Rate My Professor Jon Drummond

Associate Professor Jon Drummond is a composer, sound artist, and academic in the School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Sciences at the University of Newcastle, Australia. He serves as Program Convenor for the Bachelor of Music and Performing Arts. Drummond holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Western Sydney, a Master of Science (Honours) from Macquarie University, and a Bachelor of Music from the Sydney Conservatorium. Prior to his current role, he was Senior Lecturer in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Technology Sydney from 2013 to 2017. As Chief Investigator in the ARC Research Hub for Connected Sensors for Health, he leads research in human-centred design, digital health technologies, and wearable sensors integrating sound and data visualisation to support wellbeing.

Drummond's research explores interactive electroacoustics, creative robotics, sonification of natural phenomena, acoustic ecology, real-time interactive performance systems for acoustic instruments, human-computer interaction design, new interfaces for musical expression, gesture analysis, improvisation, sound spatialisation, and data sonification. His creative works have been presented at international festivals and conferences including the Adelaide Festival, International Symposium on Electronic Arts (ISEA), International Computer Music Conference (ICMC), New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME), and World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE). Key projects encompass 'Oratorio for a Million Souls,' sonifying bumble bee data to highlight environmental issues; 'Culturescape: An Environmental Portrait of Bundanon,' using soil mineral analysis for soundscapes; and 'Heavy Metal,' an interactive installation analysing pigments in Arthur Boyd's paintings. Selected publications include 'Modular Composition: An approach towards structural plasticity in music' (Organised Sound, 2025), 'Im/possible musical selves: experiences of female music students in a music degree' (Australian Educational Researcher, 2024), 'Can competitive digital games support real-time music creation?' (Journal of Sound and Music in Games, 2022), 'Evaluating Digital Games for Competitive Music Composition' (Organised Sound, 2020), and 'Understanding Interactive Systems' (Organised Sound, 2009). His interdisciplinary work fosters public engagement with scientific data through accessible sonic experiences.