Prof. Dr. Anja Volk
Chair
of Music Information Computing |
 |
Prof. Dr. Anja Volk
Chair
of Music Information Computing |
|
About me
My research lies at the intersection of Computer Science, Mathematics, Cognition and Music. I strive to connect fundamental research in Computer Science with the human processing of music information. This comprises a broad spectrum of research questions from theoretical to technology-related issues, engaging areas such as Computational Music Analysis, Music Information Retrieval, Computational Musicology, Mathematical Music Theory, Digital Humanities and Music Cognition. My research aims at enhancing our understanding of music as a fundamental human trait while applying these insights for developing music technologies that offer new ways of interacting with music, such as in the newly emerging field of music, computing, and health. I am specifically interested in music-based serious games for health and well-being, and inclusive gaming for players with different abilities.
Research Areas
- Music Information Retrieval
- Music and Artificial Intelligence
- Music Interaction Technology
- Music, Computing, and Health
- Computational Musicology
- Computational Music Analysis
- Music Cognition
- Serious gaming, inclusive gaming
- Mathematical Music Theory
- Digital Humanities
Upcoming
The second international conference on Computational and Cognitive Musicology will take place at Utrecht University, October 17-18, organized by the Music Information Computing group,
Publications
Books and edited volumes
Invited lectures
Recent Highlights
I delivered my inaugural lecture "Unravelling music through computation" on April 16, 2024.
6 articles have been published in the Special Collection Explaining music with AI: Advancing the scientific understanding of music through computation in the open-access journal Music & Science, guest-edited by David Meredith, Anja Volk and Tom Collins.
I was invited speaker at the Symposium Mathemusical Encounters in Singapore: a Diderot Legacy (19 Feb 2024–23 Feb 2024) and presented "Connecting Computational Models of Musical Structures with Developing Music Technology for Health, Wellbeing and Inclusion".
I was invited speaker at the CODAMUS lecture series at Julius Maximilian University Wuerzburg on February 7, 2024.
I delivered the keynote at the 2nd Workshop on Human-Centric Music Information Research (HCMIR23), Milano, Italy, November 10, 2023.
I presented our paper "Towards Computational Music Analysis for Music Therapy" at ISMIR 2023, Milano, Italy, November 5-9. Authors: Anja Volk, Tinka Veldhuis, Katrien Foubert and Jos de Backer.
I gave the invited lecture "Musical patterns: towards a dialogue between computational musicology and music therapy " at the International Colloquium of Computational and Cognitive Musicology 2023, Athens, Greece, June 22-24.I presented our paper "Developing and Evaluating a Musical Attention Control Training Game Application" at the Sound and Music Computing Conference 2023 in Stockholm, June 15-17. Authors: Anja Volk, Ermis Chalkiadakis, Sander Bakkes, Laurien Hakvoort & Rebecca S. Schaefer.
I presented at the MIRAGE-Symposium 2 in the section "Patterns and interaction in music therapy” on June 9, 2023, RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, Oslo.
I gave an invited lecture on Music Information Computing at the "Sequences in London" workshop, Goldsmiths, University of London, May 12, 2023.
I am heading the interdisciplinary project "AlgoRhythm: Assessing and ameliorating sensory processing deficits of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder employing a serious rhythmic game", working towards a rhythmic game for children with autism, together with my colleagues Sander Bakkes and Matthieu Brinkhuis, and the University Medical Center Utrecht (Fleur Velders, Ria Veldhuizen) and the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Autisme. This project contributes to Utrecht University's Research theme Dynamics Of Youth.
On May 11, 2023, I presented at the Center for Digital Music, Queen Mary University in the C4DM Seminar "Music Information Computing: Understanding and employing patterns in music".
Next Generation Radioshow on October 13th has streamed a video interview on our project "AlgoRhythm: Assessing and ameliorating sensory processing deficits of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder employing a serious rhythmic game". Watch it back here, starting at 3:02:50.
I am honoured to have been invited as a speaker to this year's annual event of the European Women in Mathematics – The Netherlands (EWM-The Netherlands) on the topic of "Mathematics and Art" presenting my work on patterns in music. Great event to foster networking opportunities for women in mathematics, to increase the visibility of female mathematicians, and to encourage women to study mathematics! 16 Sep 2022.
