Biography

Milton Mermikides PhD (University of Surrey) BSc is a composer, performer and producer in a wide range of styles and has collaborated with artists as diverse as Pat Martino, John Williams, Tod Machover, Steve Winwood, Tim Minchin and Brian Eno. In addition to Lecturer in Music at the University of Surrey, Milton is Professor of Jazz Guitar at the Royal College of Music, a graduate of the Berklee College of Music and London School of Economics, and external examiner at the Academy of Contemporary Music. Milton has given seminars and lectures at the Royal Academy of Music (London), Royal Musical Association (Guildford), Smithsonian Institute (New York), Art Researches Science Conference (Belgium), Oulu Music Festival (Finland) and The Science Museum (London), performed for HM the Queen, and has received awards for his writing, education and charity work. Milton's compositions, production and playing appears on BBC1, BBC2, BBC4, Channel 4, Discovery Channel, BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4, Computer Music and Guitar Techniques Magazine as well as galleries, planetaria and concert halls internationally, and his theme tunes for various podcasts are heard by over 10,000 listeners a week. Milton composed the soundtrack and appears in Martino: Unstrung (2007 Sixteen Films) and - in conversation with Paul Morley - on BBC's How To Be A Composer (2009 Diverse)

Research Interests

Jazz, contemporary popular music, and electroacoustic performance, improvisation composition and analysis.

Music/Science cross-disciplinary composition, installation and research projects.

Time-feel (elements of groove that feel good but escape standard notation).

Guitar performance from Sor, Django, Hendrix, Wes, Zappa, Holdsworth to Frisell and beyond.

Research Collaborations

Wellcome Trust

Science Museum

Aldeburgh Music

MIT (Tod Machover)

Publications

Installations and Screenings

Angela Palmer’s Inside Out exhibition

• Ruskin Gallery, Oxford University, UK. 2 February 2004.
• Royal College of Surgeons, Hunterian Museum, UK. 29 January – 19 May 2007.

Music of the Body exhibition

• Science Circus, Guildford, Surrey, UK. 20 September 2008.

Microcosmos

• Lewis Elton Gallery, Guildford International Music Festival, UK. 5-24 March 2007.
• York Gate Museum, Royal Academy of Music, London, UK. 4 March 2008.
• Digiville Forms of Life exhibition. Lighthouse, Brighton, UK. 1 September 2008.
• Infective Art event. Dana Centre, Science Museum, London, UK. 26 November 2008.
• Art Researches Science exhibition. Antwerp, Belgium. 17 October 2010.

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

• Intech Planetarium, Winchester, UK. 27 August-4 September 2009 launch week, and available for viewing since 1 October 2009.
• Thinktank: Birmingham Planetarium, UK. Available for viewing since 1 May 2010.
• British Association of Planetaria (BAP) 2010 conference, Winchester, UK. 7-9 May 2010.
• Western Alliance of Planetariums (WAC) 2010 conference, Omaha, Nebraska, USA. 4-7 August 2010.

Papers, Lectures and Seminars

Changes Over Time (2010)

PhD Thesis. The analysis, modeling and deployment of jazz improvisational, and time-feel, mechanisms.

Temporal Plasticity (2010)

Time-feel studies in Pat Martino’s playing.

Presentation 2 February 2010 Postgraduate Research Day, University of Surrey.

On Composing (2010)

Article in Computer Music Magazine Special: Making it February 2010. 5,000+ readership.

Eclipse Masterclass (2009)

Presentation on the practice of live interactive electronics.

2 November 2009 Trinity Church, Boston MA to Berklee College of Music students and faculty, and public.

New Works for Electric Cello (2008)

            Presentation of new works, Omnia and Event Horizon.

            9 June 2008 Postgraduate Research Day, University of Surrey.

Sacred Geometry (2008)

An analysis of Pat Martino’s guitar improvisations on Welcome To A Prayer.

4 January 2008. Lecture. Royal Musical Association Conference, University of Surrey.

Possible Infinities (2007)

Lecture presentation exploring the electronic music and the contemporary realization of Omaggio and A Pierre for the Luigi Nono South Bank Festival.

23 November 20007 Public lecture. York Gate Gallery, Royal Academy of Music.

The Science and Art of Tuning (2007)

Lecture presentation on the science and art of tuning, and intonation software Horatio.

7 February 2007 Public  lecture  at York Gate Gallery, Royal Academy of Music.

The Singing Bacteria (2007)

Paper outlining the composition of Microcosmos with collaborators Steve Downer (cameraman) and microbiologist Dr. Simon Park.

3 June 2007 Public lecture. York Gate Gallery, Royal Academy of Music.

1 September 2007 Public lecture. Digiville Event, Brighton.

26 November 2008 Public lecture in the Dana Centre’s Infective Art event, Science Museum.

Playing with Technology (2006)

Paper on the past, present and future of electroacoustic experimentalism.

9 November 2006 Public lecture given at the Royal Academy of Music.

Musical Being (2006)

            Lecture presentation on the translation of scientific phenomena to musical composition.

            12 August 2006 Oulu Music Festival, Finland.

The Architects of Noise (2006)

Paper on expression through timbral modulation in electric guitar music. 


23 June 2006 Academic lecture. Postgraduate Research Day, University of Surrey.

Musical Landscape (2005)

Paper examining Villa Lobos’s millimetrization technique and the electronic development of the technique.

5 March 2005 Presented at York Gate Gallery, Royal Academy of Music as part of the Composer:Performer Exchange series.

That Swing (2004)

Paper presenting the SLW model of time-feel in jazz.


13 December 2005 Lecture presentation. Postgraduate Research day, University of Surrey.

Live Performances

Selected list of live performances (2006-10) of improvisational ensemble, electronic and extended solo instrument works by the author.

