RNCM PRiSM

PRiSM is the Centre for Practice & Research in Science & Music at the Royal Northern College of Music, directed by Emily Howard (Professor of Composition, RNCM) and co-directed by mathematician Marcus du Sautoy (Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and Professor of Mathematics, University of Oxford). PRiSM brings together researchers and practitioners in composition, performance, Artificial Intelligence, mathematics, music perception and data science to foster and promote world-leading research through creative collaborations between the sciences and music. The Centre was launched in October 2017, and in 2019 was awarded £914,000 from Research England’s Expanding Excellence in England Fund to support and augment its research. PRiSM takes a lead in interdisciplinary and reflexive research between the creative arts and the sciences with a view to making a real contribution to society, to developing new digital technology and creative practice, and to addressing fundamental questions about what it means to be human and creative today. PRiSM events include world premieres and research publications, along with workshops, festival appearances and the use of cutting-edge technology including the PRiSM Perception App. PRiSM collaborators include New Scientist (New Scientist Live Festival), Manchester Science Festival, Oxford e-Research Centre, the BBC Philharmonic and Barbican Centre. PRiSM’s annual Future Music event at RNCM launched this year and features current developments in new music and technology, including Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and Live Coding, asking what possibilities lie ahead for the music creators of the future.