Aural Diversity Conference 1
The first Aural Diversity Conference took place on Saturday 30 November and Sunday 1 December 2019 at the University of Leicester. Academic papers were given in the George Davies Centre (GDC). Artists’ statements and performances took place in the Attenborough Arts Centre (AAC). The conference coincided with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities .
This page includes a programme summary and a lightly restructured full programme for readability on phones and tablets.
Programme summary
Saturday 30 November 2019
- 09:00–09:30 Registration (GDC)
- 09:30–09:45 Welcome — Prof. Andrew Hugill / Prof. John Levack Drever (GDC)
-
10:00–11:30 Session 1: Hearing & Listening 1 (GDC), chaired by Prof. John Drever
- Keynote 1: Dr. Alinka Greasley — Exploring the music listening behaviour of people with hearing impairments…
- Prof. William Davies — Autistic Listening
- Lena Batra — Assisting the Musically Diverse Patient
-
12:00–13:00 Session 2: Composing, Music & Sound Art 1 (AAC), chaired by Prof. Andrew Hugill
- Jay Afrisando — The (Real) Laptop Music :)) (multimedia performance)
- Simon Allen — After Cornell (multimedia performance)
- Josephine Dickinson — ALPHABETULA (performance)
- John D’Arcy — Do You Hear What I Hear (presentation)
- 14:00–14:10 Welcome address — Prof. Paul Monks (GDC)
-
14:15–16:00 Session 3: Hearing & Listening 2 (GDC), chaired by Dr. Alinka Greasley
- Keynote 2: Prof. Peter Rea — Aural Diversity: the consequences of pathology and treatment…
- Dr. Samuel Couth — The show must go on…
- Dr. Marie Thompson & Dr. Patrick Farmer — Tinnitus, Auditory Knowledge and the Arts
- Ed Garland — Textual hearing aids…
- 16:00–17:00 Session 4: Panel discussion — Aural Diversity (GDC), chaired by Dr. Simon Atkinson
- 19:30–21:30 Session 5: Aural Diversity Concert #2 (AAC), led by Duncan Chapman
Sunday 1 December 2019
- 09:00–09:30 Late registrations / organisational questions (GDC)
-
09:30–10:30 Session 6: Composing, Music & Sound Art 2 (GDC), chaired by Prof. John Drever
- Keynote 3: Prof. Andrew Hugill — Consequences of Ménière’s Disease…
- Christopher Cook — Co-composing with Trevor…
-
11:00–12:00 Session 7: Composing, Music & Sound Art 3 (GDC), chaired by Prof. John Drever
- Dr. Balandino Di Donato, Dr. Tychonas Michailidis, Christopher Dewey — SoundSculpt…
- Prof. Matthew Sansom — Aural and other perceptually diverse inclusivity…
- Dr. Matthew Spring — Thomas Mace: a functioning deaf musician…
-
12:30–13:30 Session 8: Soundscape, Environment & Acoustic Ecology 1 (GDC), chaired by Dr. Alinka Greasley
- Keynote 4: Prof. John Levack Drever — Phonating Hand Dryers…
- Dr. Karla Berrens Torruella — Sound, discomfort and the making of place…
-
14:00–15:00 Session 9: Artists’ Statements (GDC), chaired by Prof. John Drever
- Alan Jacques — A Tale of Two Inner Ears…
- Josephine Dickinson — ALPHABETULA
- Lena Batra — Embracing the Inbetween
-
15:30–16:30 Session 10: Soundscape, Environment & Acoustic Ecology 2 (GDC), chaired by Prof. Andrew Hugill
- Dr. Meri Kytö — Cochlear implant as soundscape arranger…
- Johan Malmstedt — Ecological Ears…
- Additional item: David Holzman (film) — Deep River — A Pianist’s Journey With Hearing Loss
- 16:30–17:00 Session 11: Plenary discussion (GDC), chaired by Prof. John Levack Drever
- 17:00 Close
Additional event
Concert: Sara Stowe (soprano) and Matthew Spring (early instruments).
Apollo, Orpheus, Midas and Pan. Hearing and mythology in early song.