• Milton’s Big EGO. Eclectic Guitar Orchestra (John Williams, Bridget Mermikides, Gary Ryan, Stephen Goss, Graham Roberts, Tristan Seume, Pete Callard, Chris Montague and Milton Mermikides, guitars). Bolivar Hall, London, UK. 28 January 2006.
  
  
• Djangone. Performance of reworked compositions by Django Reinhardt. (Odile Heimberger, violin. Chris Montague and Milton Mermikides, guitars). French Institute, London, UK. 21 June 2006.

• Hyperbow Research event with Tod Machover. Performance of String Theory. (Peter Gregson, Cello). Royal Academy of Music, London, UK. 3 November 2006.

• Performer Computer Interactions. York Gate Research Event. Performance of David Gorton’s 2^nd Sonata for Cello with Acellorometer (Mermikides 2006). (Neil Heyde, Cello). Royal Academy of Music, London, UK. 9 November 2006.

• Park Lane Group Young Composers’ Symposium. Performance of The Selfish Theme. (John Calvert, bass. Adam Betts, drums. Milton Mermikides, guitar and electronics). London, UK. 19 November 2006.

• Djangone. Performance of reworked compositions by Django Reinhardt (Odile Heimberger, violin. Chris Montague and Milton Mermikides, guitars). Camden Stables, London, UK. 7 December 2006.

• Gesture Mapping Seminar. Performance of String Theory (Peter Gregson, Cello). Creative Technology Lab, London, UK. 1 February 2007.

• Hiroko Koshino Fashion Autumn Collection event and concert. Anomalous Duality (Michael Nyman, piano. Marianne Haynes, violin). Music by Brian Eno, Michael Nyman and Milton Mermikides. Tokyo, Japan. 13 March 2007.

• Rat Park Live (John Calvert, bass and electronics. Adam Betts, drums and electronics. Milton Mermikides, guitar, visuals and electronics). Guildford International Music Festival. Electric Theatre, Guildford, Surrey, UK. 15 March 2007.

• Milton’s Bigger EGO. Eclectic Guitar Orchestra (Paco Peña, Bridget Mermikides, Gary Ryan, Stephen Goss, Graham Roberts, Tristan Seume, Pete Callard, John Wheatcroft, Chris Montague and Milton Mermikides, guitars). Bolivar Hall, London, UK. 28 January 2006.

• Rat Park Duo (John Calvert, bass and electronics. Milton Mermikides, guitar and electronics). London International Guitar Festival, UK. 6 May 2007.

• 21^st Century Bow. Concert of new works for Hyperbow by Patrick Nunn, Martin Suckling, Artem Vassiliev, Max West and Milton Mermikides (Peter Gregson, Cello and the Royal Academy of Music Chamber Ensemble). Duke’s Hall, London, UK. 21 September 2007.
  
  
• Hiroko Koshino Fashion Spring 2008 Collection event and concert. Music by Brian Eno, Roger Eno, Nell Catchpole, Hiroshi Kato, Michael Nyman and Milton Mermikides. Shanghai, China. 25 September 2007.

• Royal Musical Association. Torus. Guitar duo improvised recital. (Chris Montague and Milton Mermikides, guitars). Studio One, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK. 4 January 2008.

• SPEM. Live performance of works by Tallis, John Metcalfe, Martin Suckling, Philip Sheppard, Thomas Hewitt-Jones and Milton Mermikides (Peter Gregson, cello. Milton Mermikides, electronics). Greyfriar’s Kirk, Edinburgh, UK. 25 April 2008.

• La Vita Non Fa Rumore. Book reading by Gian Luca Favetto and live improvised performance of works by Coltrane, Ronell, Pete Truin and Milton Mermikides (Pete Truin, saxophones. Milton Mermikides, guitar and electronics). Conservatoire of Alghero, Sardinia. 13 November 2008.

• The Words on the Wall. Live performance of works by John Metcalfe, Martin Suckling, Max Richter, Philip Sheppard, Thomas Hewitt-Jones and Milton Mermikides (Peter Gregson, cello. Milton Mermikides, electronics). Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh, UK. 30 January 2009.
  
  
• SPEM. Live performance of works by Tallis, John Metcalfe, Martin Suckling, Philip Sheppard, Thomas Hewitt-Jones and Milton Mermikides (Peter Gregson, cello. Milton Mermikides, electronics). Trinity Church, Boston, USA. 26 March 2009.

• Factory. Live performance of works by Peter Gregson and Milton Mermikides. (Peter Gregson, cello. Milton Mermikides, electronics). New Media Scotland, Glasgow, UK. 2 July 2009

• Terminal. Live performance of works by Peter Gregson and Milton Mermikides. (Peter Gregson, cello. Milton Mermikides, electronics). The Hospital Club, London, UK. 7 April 2010.
  
  
• Retrato de Piazzolla. Reworkings of the music of Astor Piazzolla (Amor Quintet: Gabriele Faja, piano. Anne-Marie Curran, violin. Nikolai Ryskov, accordion. Sam Ryan, double bass. Milton Mermikides, guitar). London International Guitar Festival. South Bank, London, UK. 16 May 2010.
  
  
• Retrato de Piazzolla. Reworkings of the music of Astor Piazzolla (Amor Quintet). Hoxton Jazz Festival, London, UK. 22 May 2010.
  
  
• Retrato de Piazzolla. Reworkings of the music of Astor Piazzolla (Amor Quintet). Recital. St. James Piccadilly, London, UK. 22 September 2010.

Teaching

Popular Music Harmony

Advanced Popular Music Harmony

Creating Music for Computers

Electronic and Experimental Music

World Musics

Digital Improvisation

Studio Techniques

MMus and PhD supervision in Jazz, popular and electroacoustic musicology, analysis, composition and performance