Scott Eric Petersen Composer, Lecturer, Laptop Performer, Electronic Improvisor
Yale University Department of Computer Science 10 Hillhouse Ave, Rm 425, New Haven CT, 06511 Web. www.scottericpetersen.com Email. [email protected] Cell. 203.804.1001
Doctor of Musical Arts, Eastman School of Music
Master of Music, Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University
Bachelor of Music, Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University
2010
2003
2001
Senior Lecturer, Yale University Department of Computer Science
As Senior Lecturer in Computer Science, I have developed and taught six courses that support the Computing and the Arts major as well as students in Computer Science and related disciplines. These courses—CPSC 035, S134, 334, 431/531, and 432/532—cover topics including electronic and computer music composition, sound synthesis, and creative embedded systems. In addition to teaching, I serve on university and departmental advisory committees, supervise both term-limited and ongoing independent student projects, and manage the CS Music Studio, a hybrid teaching and production space that supports interdisciplinary creative work.
2016-Present
Director of Undergraduate Studies, Computing and the Arts, Yale University
As Director of Undergraduate Studies for Computing and the Arts, I serve as the primary academic advisor for undergraduate majors, guiding them through course selection, project planning, and completion of degree requirements. I coordinate with faculty across the contributing departments to manage curricular updates and ensure alignment in major requirements. In addition to overseeing student progress toward graduation, I organize academic and social programming to foster community within the major, and I curate and maintain a permanent, searchable online showcase of senior projects accessible to members of the Yale community.
2023-Present
Program Director: Yale University Open Music Initiative
As Director of the Open Music Initiative (OMI), I lead a multifaceted program that combines technical instruction, creative research, and community engagement. I design and teach hands-on workshops in audio programming, recording and production techniques, basic electronics, circuit design, and analog synthesis. In addition to curricular development, I oversee operational aspects of the initiative, including budget and purchasing, coordination of a voluntary student staff, and the creation and maintenance of an open-source hardware and software computer cluster. I also manage OMI’s publicity, outreach, and organizational infrastructure. Most recently, I launched an undergraduate research working group focused on human-computer interaction at the intersection of movement, audio synthesis, and sonification. A paper developed through this group was accepted to ICMC 2025.
2014 – Present
Technical Director: Yale Music Technology Labs, Yale University Department of Music
As Technical Director of YalMusT Labs, I provided instruction to faculty and students on a wide range of topics in music technology and production, including theoretical concepts in computer music, program-specific techniques in electronic music and video, and practical studio workflows. I also designed and led workshops on subjects ranging from recording and sound file editing to audio programming and digital music notation, supporting both curricular and creative initiatives across the department.
2008 – 2016
Instructor: Eastman School of Music, Introduction to Computer Music Techniques
As Instructor for Introduction to Computer Music Techniques, I taught both lecture and lab sections covering a broad range of foundational topics in audio technology and computer music. These included recording techniques, acoustic and psychoacoustic principles, hardware and software routing, digital and analog mixing, digital signal processing, sound synthesis, music programming, and interactive systems for real-time processing of live and streaming audio.
Spring 2007
ICMC 2025, Boston, MA: CAFFEINE: Collaborative Affordable Framework For Experiments in Interactive Networked Electronics
Open Music Initiative Workshops Series 2025, Yale University: Music Production in REAPER, CAFFEINE, Undergraduate Working Group (presentation of findings), DSP Programming in Faust
Open Music Initiative Workshop Series 2024, Yale University: OMI Synthesizer Workshop 2, Introduction to the Faust audio programming language
BUILD Program, Yale University: Computer Music Programming for Video Games and Multimedia Projects
Yale Summer Program in Astrophysics, Yale University: Computer Music Programming for Video Games and Multimedia Projects
MSCSIT Workshop, Sacred Heart University: Computer Music Programming for Video Games
ICMC-NYCEMF, New York, NY: Studio Report: Yale Open Music Initiative
Euterpea Studio, Yale University: Introduction to Linux Audio Production
Euterpea Studio, Yale University: Build an Audio Amplifier
Center for Collaborative Arts and Media, Yale University: Making the OMIPOD
Open Music Initiative, Yale University: Arduino and DC Motor Workshop
Open Music Initiative, Yale University: Analog Synthesizers: Making the Alien Screamer
MakeHaven, New Haven, CT: Making the APC
“Workshop in the Woods”, Dartmouth College: Systems and Methods of Performative Synthesis
New Canaan Library, contact microphone workshop
MakeHaven, New Haven, CT: experimental musical instrument workshop series
MakeHaven New Haven, CT: Coding Music
Artspace New Haven, CT: handmade acoustic instruments workshop
Artspace New Haven, CT: circuit bending and hardware hacking workshop
Foundation for Emerging Technologies and Arts, Miami, FL: guest composer
Spark Festival of Electronic Music and Arts, Minneapolis, MN: An Essay on Zen, Improvisation and the Listener
Peabody Conservatory, Baltimore, MD: guest composer
June 11, 2025
Various, Spring 2025
Various, 2023
July 29, 2022
August 27, 2022
April 16, 2021
June 21, 2019
February 09, 2019
October 26, 2018
September 21, 2017
February 24, 2016
April 23, 2015
October 29, 2014
October 10, 2014
January 14, 2014
September, 2013
August 22, 2013
December 13, 2012
January 24, 2012
March 20, 2011
March 1, 2008
April 27, 2006
Honors and awards include a Digital Humanities Workshop Seed Grant and multiple recognitions from the ASCAP Foundation, including the ASCAPLUS Award and an Honorable Mention in the Morton Gould Young Composer Awards. Additional academic and creative honors include the Ralph Jackno Scholarship, Belle S. Gitelman Award, Simon Rose Scholarship, Otto Ortmann Award in Composition, Randolph S. Rothschild Award in Composition, and the Peabody Percussion Ensemble Composition Competition. I am also a member of Pi Kappa Lambda (Epsilon Omicron Chapter) and the Golden Key National Honor Society.
My primary composition mentors include Dr. David Liptak, Dr. Robert Morris, and Dr. Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez at the Eastman School of Music; Dr. Christopher Theofanidis, Dr. Thomas Benjamin, and Prof. Morris M. Cotel at the Peabody Institute; and Dr. Martin Bresnick and Dr. John Carbon through additional study and festival participation.
My applied musical studies have included voice with Karen Holvik (Eastman School of Music), Randall Woodfield and Wayne Conner (Peabody Conservatory and the Curtis Institute of Music), Russell Penney (American University), and Romayne Bridgett; conducting with Dr. Harlan Parker (Peabody Institute); piano with Frances Veri (Pennsylvania Academy of Music) and Arlene Miller; and guitar with James Hontz (Franklin and Marshall College), Randy Zwally (Messiah College), and Lane Ellis.