Category Archives: Research

Personal Statement – Explanation and Tips

Research, Teaching, , , ,

Statement letter for tenure portfolio – music technology

My promotion and tenure portfolio included a personal statement. According to my department’s guidelines, a 3-5 page personal statement “addresses how their research, scholarly, or creative work has developed over time and what activities are likely to be undertaken in the future.” The document is sent to the external reviewers at the beginning of the evaluation process and is read by the department, college, and university committee. Like statement letters of any job application, the document is essential for both applicants and evaluators. 

Tenure-track faculty in music get various degrees of help and guidelines for the personal statement, but examples are rare in the public domain. Information on how to write or evaluate tenure-track faculty specialized in music technology is rarer. Therefore, I shared mine as an example for a tenure-track music technology faculty. I submitted my tenure packet in the Summer 2021 and was promoted to Associate Professor of Music in Spring 2022 at Wayne State University, an R1 public institution. A complete guideline for my WSU’s promotion and tenure packet is here.  

Tips

If you are writing a personal statement for a university tenure evaluation in the field of music technology, here are a few tips.

  • Seek an advisor in your institution. Learn the priorities and process specific to your job. There is a chance that you are the only, and the first, tenure-track music technology faculty. If so, find out what counts as acceptable activities and achievements for the review. (Does my solo performance of a no-input mixer and drum machine count as creative research?)
  • Know that the statement may be read and evaluated by both experts (external reviewers) and non-experts of your field (university-level committee). You need to convince people you do not know that you are good at what you are doing. (How do I convince my colleagues at Math that my no-input mixer and drum machine piece is research?)
  • Provide accessible and measurable evidence. Examples include a list of invited performances, documentation of refereed competitions, journals, conferences, and tracks released by record labels. Other people or institutions accepting your work can prove that your creative outputs are valued. (Multiple conference acceptance and guest artist invitations by other universities prove that my no-input mixer and drum machine are making an impact)
  • Do not be humble. Your department committee will need to convince the college-level committee how great you are. Your college-level committee needs to convince the university-level committee how awesome you are. Give them measurable achievements so that they can advocate for you. (Hey, Joo Won’s no-input mixer piece may not be pleasing, but look at the number of conference acceptance he received to play the piece)

The tenure process was not easy, but it gave me an opportunity to evaluate my career thoroughly. I look forward to writing a new version of the personal statement for the next promotion (which will be many years from now).

Personal Statement – For Promotion and Tenure Evaluation

Research, Teaching, , ,

Joo Won Park 

For Promotion and Tenure Application (2021)

A music technologist is a composer, performer, and instrument maker whose primary tool is electronic devices. I am a music technologist specializing in electroacoustic composition, solo performance, and electronic ensemble.  As a teaching musician, I share ideas of uniquely electronic sounds and performance practices with my students. Over one hundred presentations of my work in the past five years prove my contribution and significance in the field.   

I strive to be prolific, consistent, and strategic in my creative process to be a better scholar with a distinct sound. A highlight of my research outputs since my hire at Wayne State University in 2016 includes: 

  • 2 full-length solo albums 
  • 3 peer-reviewed albums 
  • 3 collaborative albums   
  • 18 performed and recorded electroacoustic compositions in solo or ensemble format 
  • 1 peer-reviewed article on music technology at an international-level journal  
  • 2 articles for a local music agency and the College Music Society  
  • 5 electronic music apps 

A summary of publications, presentations, grants, and awards since 2016 proves that my research is a significant contribution to the field of electroacoustic music:  

  • Presented electroacoustic compositions at 34 peer-reviewed conferences and festivals  
  • Received 38 invitations to present electroacoustic compositions at national and regional events  
  • Presented 19 shows as a featured solo artist or ensemble director  
  • 21 different electronic ensembles performed my pieces nationwide  
  • 26 paper presentations and guest artist talks  
  • Produced 12 campus electronic music concerts   
  • Received 4 grants or awards: High Wire Lab Award ($1000, external), Arts and Research Humanity Research Support Program ($5500, internal), New Music USA Grant ($2970, external), and Knight Arts Challenge Grant ($5000, external) 
  • Received 2020 Kresge Artist Fellowship ($25,000) 

A list of professional services shows the electroacoustic community’s trust in my experience and expertise. 

