Personal profile
Academic Biography
Al is the course leader for the BA(Hons) Music Production course at Teesside University. He has a specialist background within music production, technology, education and business. He has over 20 years academic experience as a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer of working within a variety of UK Universities prior to joining the music team at Teesside University in the summer of 2018.
He graduated with a first class Honours degree from University of Sheffield in Creative Music Technology. Following this, he completed his Post Graduate Certificate in Education teaching qualification and become a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2007 (or Advance HE as it is now known), of which he is still a member. He has experience of teaching in a variety of educational settings including Community, Further and Higher Education within the UK.
He completed his PhD in 2014 at University of Huddersfield under the supervision of Prof. Michael Clarke (Music) and Dr Lesley-Anne Pearson (Education and Professional Development), investigating the creative use of digital technology for composition within compulsory music education in England. He has published and presented peer reviewed publications at international conferences in North America, Scandinavia and Europe and has had recent literature publications through Routledge.
His research interests are primarily concerned with exploring the intersection between technology, music and creativity. Such activites of interest include sound production, spatial audio, music composition, sound art installation and action research in educational settings. He is always open to discussions of potential collaborative projects and research.
Al has an interesting history as a music practitioner in both performance and production over the past 35 years. He has performed in bands of various genres over the years playing cornet, guitar (electric and acoustic), mandolin, fiddle and voice in one capcity or another. He is a member of the PRS for Music as a music writer and owns a music production company undertaking commissions for broadcast, professional ensembles and independent artists. He has been principal Front of House live sound engineer for a leading UK tribute band and a world leading Youth Choir, embarking on tours and festivals throughout the UK and Europe. Most recently having completed a 20 show tour at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018 and an 8 concert tour of South Africa.
Summary of Research Interests
Al's research interests are primarily concerned with exploring the intersection between technology, music and creativity. Such activites of interest include sound production, spatial audio, music composition, sound art installation and action research in educational settings. He is always open to discussions of potential collaborative projects and research.
Al is always interested in opportunites and collaborations of postgraduate research supervisioncan. Contact him via email to discuss any possible collaborations [email protected]
Academic Achievements
Research Outputs and Publications
McNichol, A., Clarke, J. M. and Pearson, L-A. (2016) ‘Creative Interaction’ In: King,
A., Himonides, E. and Alex Ruthmann, S. (eds.) (2016) The Routledge Companion to Music, Technology, and Education. London: Routledge.
McNichol, A. (2012). ‘ Modern technology and creativity: an approach to composing at 11-14 years’, In: Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC), Ljubljana, Slovenia, 9-14 September, 2012.
McNichol, A. (2012). ‘Exploring an extended sound universe for composing in 11-14 music curricula’ In: Electroacoustic Music Studies Network Conference (EMS12), Stockholm, Sweden, 11-15 June, 2012.
McNichol, A. (2010). ‘Technology in the classroom: an opportunity missed?’ In: Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC), New York, N.Y., USA, 1-5 June, 2010.
McNichol, A. (2009). ‘Music Technology In The Key Stage 3 Music’. In: University of Huddersfield Research Festival, 23rd March - 2nd April 2009, Huddersfield, England.
McNichol, A. (2008). ‘Music Technology in the Key Stage 3 Music: an opportunity for creativity?’, In: University of Huddersfield Research Festival, 25 Feb -13 March 2008, Huddersfield, England.
Other Research Outputs
The publication of ‘Sound Manipulator’ software application and associated research
outputs. Sound Manipulator is a software application for the real-time manipulation of digital audio for sound composition.
Information available https://research.hud.ac.uk/soundmanipulator/
External Roles and Professional Activities
Live Sound Support for Choir's South Africa tour