I gave the invited lecture Musical Patterns in Musical Interactions: Understanding and Employing Repetition in Music in the series "Music and Mathematics", organized by University of Salzburg and Universität Mozarteum Salzburg, 23 June 2022.
We have published the special collection AI and Musical Creativity at TISMIR! Enjoy reading!
With the master students of my course "Sound and Music Technology" at Utrecht University, we created the Alternative December Playlist 2021. I am very proud of what the students have achieved! On December 24, we were invited to NPO Radio 1, to the special Christmas edition of the science program Focus Kerstspecial - our segment starts around 1:04:10. We explained how we created the playlist, and listened to some of the songs. Check out: 36 alternatieve decemberliedjes om je playlist mee te verrijken or 36 alternative December songs to diversify your holiday playlistI was invited to speak at the Industrial Panel at ISMIR 2021 about my work at the intersection of MIR, education, health and well-being in November 2021, together with Fabian Gouyon, Cynthia Liem, Thomas Prätzlich, and Francois Pachet (moderated by Xavier Serra).
I was invited to the WiMIR panel at ISMIR 2021 to discuss local initiatives together with Eliot Quinton, Sakinat Folorunso and Meinard Müller (moderated by Jordan B. Smith).
At the European Computer Science Summit (ECSS) 2021, I presented the WiMIR mentoring program during the WIRE-EUGAIN Workshop.
I was an invited panelist at the 8th ACM Celebration of Women in Computing, the womENcourage 2021 conference, discussing Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Emerging Challenges and Opportunities of Artificial Intelligence. Lots to say about this topic for the area of Music Information Retrieval!
We participated with the UUrhythmicArt team in the AI Song Contest 2021, with the composition "A Glitch in Humanity".
Press release about our roadmap paper on Music, Computing and Health: within a couple of weeks our article has made it to the top 5 most downloaded/viewed articles in Music & Science!
Our paper Music, Computing, and Health: A roadmap for the current and future roles of music technology for health care and well-being has been published at the open-access journal Music & Science. This roadmap paper is a collaboration of 15 authors from 3 continents spanning computer science, music psychology and neuroscience, music therapy, music information retrieval, music technology, medical technology (medtech) and robotics, who have participated in our Lorentz workshop on Music, Computing, and Health in 2019.
Diversity Campaign: I am a scientist
I have initiated with my Westerdijk Award for Diversity and Inclusion the exhibition "I am a scientist", showing 7 researchers on life-size mock-ups and with short videos introducing their research, from Utrecht University's Faculty of Science.
The campaign seeks to counteract stereotypical expectations about scientists, showing diversity at full width to the Science academic community. The exhibition was opened on September 3, 2019 by the Dean of the Faculty of Science, Isabel Arends.
Music, Computing, and Health
Workshop at the Lorentz Center, International Center for Workshops in the Sciences
March 04-08, 2019, Leiden, the Netherlands
Scientific Organizers: Kat Agres, Susan van Hooren, Rebecca Schaefer, Anja VolkAim: Towards music technology for healthcare and well-being, drawing from music cognition, computing, music information retrieval, music therapy and medical technology
Westerdijk Award 2018
On September 4 I received the Westerdijk Award 2018 for diversity and inclusion from the Faculty of Science, Utrecht University.
The award was given to me in recognition of my activities in Women in Information and Computing Sciences (WICS),
and the international Women in Music Information Retrieval initiative (WIMIR).
Journal of Mathematics and Music Special Issue:
Mathematical and Computational Approaches to Music: Three Methodological Reflections
Journal of Mathematics and Music, Vol. 6(2).
Guest Editors: Anja Volk and Aline Honingh
Introduction to the Special Issue with more than 6000 times accessed, the most downloaded article of the journal
In the media/public outreach
I/O magazine published an interview with me about my new professorship on Music Information Computing, page 16/17.
Next Generation Radioshow on October 13th has streamed a video interview on our project "AlgoRhythm: Assessing and ameliorating sensory processing deficits of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder employing a serious rhythmic game". Watch it back here, starting at 3:02:50.