  • Society for Electroacoustic Music in the United States: board member since 2016  
  • Korean Electroacoustic Music Society’s Conference: editorial member since 2013 
  • Associate Director of Third Practice Electroacoustic Music Festival since 2009  
  • Juror in 19 national and international peer-reviewed conferences and journals 

As electroacoustic music may be an unfamiliar topic, I pay extra attention to guide the audience through my creative and aesthetic choices. In addition, reviews of my work in the media highlight my creative process. Below is an excerpt from my interview with Cleveland Classical in 2019.  

“It’s one thing to push yourself out of your comfort zone. It’s quite another to deliberately put yourself in risky situations over and over again — part of the artistic strategy of electroacoustic composer and improviser Joo Won Park. “I like to solve a puzzle in front of the audience,” he said during a telephone conversation from Detroit.” [H-12]

The puzzle I solve involves technology. I create and apply technology to extend artists’ ability to produce sound beyond human capacity. All my works feature what machines can do uniquely or better than humans. Touch [M-1] is a work I perform most often in tours and solo concerts. It is a culminating work that stemmed from 100 Strange Sounds (www.100strangesounds.com), a YouTube project of one hundred solo improvisations featuring everyday objects and electronics. In my interview with Paolo Yumol for Killscreen.com, he articulated the goal of the project, writing: 

“In many ways, 100 Strange Sounds captures the spirit of Park’s work as a whole; it demonstrates the lengths to which Park will go to find the musicality in his everyday surroundings, to find the beauty in mundanity. Park sources ideas from his immediate surroundings and day-to-day experiences, whether it be spending time playing with his kids or walking around Detroit.” [H-15]

Touch and 100 Strange Sounds have positive elements I continue to cultivate in other works. They also taught me a limit I had to overcome. My pieces before 2016 used specific, expensive, and difficult-to-operate software and hardware. These instruments ensure high audio quality and performance capability, but few performers can replicate or present the piece without my assistance. Addressing technical affordability and replicability while maintaining satisfying artistic quality is my ongoing mission, and I approach it by starting a composition with instrument design. 

I code free and original software synthesizers and performance systems that run on multi-platform computers. Doing so lowers the technological and financial barrier for performers who wish to present my pieces. I also choose to use cheap and readily available hardware and build a simple interface to minimize a technical expert’s involvement. As one can hear in Hungry [M-1], taking out everything except the essence is more than a presentation method. It is an aesthetic goal I follow. Mo Willems said, “simple and easy are opposites” In his drawing tutorials for children, and I wholeheartedly agree with it. 

Like Willems’ picture books, I want the audience and the performers to be delighted when they experience my music. If listeners and performers feel unexpected joy by discovering a musical relationship between humans and machines, they understand my intention. In PS Quartet No.1, [M-1], ensemble members use their decade(s) of video game muscle memory to make music with game controllers. At the end of Beat Matching [M-1], I ask performers to shape their mouths as if they were making funny sounds while brushing their teeth. When these human actions interact with a custom application I created, the ensemble engages in a uniquely electronic sonic experience. These sounds are also guaranteed to be different at each performance by design. 

I aim to craft these unrecordable moments in electroacoustic music. As a director of the Electronic Music Ensemble of Wayne State (EMEWS), I share this goal with a talented group of students. EMEWS is an all-undergraduate electronic music ensemble consisting of current Wayne State Warriors. EMEWS won the 2019 New Music USA Grant to do a week-long East Coast tour [II-C4]. I am confident that the group, which was as large as 22 students in Winter 2019, is one of the most performed and traveled undergraduate electronic music ensembles in the nation before the pandemic.  

