); Single Combat with Roger Redgate; UnrealTime Combat with Panos Ghikas (The Chap) and The Wheel with Robert Stillman (The Smile).

His work has been presented at the Sydney Opera House, Le Poisson Rouge (New York), the Muziekcentrum an ‘t IJ (Amsterdam), The Kim Ma Theatre (Vietnam) and Abbey Road Studios, Tate Britain and Tate Modern. He has been commissioned by organisations such as hcmf// (UK), MATA (NYC), BBC/Tectonics (Glasgow) and Transit (Leuven). His music and sound is regularly broadcast on adventurous radio across the globe, including a two-hour programme on Australia’s ABC network.

Reviews of his projects have appeared in the New York Times, the Sydney Morning Herald, Vietnam Today, The Times and The Financial Times. In 2014 he was guest Artistic Director for the Sounds New Festival, remixing Robert Wyatt's Cuckooland album into a concert-length collaboration with Elaine Mitchener, Tony Hymas and the Brodsky Quartet. In 2015, Totem for Den Haag was selected to represent UK new music in the UK/Mexico dual year. In 2017-18 he was musical director for Network at the National Theatre, starring Bryan Cranston, directed by Ivo van Hove, with music by Eric Sleichim. In 2021 he collaborated with Adam Linson and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra to co-create Cutout 6x6, described in by The Times as ‘riotous’.

Recordings of his work are released on Relative Pitch Records (NYC); Psi, Migro and Extra Normal (UK); Ensemble Klang (The Hague) and Intakt (Zurich). Scores of his work are represented by Donemus, The Hague. He studied contemporary and experimental music with Richard Steinitz and with Christopher Fox at the University of Huddersfield; with Steve Martland in London, with Louis Andriessen, Martijn Padding and Richard Ayres at The Royal Conservatory, The Hague and with Roger Redgate at Goldsmiths. He is Professor of Composition and Sonic Art at Canterbury Christ Church University, an Associate Researcher at the Orpheus Institute, Ghent and in 2023 he was guest teacher at The Royal Conservatory, The Hague.

Research Projects

  • ‘A comparative study on the evolutionary logic of music composition theory in the I-Ching and Twelve-Tone.’. Researcher(s): Mr Zhu Zhu Muran. Supervisor(s): Dr Panos Ghikas, Professor Matt Wright, Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • ‘A feminist exploration of Jiahe Wedding Songs’. Researcher(s): Miss Menglan Li. Supervisor(s): Professor Robert Rawson, Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • 'Multiplicity as a Process of Experimental Music'. Researcher(s): Dr SOPHIE STONE. Supervisor(s): Dr Panos Ghikas, Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • DESIGNING VIRTUAL SPACES: REDEFINING RADIO ART THROUGH DIGITAL CONTROL. Researcher(s): Mr Adem Hilmi. Supervisor(s): Dr Panos Ghikas, Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Dr Joe Inkpen. Supervisor(s): Professor Matt Wright, Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Dr Sarah Brand. Supervisor(s): Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Dr Benjamin Horner. Supervisor(s): Dr Magz Hall, Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • Edna Iles as a travelling virtuoso, with particular emphasis on the music and mentorship of Nikolai Medtner.. Researcher(s): Ms Lesley Day. Supervisor(s): Professor Robert Rawson, Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Embodied Movement Qualities in the Choreographic Works of Russell Maliphant: aesthetics and the relationship of movement to light for the stage.. Researcher(s): Dr Russell Maliphant. Supervisor(s): Professor Angela Pickard, Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • Healing and harmony: a thematic analysis examining how music performance, and listening to music, can positively impact mental health outcomes. Researcher(s): Mr Adam Sennett. Supervisor(s): Professor Angela Pickard, Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Investigation of future trends through critical analysis of contemporary changes in Chinese piano teaching. Researcher(s): Mrs Xinyu Wang. Supervisor(s): Professor Robert Rawson, Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • no. Researcher(s): Mr JOHANNE-BRYCE HODGSON. Supervisor(s): Dr Panos Ghikas, Professor Matt Wright, Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • On the Edge: Embodying the Experiences of Women Sidelined by Patriarchal Society - An Arts Based Research Exploration Using Music Composition. Researcher(s): Ms Natalie Salerno. Supervisor(s): Dr Panos Ghikas, Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Suggestions about title in join report, attached.. Researcher(s): Mrs Charlotte Bilicki. Supervisor(s): Professor Matt Wright, Professor Shane Blackman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • The Canterbury scene diaspora: musician relocation, overseas impact, an international fanbase redefined through modern digital methods; and the emergence of new generations of Canterbury influenced bands. Researcher(s): Mr Phil Howitt. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Professor Matt Wright, Professor Alastair Borthwick. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • The effect Flow has on the creative output in a music recording studio. Researcher(s): Mr James Dawkins. Supervisor(s): Dr Panos Ghikas, Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • The Future of Culture, Politics and, Activism: Black Aesthetics and Intersectionality within British Art, and the role of A.I, NFT Art and social media within the management and narration of Black British Art.. Researcher(s): Ms Michi Masumi. Supervisor(s): Professor Shane Blackman, Dr Katie McGown, Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • The Inheritance and Development of the Art of Zheng in the 21st Century: The New Features of Zheng Compositions. Researcher(s): Mrs Qian Zhan. Supervisor(s): Professor Robert Rawson, Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • The Village Cantor of 17th-18th Century in Bohemia and Moravia - Urban-Rural Networks of Musical Exchange. Researcher(s): Miss Petra Hajduchova. Supervisor(s): Professor Robert Rawson, Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • XR, music and neurodiversity: Design and application of new mixed reality technologies that facilitate musical intervention for children with autism spectrum conditions.. Researcher(s): Mr Chris Ioannou. Supervisor(s): Dr Panos Ghikas, Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Zaha Hadid: the person, her ideas and architecture examined through musical composition. Researcher(s): Mr Grant Gover. Supervisor(s): Dr Panos Ghikas, Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project]

Sound New Festival: Guest Artistic Director - 2014 
REF2014: Output Assessor: UOA35
2017-2018: Musical Director for Network at the National Theatre 
2016-2019: Research Consultancy/Critical Friend: Hong Kong Baptist University; The Royal Conservatory, The Hague 

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Contact me

matt.wright@canterbury.ac.uk
01227923747

Based in

Faculty of Arts Humanities and Education
School of Creative Arts and Industries