On December 24, we were invited to NPO Radio 1 to the special Christmas edition of the science program Focus Kerstspecial with Rose Heijnen and Steven Smit. We explained how we created the playlist, and listened to some of the songs, see here the NPO Radio 1 fragment. Check out: 36 alternatieve decemberliedjes om je playlist mee te verrijken or 36 alternative December songs to diversify your holiday playlist
UU press release about our effort to diversify the December holiday playlist with 36 alternative songs, together with students from my master course "Sound and Music Technology". In Dutch here.
Live interview in Omroep Brabant, morning program Wakker! on December 6, 2021 on why some people love Christmas music, while others get annoyed.
Interview by RTL News on the phenomenon of love vs. anymosity of Christmas music.
Press release about our roadmap paper on Music, Computing and Health: within a couple of weeks our article has made it to the top 5 most downloaded/viewed articles in Music & Science!
UU press release about our contribution to the Dutch team "Can AI Kick It" in the 1st AI Song Contest.
Interview in De Ingenieur about using AI for generating our song Abbus within the Dutch team "Can AI Kick It".
Report in DUIC about our team "Can AI Kick It" in the 1st AI Song Contest.
I gave a lecture about my research and activities in WiMIR for 300 Spanish highschool students in Málaga, March 28th, 2019, during the First International Day of Women in Inclusive Sound and Music Computing Research.
I gave a lecture about my research on patterns in music in the Stadsgehoorzaal at the city of Leiden during the Public Symposium There is Music in the Brain, organized by the Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition and the municipality of Leiden, on November 30, 2018.
Interview in Leids Universitair Weekblad De anatomie van hits, 29 November 2018.
I gave the public lecture Ritme en algoritme: patronen herkennen in muziek during NWO's Night of Science Music inside Out, on October 6, 2017. Video summary.
Concertzender live at Utrecht Centraal: Live interview at radio station Concertzender on 5 June 2017 about my public lecture "Lekker (algo)ritme" during the Culturele Zondag Utrecht Centraal.
I gave the public lecture Lekker (algo)ritme at Culturele Zondag Utrecht Centraal on June 5, 2017. Podcast. Blog Studium Generale
On June 2, 2015 I received the Spotlight award from the Dean of the Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, for my activities in disseminating my work to the general public.
Professoren op het podium (Professors on stage): A theater evening over Music and Mathematics, organized and moderated by Jan van den Berg. Guests: Anja Volk, Jan Neerven and Frank Redig. Theater de Veste, Delft. 1 April 2015, 20:30.
KennisCafe Amsterdam: Rocking Science, with Anja Volk, Tom ter Bogt, Fleur Bouwer, Louis Grijp, organized by De Volkskrant, KNAW, science center NEMO, de Balie Amsterdam, 15 December 2014, 20:00-22:00. Watch at De Balie TV, listen at Kennis van Nu, Radio 5.
Radio Interview at Science 071 Sleutelstad, 17 December 2014, listen here, photo here. Update: This interview has been submitted to the NTR Radio Award 2015
Interview "De Volkskrant", 10 December 2014, pdf
Presentation at Bessensap 2014 (Science meets press): "Hoe herken je muziek?", 6 June 2014, photo impression
Portrayal in De Groene Amsterdammer, 31st October 2013, download print version here
Computational musicology in De Groene Amsterdammer, October 2013
e-data & research nr. 4 March 2011
Employment
- since 2023: Professor of Music Information Computing at Utrecht University
- 2011-23: Assistant/Associate Professor at Utrecht University
- 2006-2010: PostDoc in the WITCHCRAFT project at the Utrecht University and the Meertens Institute Amsterdam.
- 2003- 2005: Postdoctoral Fellow in the at the Integrated Media Systems Center, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California.
- 1998-2003: PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Research Group for Mathematical Music Theory at the Technical University Berlin.
International Initiatives
- Co-founder of the Transactions of the International Society for Music Information Retrieval (2018)
- Co-founder of the Women in Music Information Retrieval mentoring program (2016)
- Co-founder of the Society for Mathematics and Computation in Music (2007)
