Nathan Wolek

Professor of Digital Arts and Music Technology

Nathan Wolek, PhD, is a sound artist and audio researcher whose work encompasses electronic music, audio field recording, multimedia performance, and sound design. He is also a two-time Fulbright Scholar, recognized twice by this international academic exchange program (Norway 2012 and Scotland 2021).

  • PhD, music technology, Northwestern University
  • BM, digital arts, Stetson University

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Nathan Wolek

Biography

Nathan Wolek is a sound artist and audio researcher whose work encompasses electronic music, audio field recording, multimedia performance and sound design. He is currently the Lydia Pfund Endowed Professor of Digital Arts at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. His music and sound installations feature rapid edits, gradually changing textures and environmental recordings of personal significance. Among many electronic musicians and sound artists, he continues to be best known for the Granular Toolkit and LowkeyNW package, both popular software extensions to Cycling74's Max environment. Wolek has presented his creative work across the United States, in addition to engagements in Korea, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Canada and Brazil. His research has been featured at the ICMC, SEAMUS, CMS, ATMI and CENSE conferences. He is also a two-time Fulbright Scholar, recognized twice by this prestigious academic exchange program (Norway 2012 and Scotland 2 021). 

More About Nathan Wolek

Areas of Expertise

  • Electronic Music (Production and History)
  • Soundscape, Acoustic Ecology, and Audio Field Recording
  • Sound Design 
  • Popular Music (Especially Studio Production)

Course Sampling

  • Electronic Music and Sound Design
  • Our Sonic World
  • Digital Audio Fundamentals

In 2020, Wolek collaborated with Atlantic Center for the Arts on the launch of Young Sound Seekers. The program creates opportunities for blind and partially-sighted youth to learn about natural soundscapes and audio field recording at Canaveral National Seashore. Young Sound Seekers is supported by a five-year grant from the Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division of the National Park Service. Wolek continues to serve as co-director of the program with Eve Payor, ACA Director of Community Programs.

Selected Performances and Exhibitions

  • Churning Shells and Train. 27 July 2021. Included on concert at the International Computer Music Conference (Santiago, Chile). Selected via blind peer review.
  • Canaveral Soundscape. 7-11 Dec 2020. Solo exhibition at ACA Harris House (New Smyrna Beach, FL). Culmination of the ACA Soundscape Field Station residency.
  • Submerged. 1 September - 15 October 2020. Group exhibition at Hand Art Center (DeLand, FL). Commissioned by James Pearson to create new sound installation based on DeLeon Soundscape Project
  • every tree. Sound artist. 5-10 August 2018. Included in sound installation exhibition for the International Computer Music Conference (Daegu Art Factory - Daegu, Korea). Selected via blind peer review.
  • attack. Sound artist. October-November 2016. Included in the SOUND exhibit at Crisp- Ellert Art Museum (Flagler College - St. Augustine, FL). Curated by Michael Dickins and Barry Jones.

Publications

  • DeLeon Soundscape Project. 2020. in Sound and Environment. Jan Krticka & Pavel Markus, editors. Faculty of Art and Design at Jan Evangelista Purkyne University in Usti Nad Labem, Czech Republic. Pages 52-62.
  • Model-View-Controller separation in Max using Jamoma. 2014. Co-authored with Trond Lossius (lead author), The'o de la Hogue, Pascal Baltazar, Timothy Place, and Julien Rabin. Proceedings of the joint 40th International Computer Music Conference (ICMC) & 11th Sound and Music Computing (SMC) Conference, Athens Greece, pp 1573-1580.
  • Media representations of the laptop as a musical instrument. 2012. Extended abstract. Proceedings of the Symposium for Laptop Ensembles and Orchestras (SLEO) at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA.
  • Hipno: Getting Started. 2005. Co-authored with Timothy Place (lead author) and Jesse Allison. Software manual for Cycling'74 and Electrotap.
  • Granular Toolkit v1.0 for Cycling74's Max/MSP. 2001. Journal SEAMUS, Volume XVI, No. 2, pp 34-46.