College of Fine Arts Research Profiles

Paul Koonce (b.1956, U.S.A.) studied composition at the University of Illinois, and the University of California, San Diego where he received the Ph.D. in Music. Previous positions include Moorhead State University and Princeton University.

His music focuses upon issues of representation and perception in electroacoustic sound. As a software developer, he has explored the invention of computer technologies for the manipulation of sound and timbre, developing tools for exploring the parallels between musical and environmental sound phenomena. Recent work has addressed new approaches to sound localization, through wavefield synthesis and large-scale speaker arrays, and alternative electroacoustic music controllers, through data gloves, virtual instruments, and real-time processing.

He is the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim and McKnight Foundations, and has received awards and commissions from the Luigi Russolo International Competition for Composers of Electronic Music, the National Flute Association, Prix Ars Electronica Electronic Arts Competition, the Electroacoustic Music Contest of Sao Paulo, the Bourges International Competition, and the International Computer Music Association. His music is available on the SEAMUS, Mnemosyne, ICMA, Panorama, Innova, Einstein, Centaur, and Mode records labels.