Jim Murphy

Jim built robotic musical instruments during his PhD & continues the collaboration between music and engineering in his teaching role at the NZ School of Music.

If you were to tell me back at the start of my undergraduate studies that I’d be working full time in musical robotics and kinetic sound sculpture, I would have been equal parts thrilled and skeptical. I now develop and explore new musical instruments and teach others about the art of designing and composing for these instruments. I found my undergraduate studies (at California Institute of the Arts) to be a fascinatingly chaotic time, studying as many different disciplines as I could. I found music technology to be the only subject that coincided with what I wanted to do on the weekends—make music, craft new sounds, and share compositional ideas with others.

My PhD studies in Wellington combined composition and sonic arts studies with engineering techniques, allowing me to build and test new robotic musical instruments with a degree of rigour that hadn’t been accomplished in many other projects worldwide. These were some of the most engaging and compelling years of my life. I was invited to stay on at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington in a visiting lecturer capacity, allowing me not only to continue down my research avenues but also to begin teaching others about sonic arts and music technology. I continued in this role for two years before being brought aboard as a lecturer in sonic arts at the New Zealand School of Music. Now a senior lecturer, I continue interdisciplinary collaboration between music and engineering. I’m particularly passionate about working with students who bring new ideas to the discipline of musical instrument design, sound art, and music-oriented mechatronics.

If you are considering going on to postgraduate study in music, I suggest taking every opportunity during your studies to fine-tune your teaching skills. This makes you stand out from the crowd when applying for positions, not just academic ones. Seek out as much interdisciplinary study as possible. I found the exposure to different ways of thinking and approaching problems a very enriching experience. Most of all, find something that not only contains research potential but also gives you goose bumps, thrills you, and draws you in.