In 2018, I received the Arts and Humanities Research Support grant to further research electronic music ensemble performances. The grant allowed me to compose and present EMEWS pieces that are uniquely electronic and transferrable. Twenty other electronic ensembles that performed my pieces show I achieved my goal. Among those ensembles, eighteen rehearsed my pieces without my involvement. As a closure to the Arts and Humanities project, I published an article about ensemble instrument design in a peer-reviewed journal [III-D2].  

When institutions invite me for guest lectures and presentations, I highlight the importance of improving electronic music craftsmanship. One method I recommend is choosing one or two electronic instruments to practice consistently and explore all possibilities. For example, Cobalt Vase and Func Step Mode [M-1] are pieces for a drum machine that I have practiced for a few years. The instrument needed for these pieces is readily available, but the performance techniques I explore are not. To teach and document the methods, I developed a graphical notation for the drum machine. Seven Bird Watchers [M-1] uses such notation, and the ensemble members can now create sounds that took me a year to develop in one rehearsal.  

The COVID-19 followed shortly after the recording of Seven Bird Watchers. I feared that my research focus on the here-and-nowness of electroacoustic music might need to pause. However, I learned that I could share my research without compromise by rethinking the presentation method. Computer Music Practice Examples (CMPE) [M-1] is a series consisting of apps, streaming videos, codes, and tutorials. The participants download a free application to make music and learn about its production process by watching original videos and slides. Bypassing streaming audio and excluding expert performers, CMPE users experience what I hear in my studio with a few mouse clicks. Additionally, they have permission to use or modify the apps for their artistic practice.   

Computer Music Practice Examples is a continuation of my goal to create and present a uniquely electronic, unrecordable, and delightful experience. The project may not have a chance to be evaluated by peers before the tenure review, but below Facebook data proves its potential and influence. 

  • ~16500 total views (5/16/20-7/25/21) 
  • 945 followers (as of 7/25/21) 

I am confident that I became a better researcher, musician, teacher, and community leader over the past years working at Wayne State University. The extra challenge in 2020-2021 made me even more ready to tackle projects requiring long-term commitment and institutional support. When tenured, I plan to mature the relationship I built with the Detroit music community through continuing involvement. I also have a vision to create more significant interdisciplinary projects. A committed partnership with the city and the state, combined with the Music Technology program’s steadily growing alumni, will attract new undergraduate applicants. They will become a regional and national musical force when they graduate. I will refine and enhance this virtuous cycle by continuing to be a creative role model.  

Another post-tenure goal is to share my expertise with the broader community by increasing the number of presentations and publications at international-level conferences. As for teaching, I want to position Wayne State’s Music Technology program as the leader in Michigan and beyond. I want to devise a plan to attract more out-of-state and international students, working professionals, and established artists. This progress will be parallel to the constant update and improvement of the current curriculum.  

The included tenure and promotion packet provides details on my steady growth as a music technologist. The document also proves my long-term and continuing commitment to creative research, teaching, and service. For the most recent updates, please visit my website www.joowonpark.net. 

Work Catalog 2022

Compositions, Research, , ,

I made a list of my published and available works using Google Sheets. Click HERE to view. The work list already exists on joowonpark.net,  but the HTML format is difficult to sort, analyze, and assess. A catalog in spreadsheet format allows me to revise and manage the pieces with much more ease. The current file has the following information per piece: 

  • Title
  • Year Published: It is not the year the piece was composed but when it was available to the public. 
  • Instrumentation: Instrument names are alphabetized.  
  • Album: If the piece is a part of an album, the album title is available.
  • Co-Creation: Indicates if someone contributed during the composition/production process. Examples include co-composers, co-producers, choreographers, and theatre directors, but not performers.
  • Notes: Miscellaneous info. It could extend to another column in the spreadsheet.

Organization Principles

There are 121 pieces listed in the catalog as of December 2022. The number is more than the entries in my BMI catalog, which is currently 98, for the following reasons:

  • The Google Sheet catalog includes sound installations, recordings of free improvisations, and web projects that are tricky to register as compositions. 
  • Some are dance and theatre collaborations that require extra paperwork to register in BMI (feel free to correct me if I am wrong)

I also had to decide how to catalog 100 Strange Sounds and CMPE. The two were multi-year projects consisting of many short pieces. I had to choose to count them as two long compositions or 132 separate pieces. 

