Biography

Dr. Brian K. Shepard is associate professor of practice in pedagogical technology and composition at the USC Flora L. Thornton School of Music, where he teaches courses in music technology, composition, music theory, and orchestration at both the undergraduate and graduate level. He also chairs the Thornton Technology Committee.

One of the earliest proponents of high-bandwidth videoconferencing for musical purposes, Dr. Shepard conducted the very first demonstration of a private music lesson over Internet2 with full-frequency, uncompressed audio and video in October 1999. Since that time, Shepard’s pioneering research into the musical capabilities and opportunities of high-performance networks has brought him international recognition, and in April 2006, Internet2 recognized his work with their inaugural IDEA Award. His research has been published in the National Association of Schools of Music's Proceedings, and has been featured in a number of media outlets including CNN's Technology Week In Review and NPR's Morning Edition, as well as in The Christian Science Monitor, Discover, Symphony, EdTech, AV Technology magazines, and most recently, The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Because musical videoconferences require more responsive microphones and loudspeakers than those used in a typical videoconference, the sound produced by the loudspeakers is often picked up by the microphones and retransmitted back to the original site as an echo. In October 2009, after nearly 10 years of research into issues of audio quality and echo control for musical videoconferencing, Shepard released his software EchoDamp to educational and performing arts institutions around the world. This breakthrough application allows participants to control echo in a videoconference without sacrificing audio quality, and musicians may now experience the sound of a full, uncompressed frequency spectrum, without echo, even after the audio has traveled thousands of miles. Recognizing the importance of this application to the performing arts and network communities, Internet2 honored Shepard with a second IDEA Award for EchoDamp in April, 2010.

Shepard is a composer of both acoustic and electronic art music as well as an arranger and orchestrator of "Symphonic Pops" charts. His works have been performed by the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, the Charleston (SC) Symphony Orchestra, the Winston-Salem Symphony, the Portland (ME) Symphony Orchestra, Trio Contraste, the Margarita Baños-Milton dance ensemble, and by numerous faculty and student ensembles from colleges and universities across the country. As a result of collaborations with dancers, he began exploring the concept of interactive dance music in the late 1990s. One of his forays into this area, HyperLinx, uses infrared sensors placed around a stage to detect a dancer's movements. This information is then used by a computer running a program written by Dr. Shepard in Max/MSP to create a musical accompaniment to the dance. In addition to writing the computer program, he also built much of the hardware used in the work.

Before coming to USC, Shepard was assistant professor of composition and music technology at the University of Oklahoma School of Music where he chaired the Music Technology Department. He was an active performer in the Oklahoma City area, serving as principal percussion with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and playing frequently in recording sessions and for various shows, including Lyric Theatre--Oklahoma City's professional music theater company. Dr. Shepard serves on the Internet2 Performance Events Advisory Committee and is a former member of the music editorial review board for MERLOT (Multimedia and Educational Resources for Learning and Online Teaching). He is also an audio recording "coach" for the New World Symphony in Miami Beach Florida.

Video Interviews with Brian Shepard
About Brian Shepard
Brian Shepard's Career Path
Importance of Being Well-Rounded
Current Trends in Music Technology
Future of Distance Learning
Pedagogical Technology
Internet2 and Music Distance Education
What is Composition?
What is Orchestration?
Why Study Music?

Professional Experience

Career Highlights:

• Created and Developed EchoDamp, the first audio mixing and echo controlling software application for musical videoteleconferences on high-performance networks, October 2009
  
• Conducted very first musical private lesson over Internet2, with full-frequency, uncompressed audio and video, October 1999
• Pioneered technology for teaching and performing music via Internet2, 1998-Present
  
• Principal Percussion, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, 1992-2005

Honors, Awards & Competitions:

• IDEA Award from Internet2 for Interactive Music Education Project, April 2006
• IDEA Award from Internet2 for EchoDamp, April 2010

Compositions:

• All the Pretty Colors of the Rainbow for Microtonal Piano
• Eternal Stars for Brass Quintet
• Symphony No. 1 for Large Orchestra
• Where v. 1.04b for Computer Generated Sounds and Graphics
• HyperLinx for Dancer and Interactive Environment
• Conversation for Flute, Oboe and Piano

Research Interests:

• Echo control in Musical Videoteleconferences (EchoDamp)
  
• Music Distance Education
• Virtual Performance Environments
• Interactive Learning Modules for Music

Publications:

• Refining Sound: A Practical Guide to Synthesis and Synthesizers; - Oxford University Press, forthcoming September 2013
• "Internet2 and Musical Applications" - Proceedings (the Journal of the National Association of Schools of Music), Spring 2009
• “Teaching Music Through Advanced Network Videoconferencing” - Proceedings (the Journal of the National Association of Schools of Music), Spring 2001
• “The Symbolic Elements of Messiaen's Work for Wind Ensemble, Couleurs De La Cité Céleste” - The Journal of Band Research, Fall 1982
• “Preparing A Percussion Audition” - Percussive Notes, Spring/Summer 1979
• “Percussion Maintenance: Tips for the Band Director” - The Instrumentalist, April 1979

Academic Degrees

• DMA, University of Oklahoma, Composition, 1995
• MM, Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, Conducting, 1981
• BM, University of Kansas, Percussion, 1979