Nathan Wolek

Professor of Digital Arts and Music Technology

A broad interest in sound shapes my teaching, creative work, and scholarly research. Most recently, I have been working at the intersection of soundscape, environmentalism, and accessibility.

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

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Nathan Wolek

Biography

Nathan Wolek, PhD, is a sound artist and audio researcher whose work encompasses electronic music, audio field recording, natural soundscapes, and sound design. He is currently a Professor of Digital Arts, holds the Lydia Pfund Endowed Professorship, and serves as chair of Creative Arts at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida.

His music and sound installations feature rapid edits, gradually changing textures, and environmental recordings of personal significance. From 2020 to 2025, Wolek served as co-director of Young Sound Seekers for the National Park Service. The program created opportunities for blind and partially-sighted youth to learn about natural soundscapes and audio field recording at Canaveral National Seashore and Central Florida's state parks.

Wolek has presented his creative work across the United States, in addition to engagements in Korea, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Brazil, Chile and United Kingdom. His research has been featured at the ASA, ICMC, SEAMUS, CMS, ATMI and CENSE conferences. He served as co-host for the 2023 World Forum for Acoustic Ecology conference.

He is also a two-time Fulbright Scholar, recognized twice by this prestigious academic exchange program (Norway 2012 and Scotland 2021). 

More About Nathan Wolek

Areas of Expertise

  • Natural Soundscapes (Acoustic Ecology, Audio Field Recording)
  • Electronic Music (History, Audio Signal Processing, Sound Synthesis)
  • Sound Design (Film, Podcasting)

Course Sampling

  • Electronic Music
  • Sound Design
  • Coastal Soundscapes
  • Digital Audio Fundamentals

  • Florida Soundscapes
  • National Parks, State Parks, Public Lands
  • Animal Bioacoustics
  • Accessibility and Inclusive Pedagogy 

Selected Performances and Exhibitions

  • Enemies. 21 January to 22 February 2025. Included in the Faculty Biennial Exhibition at the Hand Art Center (Stetson University - DeLand, FL). Curated by Natália Marques da Silva.
  • Every morning. 16 February to 16 March 2023. Included in the Faculty Biennial Exhibition at the Hand Art Center (Stetson University - DeLand, FL). Curated by Luca Molnar & Katya Kudryavtseva.
  • 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.
  • 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.

Publications

  • Young Sound Seekers Listening Activities. 2025. Co-authored with Eve Payor and Edith Stein. Six lesson plans in a 46-page PDF download on the National Park Service website.
  • Listen-Pair-Share: a template for facilitating inclusive group discussion about active listening. 2023. Acoustic Ecology Review. Vol. 1 No. 1.
  • Designing 3D-Printed Spectrograms for Blind Students. 2022. Co-authored with Grace McEllroy. Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC), Univ. of Limerick, Ireland, pp 156-161.
  • Can We Align Our Research and Shared Values to Improve Accessibility? 2021. Co-authored with Andy Slater. Array: the Journal of the ICMA, pp 27–32.
  • DeLeon Soundscape Project. 2020. Jan Krticka & Pavel Markus, editors. Sound and Environment, pp 52-62.