Matthew Burtner
Director of Undergraduate Programs,
Assistant Professor, Composer
Office: OCH 201
Office Hours: Tuesday 1-4pm, OCH 205
Phone: (434) 924-6494
Web: Matthew Burtner's Website
Education: Ph.D. in composition, Princeton University, M.F.A. in composition, Princeton University; M.F.A. in electronic music and recording media, Mills College; A.B. in music, Dartmouth College.
Research interests: Acoustic, electronic and mixed composition; experimental aesthetics; interactive technologies; installation; sound design; popular music; art & activism.
Matthew Burtner is currently Assistant Professor of composition and computer music at the University of Virginia where he is Associate Director of the VCCM Computer Music Center. A native of Alaska (b.1970), he studied philosophy, composition, saxophone and computer music at St. Johns College, Tulane University (BFA Summa Cum Laude 1993), Iannis Xenakis's UPIC Studios (1993-94), the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University (MM 1997), and Stanford University's CCRMA (DMA 2002). He has been composer-in-residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts, Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, and the IUA/Phonos Institute in Barcelona. His original computer music research is presented regularly at international conferences, and has been published by journals such as Organized Sound, the Journal of New Music Research and the Leonardo Music Journal. Matthew Burtner's music has been described as "shimmering, pulsating and thunderous" by the Norwegian Fremover, and The Wire has called it "some of the most eerily effective electroacoustic music I've heard." His work regularly combines instrumental ensembles, computer technology, interactive acoustics and multimedia. First prize winner in the Musica Nova International Electroacoustic Music Competition, Burtner's music has also received honors and awards from Meet the Composer, ASCAP, the American Music Center, the Luigi Russolo International Computer Music Competition, the Gaudeamus International Young Composers Competition, the Hultgren International Cello Biennial, Darmstadt, Prix d'Ete, SCI, and others. His music has been commissioned for performers such as the Spectri Sonori Ensemble, Noise Ensemble, MiN Ensemble, Phyllis Bryn Julson and Mark Markham, the Peabody Trio, Ascolto, Ensemble Noise, Haleh Abghari and others. His commercial recordings include "Incantations" on the German DACO label (DACO 102), "Portals of Distortion," on Innova Records (Innova 526), and "Arctic Contrasts," on the Norwegian Euridice label (EUCD 012-2000).