A composer and theorist with a specialty in computer
music, Reginald Bain (b. 1963) holds degrees from
Northwestern University (D.M. Composition 1991 &
M.M. Composition 1986) and the University of Notre Dame
(B.S. Mathematics and Computer Science 1985) where he
studied composition and computer music with Gary
Greenberg, Paul Johnson, M. William Karlins, Gary
Kendall, and Alan Stout. As a Salter Fellow at the
University of Southern California, he also studied
composition with Robert Linn. He is currently Professor
of Composition and Theory at the University of South
Carolina (USC) where he serves as the Director of the
Experimental Computer Music Studio (xMUSE).
Dr. Bain has composed a wide variety of music that has
been performed by leading artists across the U.S. and
Europe. He is an accomplished electroacoustic composer
whose music employs unique algorithmic approaches,
sonification techniques, and tuning systems. His music
is available on the Centaur, Equilibrium, Innova, New
Focus, and Red Clay labels, and his computer music is
featured on the Centaur release Sounding Number.
Dr. Bain’s current research interests include
mathematical music theory, sonification, and software
development for music theory. He has been a frequent
presenter at the Association for Technology in Music
Instruction (ATMI) national conference and other
academic symposia, and served as Chair of the College
Music Society’s Technology Committee from 1998-2004.
Since 2016, he has been involved in the Mutational
Music Project – an interdisciplinary collaboration
with biologist Jeff Dudycha that is the broader impact
component of the National Science Foundation (NSF)
project Mutational variance of the transcriptome and
the origins of phenotypic plasticity. In the field
of music theory, Dr. Bain served as editorial consultant
for “An Introduction to Twentieth-Century Music,” the
final unit of McGraw-Hill’s widely acclaimed
undergraduate theory textbook Tonal Harmony by
Stefan Kostka and Dorothy Payne. His computer music
research has been published in the Csound Journal,
Proceedings of the International Computer Music
Conference, Proceedings of the Bridges:
Mathematics, Music, Art, Architecture, Culture
International Conference, and Proceedings of
the International Conference on Auditory Display.
At the USC School of Music, Dr. Bain has directed
graduate and undergraduate studies in computer music
since his appointment in 1991. He has also served as
Composition Area Coordinator (1999-2013), Theory Area
Coordinator (2007-2022), and Director of xMUSE
(2004-present). A dedicated teacher who is always
striving to find innovative ways to utilize technology
in the music classroom, Dr. Bain has received four
awards for his teaching: The Garnet Apple Award for
Teaching Innovation, the Michael J. Mungo Undergraduate
Teaching Award, the School of Music’s Cantey Outstanding
Faculty Award, and the MENC Chapter’s Outstanding Music
Educator of the Year Award.
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