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Photograph of Fernando Benadon

Fernando Benadon Professor Performing Arts

Degrees
PhD, Music Composition, UC Berkeley
BM, Commercial Arranging, Berklee College of Music

Bio
I am a composer and music theorist originally from Buenos Aires. Currently I am working on a book about harmonic progressions and compositional process in Quiet Storm music. I have released two albums of original music, written a book on rhythm, composed a score for a feature film shown at Cannes, and published journal articles on jazz improvisation, speech rhythms, and Afro-Cuban drumming. I am also an alto player and enjoy performing across styles from bebop to R&B.
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For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

Teaching

Fall 2024

  • MUS-021 Private Instrument Study: Composition

  • MUS-022 Private Instrument Study: Composition

  • MUS-121 Private Instrument/Vocal Study: Composition

  • MUS-122 Private Instrument/Vocal Study: Composition

  • PERF-224 Music Theory III

  • PERF-442 Adv St in Music Anlys/Perform: Jazz Arranging

Spring 2025

  • MUS-021 Private Instrument Study: Composition

  • MUS-022 Private Instrument Study: Composition

  • MUS-121 Private Instrument/Vocal Study: Composition

  • MUS-122 Private Instrument/Vocal Study: Composition

  • MUS-125 Music Theory II

  • MUS-127 Musicianship II

Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities

Selected Publications

  • Swinglines: Rhythm, Timing, and Polymeter in Musical Phrasing. Oxford University PressÌý(2024)
  • . New Ideas in Psychology (2020)
  • . In "Thought and Play in Musical Rhythm: Asian, African, and Euro-American Perspectives" (OUP, 2019).
  • .ÌýMusic & ScienceÌý(2018); co-authored with Andy McGraw & Michael Robinson
  • . Empirical Musicology Review (2016).
  • . Empirical Musicology Review (2015)
  • . Music Performance Research (2015); co-authored with Damian Zanette
  • .ÌýPsychological ResearchÌý78:1 (2014)
  • . Music Theory Spectrum 31:1 (2009)
  • . Perspectives of New Music 47:1 (2009)
  • . Popular Music 28:1 (2009); co-authored with Ted Gioia
  • . Music Theory Online 13:3 (2007)
  • . Ethnomusicology 50:1 (2006)
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Grants and Sponsored Research

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  • National Endowment for the Humanities, Digital Startup Grant (2010)

Recordings

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  • Ìý(New Focus Recordings, 2017)
  • ÌýÌý(Innova Recordings, 2009)

Honors, Awards, and Fellowships

  • Steve Larson Award for Jazz Scholarship, Society for Music Theory (2020)Ìý Ìý
  • John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship (2009)
  • Mannes Institute for Advanced Studies in Music Theory (2008, 2009)
  • Jaap Kunst Prize, Society for Ethnomusicology (2007)
  • Individual Artist Award, Maryland State Arts Council (2007)
  • League of Composers / ISCM composers competition (2005)
  • Aaron Copland Award, Copland House (2004)
  • Nicola DeLorenzo 1st Prize, UC-Berkeley (2004)
  • George Ladd Prix de Paris, UC-Berkeley (2001 - 03)
  • Fromm Commission, Tanglewood Music Center (2001)
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Professional Presentations

  • On the Fluidity of Afro-Cuban Meter,ÌýSociety for Music Theory (2019)
  • Polymetric Phrasing in Rumba's Quinto. Society for Music Theory (2016)
  • Improvisations of a Quinto Player. Analytical Approaches to World Music (2016); with Andrew McGraw
  • Deep Syncopation in Hindustani Tabla Drumming. Analytical Approaches to World Music (2014)
  • Disentangling the Rubato-Groove Continuum. Society for Music Theory (2012)
  • Dynamic Exploration of Recording Sessions Between Jazz Musicians Over Time. ASE/IEEE International Conference on Social Computing (2012); with Darya Filippova, Karl Kingsford, and Michael Fitzgerald
  • Metrical Properties of Fusion Drum Solos. Society for Music Theory (2011)
  • Crossmodal Analogues of Tempo Rubato. Society for Music Perception and Cognition (2011)
  • Expressive Timing via Metric Hybrids. International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition (2010)
  • Speech Rhythms and Metric Frames. Society for Mathematics and Computation in Music (2009)
  • Bend it Like Bubber: Miley's Time in Creole Love Call. Society for Music Theory (2007)
  • Towards a Theory of Tempo Modulation. International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition (2004)
  • Absolutes and Relatives in Jazz Microtiming (poster). Auditory Perception, Cognition, and Action Meeting (2004)
  • Spectrographic and Calligraphic Cues in the Identification of Jazz Saxophonists. European Society for the Cognitive Sciences (2003)

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Residencies

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  • The MacDowell Colony (2006)
  • Copland House (2004)
  • Voix Nouvelles, Fondation Royaumont (2002)
  • Wellesley Composers Conference (2002)
  • Tanglewood Music Center (2000)
  • Aspen Advanced Master Class in Composition (1999)