3 December 2019, 12:45–13:45 (approx.) — Main Hall, Attenborough Arts Centre.
Full programme
The full programme below is reproduced from the original 2019 conference page, with light structural editing (headings, lists, and spacing) to improve readability across devices.
Saturday 30 November 2019
09:00–09:30 Registration (GDC)
09:30–09:45 Welcome — Prof. Andrew Hugill / Prof. John Levack Drever (15 mins) (GDC)
10:00–11:30 — Session 1: Hearing & Listening 1 (GDC)
Chaired by Prof. John Drever
Keynote 1: Dr. Alinka Greasley (40 mins) — “Exploring the music listening behaviour of people with hearing impairments: patient and practitioner perspectives”.
This talk will critically examine how hearing impairments and the use of hearing aid technology affect musical listening and performance. Drawing on data collected as part of the AHRC-funded Hearing Aids for Music project (2015–2019), it will highlight how a wide range of interrelating factors shape the musical experiences of hearing impaired individuals. This includes the configuration and severity of hearing loss, the types of music listened to and performed (e.g. style, instrument played, venues/settings), the way(s) in which hearing aid technology is set up, and differences in attitudes towards aural rehabilitation (e.g. mindset, willingness to experiment with technologies). The talk will then focus on how individual differences can be accounted for within clinical audiological practice, drawing on insights from practitioners who described strategies for addressing musical needs in clinic, including tips for programming aids for music, and emphasised the importance of taking individuals' specific musical needs into account. Overall, data show that there is no “one-size-fits-all” with regards to fitting hearing aids for music, and the often processes of trial and error, and adaptation over time are needed to achieve satisfactory listening outcomes.
Alinka Greasley is Associate Professor in Music Psychology at University of Leeds, and Director of the Hearing Aids for Music project.
Prof. William Davies (20 mins) — “Autistic Listening”
Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition diagnosed by differences in social interaction and communication. Most autistic people also experience atypical sensory processing (e.g., a heightened sensitivity to sound or texture). Nearly all autism research uses a deficit model, where differences between autistic and non-autistic people are characterised as impairments of the autistic people. In contrast, a handful of researchers have sought and found evidence of autistic superiority. For example, Remington and Fairnie (2017) reported autistic adults to have a greater auditory perceptual capacity: they could keep track of more simultaneous sounds than their non-autistic counterparts. Moreover, anecdotal accounts from autistic people suggest that there may be much more to be discovered about autistic perceptual organization, if a deficit model is abandoned. Lay language reports from individuals suggest strengths in aural awareness, in extracting structure and patterns, in sensitivity to small changes at different scales, in identifying sounds, places and processes, and more. Exercising these abilities is sometimes associated with pleasure and a heightened sense of embodiment. This paper will briefly review anecdotal and structured evidence of autistic listening, from the perspective of an autistic psychoacoustics researcher. Future research directions and possible experiments will be suggested.
Bill is Professor of Acoustics and Perception, Acoustics Research Centre, University of Salford. Sound is my lifelong interest… I was diagnosed autistic as an adult.
Lena Batra (20 mins) — “Assisting the Musically Diverse Patient”
Hearing aids and remedial technology play a significant role in the auditory perception of music for an individual following peripheral aural change. From clinical observation over the last 10 years, however, the willingness and ability of individuals to engage with and benefit from the technology available to assist their music perception can encounter challenges. The process from audiogram to full music engagement can be complex involving several variables which may play out to various degrees between individuals — as we might expect in an aurally diverse population encountering a range of different audiological difficulties. This talk provides an overview, from a clinical perspective, of some of the factors that might come into play for the individual, alongside a discussion and demonstration of strategies for helping to address these. The talk will include full audio-visual demonstration to support key learning points.
Lena Batra is a registered hearing therapist… www.lenabatra.com
11:30–12:00 Break
12:00–13:00 — Session 2: Composing, Music & Sound Art 1 (AAC)
Chaired by Prof. Andrew Hugill
Jay Afrisando (15 mins) — “The (Real) Laptop Music :))” (multimedia performance)
(Content as in original programme.)
Simon Allen (15 mins) — “After Cornell” (multimedia performance)
(Content as in original programme.)
