ACTOR
Timbre and Orchestration
Summer School
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About
The Analysis, Creation, and Teaching of Orchestration (ACTOR) Project is pleased to announce its third Timbre and Orchestration Summer School (TOSS 2025), scheduled for June 3-7 at McGill University in Montréal, QC, Canada. This edition will be linked with the Timbre and Orchestration in Popular Song (TOPS) Conference, see below for more details.
Following the success of previous editions, TOSS 2025 continues to explore the multifaceted world of timbre and orchestration research, encompassing musicology, history, music theory, composition, cognitive neuroscience, and acoustics. This program targets graduate students (and advanced undergraduates), postdoctoral researchers, and early-career scholars involved in music-related research who have a strong interest in timbre and orchestration. Learn more about how to apply here; the application deadline has been extended to January 12th, 2025.
Program Structure
TOSS includes two days of tutorials/workshops and three days of overlap with the TOPS conference.
June 3 & 4: Tutorials (open only to TOSS participants)
June 5: Workshops (open to both TOSS and TOPS participants)
June 6 & 7: TOPS conference, featuring a poster session showcasing TOSS participants' research
Costs
Accepted participants will be invited to register as of January 15. Registration fees are:
* all amounts in CAD | See the refund policy below
Option 1 - $396: $246 (TOSS) + $150 (TOPS). This includes tuition and lunches on June 3–7, and dinner June 7, or
Option 2 - $870: $720 (TOSS) + $150 (TOPS). This includes tuition, lunches on June 3–7, dinner June 7, and single-room accommodation (June 2–8) as availability permits.
NOTE: TOSS participants must also register to TOPS in order to access the activities on Days 3, 4, and 5 of TOSS.
Tutors
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Lori Burns
Lori Burns is Professor of Music at the University of Ottawa. Her interdisciplinary research, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, merges musical analysis and cultural theory to explore representations of gender and sexuality in the lyrical, musical, and visual texts of popular music. Read more
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John Rea
Besides his activities as a composer, John Rea has lectured and published articles on twentieth century music and, from 1973 to 2020, taught composition, music theory and music history at McGill University where he also served as Dean of the Faculty of Music (1986-1991). Read more
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Johanna Devaney
Johanna Devaney is an Associate Professor at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center, CUNY. Her research seeks to understand how humans engage with music, primarily through performance, with a particular focus on the singing voice, and how computers can be used to model and augment our understanding of this engagement. Read more
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Lindsey Reymore
Lindsey Reymore is an assistant professor of Music Theory in the School of Music, Dance and Theatre and co-director of the CACTUS Music Lab at ASU. Her research investigates the role of timbre—the perceptual qualities or characteristics of sound—in musical experience. Read more
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Megan Lavengood
Dr. Megan Lavengood is Associate Professor and Director of Music Theory at George Mason University. Her research primarily deals with popular music, video game music, timbre, synthesizers, and recording techniques. Read more
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Claire McLeish
Dr. Claire McLeish works as a musicologist and copyright researcher for Third Side Music, an independent music publisher based in Montréal. She also offers forensic musicologist consulting, working on infringements, sample uses, and public domain issues. Read more
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Eliot Britton
Eliot Britton integrates electronic, audiovisual and instrumental music through an energetic and colourful personal language. His creative output reflects an eclectic musical experience, from gramophones to videogames, drum machines to orchestras. Read more
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Nicole Biamonte
Dr. Biamonte’s primary research area concerns the theory and analysis of popular music, with a focus on rhythmic and metric functions in rock music. She is also interested in form and harmony in popular music, music theory pedagogy, and musical historicism in the nineteenth century. Read more
What People Are Saying
“I had the opportunity to attend TOSS 2023 in Thessaloniki and TOSS 2024 in Vancouver. Both events were well organized and featured a variety of speakers from different academic backgrounds converging on the study of timbre and orchestration. I remember the session by Lindsey Reymore and Zachary Wallmark on timbre semantics in 2023 that impressed me the most because I had some realizations about how we communicate timbre that I was previously unaware of. In this year’s summer school, I really enjoyed Micheal Tenzer’s session on the ethnomusicology of orchestration, which reminded me again how expansive the view of timbre can or must be. Besides the tutorial sessions, the exchange with other timbre nerds was an absolute highlight of TOSS, and I can only recommend anyone who falls or wants to fall into this category to participate in the upcoming iterations of the format!”
