FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music is pleased to announce the appointments of James Donaldson and Noah Kahrs as assistant professors of music in music theory, effective Aug. 1.
Donaldson is a college lecturer in music at Magdalen College, University of Oxford, while Kahrs currently teaches Ear Training and Music Theory at Northern Arizona University and previously taught at the Eastman School of Music.
“The addition of James Donaldson and Noah Kahrs significantly broadens the scope of what our already extensive Music Theory Department offers,” said Abra Bush, David Henry Jacobs Bicentennial Dean. “We heartily welcome them and their unique expertise.”
Donaldson’s interests center on the theory and analysis of twentieth- and twenty-first-century music, exploring issues of musical meaning primarily through the lens of musical topics. He has presented his research at conferences across Europe and North America, and it appears in journals such as Music Theory Online, Music Theory Spectrum and the Journal of Musicology. He has further interests in early Parisian surrealism and spectralism and has discussed his research on BBC Radio 3.
Kahrs is a music theorist whose research relates a wide range of twentieth-century musics to developments in technology and theories of hearing. His dissertation and ongoing research investigate how American experimental music, French spectral music and other electroacoustic repertoires renegotiate tonality’s relationship to acoustics and perceptual science.
He earned degrees in music theory and composition from the Eastman School of Music and in music and mathematics from the University of Chicago. He has contributed to the Society for Music Theory as a cochair of the Post-1945 Music Analysis Interest Group and as an editorial assistant for Music Theory Spectrum.
“We’re excited to welcome Dr. James Donaldson and Dr. Noah Kahrs to the Department of Music Theory,” said Noriko Manabe, department chair. “Dr. Donaldson applies topic theory as a fresh way to address musical meaning in diverse repertoire from contemporary concert music like Adès to lo-fi in Billie Eilish. His interests in semiotics, literary theory and humanistic inquiry continue a tradition of interdisciplinary research on musical meaning at Jacobs. His public-facing work, such as producing radio documentaries on contemporary music with the BBC, will provide new modes of outreach at Jacobs.
“Dr. Kahrs explores how perceptual theories intertwine with compositional theories, synthesizing questions of timbre, acoustics and perception across a broad repertoire of contemporary orchestral music, experimental music and multimedia art. A board member of the Journal of Mathematics and Music, he continues Jacobs’ tradition of interest in mathematics and music and brings additional expertise on corpus study, statistical learning theory and timbre.
“Together, Dr. Kahrs and Dr. Donaldson will be instrumental for our department’s commitment to maintaining a strong music theory program, innovating in theorizing about contemporary musics and developing connections with colleagues and students in and outside of Jacobs.”
