CoSTAR PhD Student - Royal Holloway, University of LondonMichael Riordan

Michael is a composer, sound designer and guitarist with a particular interest in interactive and spatial audio. He is a graduate of the Masters in Music and Media Technologies programme at Trinity College Dublin, where his thesis examined virtual reality as an environment for sound synthesis. His work has ranged from concert pieces, often with live electronics, to video game soundtracks to VR installations. His recent collaboration with visual artist AlanJames Burns, ‘Augmented Body, Altered Mind’, has been exhibited in Ireland, Hungary and the UK, and used audience members’ brainwaves to alter a soundscape and dialogue in real-time.

Michael's PhD will examine the role of spatial audio within the virtual production studio, focusing on its perceptual impact on performers and audiences.