  • 100 Strange Sounds counts as one piece. It is a mosaic of individual entities with a common goal and theme, like Ik-Joong Kang’s Happy World.
  • Each CMPE-related EP, such as RMHS, ISJS, Piano Triplets, and Forms to Ponder, counts as one composition with multi movements. 

The most challenging part of cataloging was deciding what not to include. My principal guideline was whether the piece had online documentation.

  • Completed works not presented to the public are not listed. 
  • Published works without links are not in the catalog. Examples include
    • Premiered works without video or audio recording
    • Premiered works with missing concert programs, recordings, or scores. Most of the compositions during my graduate school years are in this category. 
    • Published works in a DVD or CD format only. My first published work is in this category.
    • A temporary exception is the pieces in the Fan Art album. Fan Art will be released in January 2023, and thus I put them into the catalog as placeholders.

Short Analysis

My productivity increased to a satisfactory level after graduate school. The number of presentable pieces per year was the lowest when I had the most time to work on music as a graduate student. Conversely, my productivity peaked when I had the least amount of time. I had a newborn baby and a first-grader to raise in 2015, but I released an album and was working on the next one. I accept that the pieces I made before 2009 were not good enough to get into conferences and invited shows. Also, I started using platforms like YouTube to facilitate sharing and documenting work after finishing school.

The number of album releases and large-scale works indicates that I work well with long-term projects. Creating an album with a theme keeps me in creative mode. Multi-movement electroacoustic work is fun. A single piece that requires an extended amount of time to gather sources or produce sounds positively challenges me. I will consider my experience in planning and executing long-term projects as my strength and continue developing it.

Co-creation accounts for about 30% of my creative output. I thought I preferred working alone, but the pi chart says I am not bad at collaborations. I am confident that I can tackle bigger projects involving multiple personnel in the future.

There are a few things to improve in the catalog. I want to record each piece’s duration to compare the effort I put into each work. I can also list performers who premiered the piece. The number of performances per piece can also be pertinent data for the catalog. Analysis of such data can show me where to concentrate my creative energy for the next few years.

A Performing Electronic Musician’s Stage

Performances, Research, , , ,

Self-assessment of solo set performances from 2011 to 2022

I analyzed instruments, gear, and repertoire of my solo electroacoustic sets from 2011 to 2022.  For the sake of discussion, I categorize a set performance as a long-form performance (about 20 to 50 minutes) by artists without interruption or intermission. I find preparing, performing, and refining solo sets to be one of the best practices for live electronic music skills. In this article, I analyze the changes in hardware and repertoire in my solo electroacoustic performance by comparing video recordings of past shows. I hope the analysis serves the readers and me on what could be worth exploring in live electronic music. 

Here are three video recordings of my solo sets as a point of reference. 

The videos represent my performance practices in three periods in three cities I worked and lived: Philadelphia (2009-2014), Oberlin (2014-2016), and Detroit (2016-current). The oldest solo set video I could find is from 2011 in Seoul, but the above videos are unabridged and have direct outs from the house mixer. 

Performance Preparation

Practicality and flexibility matter in a set performance.  Venues have sound systems with varying designs, and sharing the stage with other artists doing a set is common. Therefore, I choose pieces according to the external limitations I cannot control. My gear is compact and travel-friendly to set up and strike quickly, regardless of the venue’s PA capacity. I plan 15 minutes or less to set up, get ready to go on stage, and carry an extra direct box and cables. 

