Brad Garton (born 1957) is an American composer and

computer music Computer music is the application of computing technology in music composition, to help human composers create new music or to have computers independently create music, such as with algorithmic composition programs. It includes the theory and ...

ian who is professor of

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. He has written, or helped to write, a number of computer music applications, including Real-Time Cmix, music synthesis and

signal processing Signal processing is an electrical engineering subfield that focuses on analyzing, modifying and synthesizing ''signals'', such as sound, images, and scientific measurements. Signal processing techniques are used to optimize transmissions, ...

language for real time composition. He received his doctorate in composition from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

. Garton is director of the

Computer Music Center The Computer Music Center (CMC) at Columbia University is the oldest center for electronic and computer music research in the United States. It was founded in the 1950s as the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. Location The CMC is hou ...

, Columbia University, formerly the

Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center The Computer Music Center (CMC) at Columbia University is the oldest center for electronic and computer music research in the United States. It was founded in the 1950s as the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. Location The CMC is hou ...

. Garton grew up in Columbus,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. His father, Robert, has served more than 30 years as a Republican in the Indiana state Senate, including a long term as Senate President Pro Tem. Garton majored in pharmacy as a Purdue University student, but spent much of his time on music. Billing himself as "Mr. Science", Garton provided sound effects and keyboards for the band Dow Jones and the Industrials in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He also produced many acts, making a heavy contribution to the Indiana music scene, and with Richard K. Thomas founded Zounds Studios, which continues to produce music and sound for theater. He talked about his life and his formation as a musician in an interview with Peter Shea in February 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garton, Brad 1957 births Living people American male composers 21st-century American composers People from Columbus, Indiana 21st-century American male musicians Columbia University faculty