Canadian-born, Scotland-based composer Emily Doolittle grew up in Halifax Nova Scotia and was educated at Dalhousie University, the Koninklijk Conservatorium in the Hague, Indiana University and Princeton University. From 2008-2015 she was  Assistant/Associate Professor of Composition and Theory at Cornish College of the Arts. She now lives in Glasgow, UK, where she is an Athenaeum Research Fellow at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

 

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Composer Emily Doolittle discusses the study of animals & music and balancing parenthood with composing and an academic career.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Biomusicology
• Zoomusicology
• How animals learn
• Regional differences within a species
• Transcribing & translating animal songs
• Folklore
• Motherhood
• Life balance
• Feminism
• Tenure clocks
• Letting go of the ideal bio
• Become comfortable with uncertainty & chaos
• Thinking how differing life experiences can enrich our perceptions
• The role of confidence
• The fear of having kids
• Make yourself take action
• Investing in daycare for the sake of your art

Website:

• emilydoolittle.com

Recommended Listening:

• R. Murray Shafer, 3rd String Quartet
• R. Murray Shafer, And Wolves Shall Inherit the Moon
• Cassandra Miller
• Chiyoko Szlavnics
• Jocelyn Morelock

Recommended Reading:

• Francois-Bernard Mache, Music, Myth and Nature, or The Dolphins of Arion

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