The most efficient setup could be solo laptop performance. But I am not inclined to present in that format as the audience cannot see movements behind the computer screen. The gear placement reinforces the visual cues in my shows. I value establishing a connection between what I do on stage and what the audience hears. In the reference videos above, the laptop is on the right side of the table. Most sound-generating objects and body actions are in the center and have an unobstructed view. When possible, I place the front panel of electronic instruments observable to the audience. For example, the picture below is my setup in October 2022. I put the gear on a piano bench for the audience to see the fingers moving across the buttons and sliders. The laptop created sound, but it was tucked below the bench. I launched the SuperCollider patch before the show and did not need to touch or look at it when performing. Not shown well in the picture is a small three-channel mixer on the floor. Like the laptop, there was no need to touch the mixer after the sound check, and it did not need to be on the table along with the instruments.

The 2013 Set

The diagram below depicts the connection of the hardware used in the set. The three boxes in the diagram contain the no-input mixer patching method, a list of SuperCollider patches, and compositions incorporated in the set. SuperCollider is the sole software I have used in solo performances since the early 2000s. No-input mixer patching details differ from artist to artist, and it is worth documenting my preferred patching for comparison. I will use the diagram in the same format for the 2016 and 2020 sets.

Hardware choices depend on the repertoire. The title track of the performances in 2013 was Toccata, an improvisational piece featuring a wooden board, various acoustic objects, and a live processing SuperCollider patch. A combination of a contact microphone and a small diaphragm condenser mic captured sent audio signals in the air and the board. The condenser mic doubled as an audio input for other pieces like Retrace, Introvert, and Elegy. Retrace is my first SuperCollider composition incorporating an acoustic instrument. The solo set format allowed me the repeated performance of Retrace and gave me multiple chances to refine it.  The picture below, taken at a 2013 Indeterminacies series in Tennessee, is an example of a typical performance layout. 

The microphones were connected to an audio interface with four inputs and outputs. Audio inputs 3 and 4 allowed me to connect outputs from a no-input mixer. In 2013, the sounds of the no-input mixer and the synths took up a small portion of the show. I used them for the first time to create videos for the 100 Strange Sounds project and was not proficient in performing them. From 2013-14,  many objects I experimented with in 100 Strange Sounds became part of Toccata. It refined the piece composed in 2009 for four or more years.

Video projection was also part of a performance in 2013. Both Introvert and Elegy have accompanying videos, and I often used the laptop’s built-in camera to project the hand movement on the wooden board. The 2015 performance at New Music Gathering is an example of such a set. The on-stage live video reinforces the connection between what I do and what the audience hears, but not all venues can accommodate large-screen projection systems. Setting up a proper video meant extra tech time, a possible nuisance for tech people and other artists on the same show. The reduction in practicality led me to retire the video features from the set gradually.


The 2016 Set

I avoid unintentional silences between the pieces in a set performance. In 2013, I often played pre-recorded sounds while adjusting SuperCollider patches for the next piece. In 2016, all transitions became superpositions of the end of a piece and the beginning of the next one. The crossfade time got longer and smoother with more experience, blending multiple works. This approach stimulated new compositions combining two or more previously featured instruments.  Consequently, my set became a single long-form improvisation featuring all the instruments I could carry comfortably. The 2016 WOBC video recording serves as an example.

Out-of-town gigs outnumbered in-town opportunities when I lived in Oberlin. Traveling with a carry-on bag full of gear became burdensome, and thus I sought to develop a set with as few instruments as possible without degrading the quality. In 2015, I had an opportunity to perform on a double-decker tour bus. The setup time was short, and the performance space was small due to the particular nature of the gig. So  I chose to abandon the laptop, the instrument I am most skilled at, and performed with a no-input mixer and a monophonic synthesizer. The success and fun I had in the gig encouraged me to add more non-computer elements to the set. 

The 2020 Set

By 2016, I felt at home performing with a contact mic and found objects. But doing so felt less exciting and challenging. In contrast, my interest in drum machines and MIDI controllers grew.  The resulting pieces were Cobalt Vase and Page Turner’s Agony. By combining Cobalt Vase with no-input mixing, I composed Func Step Mode. These three pieces are currently the main ingredients of my solo set of electronics-only improvisation. The video made for La Escucha Como Acción’s COVID online performance series is an example.

