PROFILE
Milton Mermikides PhD (Surrey) BSc (LSE) BMus (Berklee College of Music) is a composer, academic, producer and guitarist in a wide range of styles and collaborates with artists as diverse as Dame Evelyn Glennie, John Williams, Tim Minchin, Peter Zinovieff, Laura van der Heijden, Pat Martino, The Swingle Singers, Tod Machover, Paco Peña, Steve Winwood and Brian Eno. Son of a CERN nuclear physicist and polyphile, he was raised with an enthusiasm for a wide range of arts and sciences, an eclecticism which is maintained throughout his teaching, research and creative career.
He is the Gresham Professor of Music (2023- ), Associate Professor in Music and MMus Programme Director at the University of Surrey, Professor of Jazz Guitar at the Royal College of Music, previously Head of Music Technology at the Royal Academy of Music (2000-9), a graduate of the Berklee College of Music, and Deputy Director of the International Guitar Research Centre. Milton has given keynote lectures and public presentations at the Royal Academy of Music, British Library, British Psychological Society, Royal Physiological Society, Royal Society of Medicine, Royal Musical Association, Smithsonian Institute, European Sleep Research Society, British Sleep Society, Cheltenham, Winchester and Manchester Science Festivals, and TEDx.
Milton’s compositions – which include data-driven, modernist, jazz, electronic, pop/rock, traditional, mixed media and global music forms – have been broadcast to an audience of millions on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4, DiMartedi, and BBC Scotland; exhibited internationally including at The Design Museum, Frank Mohr Institute, Rubin Museum of Art, Science Museum and NECSS (New York); and featured in New Scientist, Times Higher Education Supplement, Nature Immunology, DeMartini BBC Radio 4 Inside Science, BBC Radio 4 Midweek, The Metro, and The Guardian.
His research outputs include compositions (published and licensed by Sony Japan, Sony UK, Deutsche Grammaphon, Viribus Press, Mute); peer-reviewed articles (published by Routledge, Oxford University Press, Soundboard Scholar); and associated technologies, illustrations and pedagogical materials (Cambridge University Press, MetaJunction, Future Publishing, Deux Elles).
Outside of his academic responsibilities, Milton is an avid mainstream educator and has since 2015 contributed over 100 magazine articles to Computer Music, Guitar Techniques, Total Guitar, Guitar World and Classic Rock. He is a leukaemia and bone-marrow transplant survivor and holds awards, scholarships and commendations for writing, composition, research and services to cancer charities. He lives in London with his wife and daughter, and is a Governor of Addison Primary School, and a keen illustrator and photographer.
The website miltonline.com contains this CV, composition portfolios, an overview of research projects, events and a list of outputsamong other materials.
QUALIFICATIONS
PhD (Composition)
Changes Over Time:
The Modelling and Reapplication of Jazz Improvisational Mechanisms.
BMus (Hons) Professional Music (Jazz Performance and Composition)
Berklee College of Music. Magna Cum Laude (1993-1996)
BSc (Econ) Analytical and Descriptive Economics. II.II
London School of Economics. (1990-1993)
RELEVANT EMPLOYMENT
Gresham College
Professor of Music (2023- )
University of Surrey
September 2010-
Associate Professor in Music (2022- previously Reader, Senior Lecturer, Lecturer B, Lecturer A)
MMus Programme Director
Module Design and Delivery
Module and exam design, tuition, administration, and delivery of composition, studio techniques, world music, popular music harmony, electronic and experimental music, digital performance to BMus and MMus programmes. Composition (Jazz, electroacoustic, traditionalist, electronic, sound art) and research project supervision at MMus level.
Programme Management
Course design, validation, staff management and admissions tutor of the MMus programme since 2016.
PhD Supervision and Examination
Supervision to completion of 5 PhD students in a broad range of research topics. A further 7 are in progress. Two successful Techne scholarship application
Examination of 17 PhD vivas (4 overseas) in composition, analysis, performance, patient experience.
Royal College of Music
October 2003-present
Professor of Jazz Guitar
Course design and tuition of BMus and MMus students in Jazz Guitar.
Improvisation, theory, arranging, ensemble performance and fretboard harmony. Auditioning and technical examination of classical guitar, electric guitar and lute for BMus and MMus programmes and Dartmouth College (New Hampshire, USA) undergraduate exchange programme.
Ulster University BMus External Examiner
September 2022 –
University of Sussex
September 2018- July 2022
External Examiner, MA in Music & Sonic Media
Examination of programme, module design, and MA student work.
Royal Academy of Music
Head of Music Technology, Technology Tutor
September 2002-August 2009
Teaching
Course and exam design, tuition and administration of music technology, composition and jazz components in BMus, MMus and PhD programmes.
Course areas: Electroacoustic composition, fundamentals of sound, recording and production techniques, film-scoring, sound design, analogue and digital studio techniques, jazz performance and ethnomusicology. Software tuition in Logic Pro 9, Ableton Live, ProTools 8, Sadie, Max/MSP/Jitter, PureData, Reason, Sibelius, and the IRCAM software suite.
Research
Director of electroacoustic research. Projects included Tod Machover’s Hyperbow project, Neil Heyde’s performance research collaborative projects, South Bank Festival Luigi Nono and Messiaen seasons and the design and directorship of the ULU Laurel commended Creative Technology Lab electroacoustic research centre. Electronic programming for Edwin Roxburgh, Diana Burrell, David Gorton, Chris Redgate and Pierre Andre Valade.
Support for 15 PhD students in electroacoustic composition.
RESEARCH PORTFOLIOS
My work occupies three broad (and overlapping) fields of interest. Though through an interaction of composition, analysis, pedagogy and technological engagement. These include:
HIDDEN MUSIC A portfolio of compositions, presentations and technologies in the fields of data sonification and data-driven composition. The background and ethos of the project is presented here.
TIME-FEEL A portfolio of peer-reviewed papers, presentations, pedagogical materials, technologies and supporting material investigating micro-rhythmic expression.
M-SPACE A portfolio of electro-acoustic compositions, peer-reviewed papers, technologies and audio-visual materialscharacterised by the blending of style, function, the electronic and acoustic domains, and composition, improvisation and performance.