“I've been with the ACTOR project from the very beginning, studying timbre and orchestration from various angles, but the TOSS workshops always find a way to surprise me and offer something new. One example from TOSS 2024 was the timbral composition exercise from Prof. Anthony Tan which we did as small groups. It was a quick, compelling demonstration, was a lot of fun, and got the participants to exchange their ideas and understanding about timbre in a very effective way. Also, the music that each group made was fascinating. I'll definitely keep this exercise in my toolbox for myself and for when I teach these topics.”
“Academic work, especially at the graduate level, can often feel quite solitary. Coming to TOSS in Vancouver reminded me of how exciting and engaging it is to learn, discuss, and interact in a group setting. One of the aspects that made this possible was a distinct lack of elitism. Often times academia has the unfortunate reputation of having a condescending gatekeeper culture, but I saw none of that here. Instead, there was curiosity, generosity, and spirited debate. Throughout the event, it was clear that everyone was coming with their own expertise and background, and it felt like a place to share our common knowledge and inspire each other. Working in small groups was a throwback to some of my undergraduate classes and it really created an atmosphere of camaraderie. So much so that it was sad to say goodbye. I would strongly recommend coming to TOSS if you have the opportunity!”
The Venue
McGill University's Schulich School of Music stands as a world-class institution for music education and research. With particular strengths in orchestral performance, opera, jazz, historical performance practice, and modern composition, the school has earned international recognition. The school's cutting-edge facilities and expertise in audio recording and music technology create unique bridges between academic study and professional practice. The vibrant community consists of more than 800 students who choose Schulich for its distinguished faculty of over 200 professors, numerous performance ensembles, abundant concert opportunities, and innovative programs combining musical tradition with technological advancement.
The Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT), located within the school of music, is a globally recognized hub for interdisciplinary research at the crossroads of music, science, and technology. It provides state-of-the-art facilities and fosters collaboration among scholars and practitioners,
Timbre and Orchestration in Popular Song (TOPS)
Timbre and orchestration are essential aspects of musical experience in any culture or style. They enable us to effortlessly identify different genres of music and are particularly important in popular musics. This centrality is reflected in Timbre and Orchestration in Popular Song (TOPS), a three-day conference hosted by McGill University's Schulich School of Music and the ACTOR (Analysis, Creation and Teaching of Orchestration) Partnership. The conference convenes scholars, producers, performers, and audiences of popular music for keynote lectures, workshops, posters, papers, and roundtable discussions, united under the theme of how timbre and orchestration give rise to critical and analytical accounts of genre, identity, performance, production, and perception. The conference features keynote presentations by Nina Sun Eidsheim (UCLA) and Kevin Holt (SUNY Stony Brook).
Apply
How to apply:
Interested participants are required to submit the following materials via the online application form:
In 200 words, please explain why you are interested in attending TOSS 2025.
CV, maximum two pages
If interested in a poster session, a 200-word (max.) abstract
Important dates:
January 12th, 2025: Extended Application deadline
January 15, 2025: Notification of selected applicants
January 15, 2025: Registration opens
February 15, 2025: Deadline to submit draft of poster (if planning to present one during TOPS)
April 1, 2025: Registration deadline
If you wish to withdraw from the school after having registered and paid, you can request a full or partial refund depending on the date of your request, per the chart below. To withdraw, please contact actor-project.music@mcgill.ca with your request.
| Refund Request | Refunded Amount (CAD) | |
|---|---|---|
| Option 1 | Option 2 | |
| On or before 1 March | $870 (full refund) | $396 (full refund) |
| On or before 1 April | $610.34 | $136.34 |
| On or before 1 May | $116.34 | $116.34 |
| After 1 May | No refund | No refund |
Partners and Funding