The current set does not include visually expressive works like Toccata. Microphones and found objects are absent, limiting sonic and visual possibilities. But I gained mobility and a chance to showcase my skills on specific instruments in return. The set sends mono output and can work without an audio interface. The output choice is efficient but could be risky in a genre that values high-fidelity and multi-channel audio. But I identify the most with the sound of the current set. 

Findings from Analysis

Reviewing a decade of set performances was an opportunity to evaluate what I value most in live electroacoustic music. I value practicality and refinement. I accept that practicality gets priority over aesthetics in my music. Some pieces are no longer in the setlist because they involve more physical labor and are prone to technical errors. The longest surviving instrument over a decade, besides SuperCollider,  is a no-input mixer: it takes a short time to set up and is immune to software updates. This reliability led to more time spent with the mixer. A deliberate decision on one instrument is worth noting in technology-based performance, in which one can access an uncountable number of synthesizers and controllers. Currently, I feel proficient at performing a no-input mixer. I am developing a similar feeling toward Korg Volca Beats.  Efficiency affects aesthetic choices in my music.


I recommend designing, executing, and revising a solo set for electronic musicians. Preparing and practicing sets builds muscle memory and opportunities to overcome weaknesses. Compositions featured in a set get continuously refined with repeated performances. Combining and remixing works in a set often inspires new compositions. The refining process is a luxury for compositions written for others, but set performances demand it by nature.

Nested Duets (2022)

Collaborators, Compositions, Research

In Nested Duets, an ensemble of any size and kind can improvise with one or more laptops running a generative music app. The computer has two roles:  it provides possible pitch choices for the human performers and creates accompanying electronic sounds. The performance instruction is on the computer screen. 

Download and Recording

DropBox Download: contains instructions and SuperCollider file

Performers: Kevin Declaire, Samuel Khalil, De’Andre Little, Jose Llanas, Logan Macka, Lucas Manther, James McCloskey, Joseph Mcelwain, Mal McNitt, Niko Poljanac-Leboeuf, Christopher Reid, Abby Thibodeau, Nathan Zonnevylle
Recording Team: Sinead Cassar, Kevin Declaire, Logan Macka, James McCloskey, Niko Poljanac-Leboeuf, Christopher Reid

Hardware and Software Requirements

  • Computer: PC or Mac. There can be one or more computers. In general, have one computer per 2-3 performers.
  • SuperCollider: Download and Install the app https://supercollider.github.io/downloads.html Mac users will need admin access to the computer to authorize the app
  • NestedDuets.scd file: Download NestedDuets.scd file from https://joowonpark.net/nestedduets
  • Amp and cable: Connect the amp to the computer. If the ensemble is miking the instruments, connect the output of the computer to the house mixer.

Running the Computer Part

  1. Open NesteDuets.scd in SuperCollider.
  2. Select Menu->Language->Evaluate File.
  3. For transposing instruments, enter the transposition in half-steps (positive number only).
  4. Press the “1. Click to start” button. You should hear sounds after a countdown. There is no need for a synchronized beginning when using multiple computers.
  5. When ending, press the “2. Running. Click to end” button. Wait for all sounds to end. Coordinate when to end the piece with the ensemble members.
  6. Press the “3. End. Click to reset” button to reset. Repeat steps 1-5 for replay.

Performance Instruction

  1. Improvise using the pitches displayed in the GUI.
  2. The pitch choices changes at a random pace after a countdown in the top-right corner of the GUI.
  3. Improvise dynamics and articulations.
  4. Make a noticeable change on the “downbeat” after the countdown.
  5. Play like an ambient track. Less is more. Blend in. Play complimentary sounds to the computer part.
  6. Percussionists can improvise freely in ambient style. Avoid making beats if possible.

Commission Info

Nested Duets was part of the 2022 Black Mountain College Radio Art program. 103.3 Asheville FM’s Lucid aired the piece on December 12, 2022. Electronic Music Ensemble of Wayne State (EMEWS) thanks BMC and 103.3 Asheville FM for the opportunity!