Stephen David Beck

Derryl & Helen Haymon Professor
Associate Vice President
Office of Research & Economic Development

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Biography

Stephen David Beck is the Haymon Professor of Composition and Computer Music. He was Associate Vice President for Research & Economic Development from 2015-2024, and before that Director of the School of Music from 2012-2015. He holds a joint appointment at the Center for Computation & Technology (CCT), where he established the Cultural Computing research group and later served as Interim Director.

Dr. Beck received his Ph.D. in music composition and theory from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1988 where he studied with Henri Lazarof, Elaine Barkin, Alden Ashforth, and Roger Bourland. Between 1985-1986, he held an Annette Kade/Fulbright Fellowship to study at the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM) in Paris, France.

His current research interests include large-scale sound diffusion technologies, granular sound synthesis techniques, interactive computer music, and music over networks. At LSU, he led the establishment of the Experimental Music & Digital Media (EMDM) doctoral program and founded the Laptop Orchestra of Louisiana (LOLs).

Dr. Beck has presented lectures and papers on his research in computer music and high-performance computing applications in the arts at meetings of the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS), the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC), New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME), the Alliance for the Arts at Research Universities (a2ru), the Global Grid Forum, and the Society of Composers, Inc. He has also served in leadership on the boards of both SEAMUS and the International Computer Music Association.

His music has been performed throughout the world, including performances at Weill Recital Hall, Concert Band Directors National Association Biennial, North American Saxophone Alliance, New Music America, and World Harp Congress. His writings have been published by G. Shirmer, MIT Press, Springer Nature, the Acoustical Society of America and the Computer Music Journal, and his music has been recorded on the SEAMUS, EMF, and Gothic record labels.

About his music, Beck writes:

“…the use of technology in my music is not meant to replace musicians, but rather to enhance and expand a performer’s potential for expressiveness, technique and, most importantly, timbre. There is an uncanny beauty in the physical and mathematical laws of nature, a beauty of intense complexity bound by simplicity, order and logic. For me, this is a constant and powerful source of inspiration, and the use of modern technology seems the perfect tool for expressing that inspiration and awe.”