Associate Researcher
Ph.D. Researcher (alumni)
Visiting Researcher (alumni)
Biography:
John Sullivan is a music technology researcher whose work focuses on user-centered design of new instruments and technologies for music and multimedia performance. With a background in music performance and human-computer interaction, his work includes user research, participatory design workshops and collaborations with musicians to better understand and support professional performance practices. Additionally he has conducted research in the areas of motion capture analysis of live performance, haptic interaction, and accessible digital musical instrument design.
Under the name Johnny Venom, he has been a part of multiple indie rock groups from the northeastern US. He released several albums with various projects and has toured extensively in the US, Canada, and Europe.
Academic Background
- Ph.D. Music Technology – McGill University, 2021
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BFA Contemporary Music Performance and Composition – College of Santa Fe (United States), 2003
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MFA Intermedia – University of Maine (United States), 2015
Research Areas:
- Embedded Systems
- Haptics: Tactile and Force-Feedback
- Hardware Development
- Interface Design
- Interface Evaluation
- Movement Analysis
Projects
Publications:
- Sullivan, J., Guastavino, C., Wanderley, M. M. (2021). Surveying Digital Musical Instrument Use in Active Practice. In Journal of New Music Research (pp. 469 - 486).
- Sullivan, J. (2021). Built to Perform: Designing Digital Musical Instruments for Professional Use. In Ph.D. Thesis, McGill University. Montreal, Canada.
- Masu, R., Pultz Melbye, A., Sullivan, J., Refsum Jensenius, A. (2021). NIME and the Environment: Toward a More Sustainable NIME Practice. In Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME 2021). Shanghai, China.
- Sullivan, J., Vanasse, J., Guastavino, C., Wanderley, M. M. (2020). Reinventing the Noisebox: Designing Embedded Instruments for Active Musicians. In Proceedings of the 2020 International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME 2020). Birmingham, UK.
- Calegario, F., Wanderley, M., Tragtenberg, J., Wang, J., Sullivan, J., Meneses, E., Franco, I., Kirkegaard, M., Bredholt, M., Rohs, J. (2020). Probatio 1.0: collaborative development of a toolkit for functional DMI prototypes. In Proceedings of the 2020 International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME 2020) (pp. 6). Birmingham, UK.
- Sullivan, J., Wanderley, M. M. (2019). Surveying Digital Musical Instrument Use Across Diverse Communities of Practice. In 14th International Symposium on Computer Music Multidisciplinary Research. Marseille, France.
- Giordano, M., Sullivan, J., Wanderley, M. M. (2018). Design of Vibrotactile Feedback and Stimulation for Music Performance. In Musical Haptics. Springer Series on Touch and Haptic Systems (pp. 193 - 214). Papetti, S., Saitis, C. (Eds.). Springer, Cham.Cham, Switzerland.
- Sullivan, J., Tibbitts, A., Gatinet, B., Wanderley, M. M. (2018). Gestural Control of Augmented Instrumental Performance: A Case Study of the Concert Harp. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Movement and Computing (MOCO'18). Genoa, Italy.
- Sullivan, J., Wanderley, M. M. (2018). Stability, Reliability, Compatibility: Reviewing 40 Years of DMI Design. In Proceedings of the Sound and Music Computing Conference. Limassol, Cyprus.
- Bhagwati, S., Wanderley, M. M., Sullivan, J., Giordano, M. (2016). Musicking the Body Electric: The “Body:Suit:Score” as a polyvalent score interface for situational scores. In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Technologies for Music Notation and Representation.
- Sullivan, J. (2015). Noisebox: Design and Prototype of a New Digital Musical Instrument. In Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference (pp. 266-269). Denton, TX, USA.
- Boettcher, B., Sullivan, J., Wanderley, M. M. (2022). Slapbox: Redesign of a Digital Musical Instrument Towards Reliable Long-Term Practice. In New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME) 2022.
Contacts:
- Email: johnny@johnnyvenom.com
- Website: http://www.johnnyvenom.com/