Josephine Dickinson (15 mins) — “ALPHABETULA” (performance)
(Content as in original programme.)
John D’Arcy (10 mins) — “Do You Hear What I Hear” (presentation)
(Content as in original programme.)
13:00–14:00 Lunch
14:00–14:10 Welcome address — Professor Paul Monks, Head of the College of Science and Engineering, University of Leicester (GDC)
14:15–16:00 — Session 3: Hearing & Listening 2 (GDC)
Chaired by Dr. Alinka Greasley
Keynote 2 (40 mins): Prof. Peter Rea — “Aural Diversity: the consequences of pathology and treatment. A surgeon’s perspective.”
(Content as in original programme.)
Dr. Samuel Couth (20 mins) — “The show must go on: …”
(Content as in original programme.)
Dr. Marie Thompson & Dr. Patrick Farmer (20 mins) — “Tinnitus, Auditory Knowledge and the Arts”
(Content as in original programme.)
Ed Garland (20 mins) — “Textual hearing aids: …”
(Content as in original programme.)
16:00–17:00 Session 4: Panel discussion — Aural Diversity (GDC). Chaired by Dr. Simon Atkinson.
17:00–19:30 Dinner
19:30–21:30 Session 5: Aural Diversity Concert #2 (AAC). Led by Duncan Chapman.
Sunday 1 December 2019
09:00–09:30 Late registrations / organisational questions
09:30–10:30 — Session 6: Composing, Music & Sound Art 2 (GDC)
Chaired by Prof. John Drever
Keynote 3: Prof. Andrew Hugill (40 mins) — “Consequences of Ménière’s Disease…”
(Content as in original programme.)
Christopher Cook (20 mins) — “Co-composing with Trevor…”
(Content as in original programme.)
10:30–11:00 Break
11:00–12:00 — Session 7: Composing, Music & Sound Art 3 (GDC)
Chaired by Prof. John Drever
Di Donato / Michailidis / Dewey (20 mins) — “SoundSculpt…”
(Content as in original programme.)
Prof. Matthew Sansom (20 mins) — “Aural and other perceptually diverse inclusivity…”
(Content as in original programme.)
Dr. Matthew Spring (20 mins) — “Thomas Mace…”
(Content as in original programme.)
12:00–12:30 Break
12:30–13:30 — Session 8: Soundscape, Environment & Acoustic Ecology 1 (GDC)
Chaired by Dr. Alinka Greasley
Keynote 4: Prof. John Levack Drever (40 mins) — “Phonating Hand Dryers…”
(Content as in original programme.)
Dr. Karla Berrens Torruella (20 mins) — “Sound, discomfort and the making of place…”
(Content as in original programme.)
13:30–14:00 Lunch
14:00–15:00 — Session 9: Artists’ Statements (GDC)
Chaired by Prof. John Drever
Alan Jacques (20 mins) — “A Tale of Two Inner Ears…”
(Content as in original programme.)
Josephine Dickinson (20 mins) — “ALPHABETULA”
(Content as in original programme.)
Lena Batra (20 mins) — “Embracing the Inbetween”
(Content as in original programme.)
15:00–15:30 Break
15:30–16:30 — Session 10: Soundscape, Environment & Acoustic Ecology 2 (GDC)
Chaired by Prof. Andrew Hugill
Dr. Meri Kytö (20 mins) — “Cochlear implant as soundscape arranger…”
(Content as in original programme.)
Johan Malmstedt (20 mins) — “Ecological Ears…”
(Content as in original programme.)
Additional item: David Holzman (film, 30 mins) — “Deep River — A Pianist’s Journey With Hearing Loss”
(Content as in original programme.)
16:30–17:00 Session 11: Plenary discussion (GDC). Chaired by Prof. John Levack Drever.
17:00 Close
Additional event: concert
Sara Stowe (soprano) and Matthew Spring (early instruments).
Apollo, Orpheus, Midas and Pan. Hearing and mythology in early song.
3 December 2019, 12:45–13:45 (approx.) — Main Hall, Attenborough Arts Centre.
Registration fee (historic): £25 (£10 for students, senior citizens, disabled and registered unemployed people).