"What is CIRMMT?"

A 9-minute video explaining more about CIRMMT and the kinds of research that are carried out in its labs.

The Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT) is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional research group, and a strategic cluster of the Fond de recherche-Société et culture (FRQSC) and Fond de recherche-Nature et technologies (FRQNT) that aims to provide a cutting-edge environment for integrated studies of music, acoustics, cognitive science, engineering, digital media and performance sciences. As the foremost centre in Canada for research in the science and technology of music and sound, CIRMMT develops new possibilities for scientific research, as well as creation, performance and dissemination of music with a major artistic, social and economic impact.

Housed at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University, CIRMMT unites researchers and their students from four partner institutions—McGill University, Université de Montréal, Université de Sherbrooke, and École de technologie supérieure—as well as members from five affiliated institutions: Concordia University, UQÀM, Laval University, INRS and Marianopolis College. The CIRMMT community also comprises administrative and technical staff, research associates, visiting scholars, musicians, and industrial associates.

Research within CIRMMT’s community spans a wide range of topics including how music is created, performed, recorded, transmitted, and received. It also encompasses the ways in which music and sound interact with vision and haptics. CIRMMT is unique in that it does not define or impose a specific program on its members and collaborators. Rather, CIRMMT’s role is to foster interdisciplinary research that emerges from its community.

By providing high-level, cross-disciplinary training and funding opportunities to more than 200 students and postdoctoral fellows, CIRMMT enables them to participate in interdisciplinary research co-supervised by members across domains, thereby ensuring the development of the next generation of highly qualified personnel (HQP). CIRMMT and its members are renowned worldwide for their broad range of interdisciplinary work, contributing numerous publications to the most important international journals. The Centre also sets the standard for collaborations that bridge the gap between science and art. With creations and performances using new technologies, CIRMMT plays a significant role in Québec's cultural scene, while CIRMMT's research on music technology, as exemplified by its impressive research output, is unparalleled in Canada. For its distinctive collaborative milieu and world-class facilities, CIRMMT occupies a unique position on the international stage having developed intense research partnerships with other academic and research institutions, as well as diverse industry partners throughout the world.

• To undertake interdisciplinary research in the broad area of music and sound
• To develop innovative approaches to the scientific study of music, media and technology
• To promote the application of newer technologies in science and the creative and performing arts
• To provide an advanced research training environment
• To provide an internationally recognized crucible for the development of an interdisciplinary culture between artists and scientists
• To disseminate research through a variety of media
• To form partnerships with the public and para-public sectors in Quebec, Canada and internationally
• To foster knowledge and technology transfer with industrial and commercial partners

The Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT) was formally established by McGill University on April 17, 2001, fulfilling a long-term goal of creating a world-class music research facility by the Faculty of Music. Under the leadership of founding director Prof. Wieslaw Woszczk (2001-2003), three other partner institutions joined McGill to form the CIRMMT research network: l’Université de Sherbrooke (2002-), l’Université de Montréal (2002-), and the CÉGEP de Drummondville (2002-2005). Since its inception, CIRMMT has dramatically changed from a small network of researchers to a leading interdisciplinary research centre, thanks to a growing number of members, collaborators, students and staff who have come together under the direction of Prof.  Stephen McAdams (2004-2009), Prof. Sean Ferguson (2009-2011), Prof. Marcelo Wanderley (2011-2015), Prof. Isabelle Cossette (2015-2020) and Prof.  Fabrice Marandola (2020-) (See this page for a comprehensive listing of all directors and co-directors). Over this period, CIRMMT’s network has expanded to include members from affiliate institutions: Concordia University (2007-), INRS (2011-), Marianapolis College (2011-), UQAM (2011-), Université Laval (2013-), MPB Technologies (2013-) and l’Ecole de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) (2013-), which became an official partner in March 2019. Today, the Centre has over 50 members and 70 collaborators, spanning from local and international institutions to partnerships within the industrial sector.  

Supported by a $6.5 million CFI-2 infrastructure grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation in 2000 (PI: Wieslaw Woszczk), CIRMMT was instituted in the Elizabeth Wirth Music Building at McGill University, construction of which was completed during the 2003-2004 academic year. This funding, along with a CFI-5 grant of $14.2 million in 2006 (PI: Isabelle Peretz), allowed for the building and outfitting of CIRMMT's core research laboratories on the 8th floor and the Multimedia Room (MMR), a multimedia experimentation and performance space shared with Schulich School of Music. An additional CFI-8 grant of $10.9 million secured in 2014 (PI: Marcelo Wanderley) has been dedicated to completing the MMR’s custom acoustic treatment (see funding section below for a full list of co-investigators for these grants). The most recent addition to CIRMMT’s facilities is the Performance Research Lab (PeRL), whose state-of-the-art equipment permits the analysis of small ensemble performances. 

CIRMMT’s organization and programming were solidified between 2005-2007, beginning with the structuring of the Centre’s research program into six research axes. The role of each axis is to organize training workshops for its members, research workshops for the general public, and to nominate guests for the Distinguished Lecture Series. This series, established in 2005, was designed to bring researchers and artists of international renown to present their work on subjects related to the science and technology of music. The first Distinguished Lecture, “Time Organization in African Music,” was presented by French-Israeli ethnomusicologist Simha Arom and took place on October 27, 2005. Another important aspect of CIRMMT’s programming is the live@CIRMMT series, established in 2007, which highlights the application of research in science and technology to musical creation and expression. The first live@CIRMMT concert took place on January 22, 2007, when Fabrice Marandola premiered Concerto Nervoso for percussion and live electronics by French composer Arnaud Petit. 

Since that time, CIRMMT has hosted five to six Distinguished Lectures and four or more live@CIRMMT performances per year, along with many workshops, seminars and colloquia. Though much of the organization and programming established in CIRMMT’s early years continues to this day, its research axes were streamlined from six to four in May 2014 to better reflect the evolving nature of the Centre’s research output. Over the last twenty years, CIRMMT’s facilities and programming have enabled meaningful interdisciplinary research and artistic exchanges between the Centre’s members, students, guests and industry partners, which have contributed to both the cultural and scientific life of Québec, Canada and beyond.

CIRMMT aims to provide a positive, inclusive, and equitable research environment in which everyone is welcome, has a sense of belonging and a voice, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender and gender identity, sexuality, physical or cognitive abilities, socioeconomic backgrounds, religious beliefs, or any other trait. To this end, we require input from everyone regarding how we can work toward achieving this goal.

For any communications with the committee, either openly or anonymously, people have the opportunity to do so via this survey. Barriers may include, but are not necessarily limited to:

• joining CIRMMT
• accessibility in the facilities (physically or otherwise)
• participation or inclusion in CIRMMT activities
• equitable access to funding
• access to relevant information regarding CIRMMT operations 

The EDI committee encourages equitable research practices and topics involving EDI considerations. Researchers can find advice on how to best incorporate EDI elements into research projects by consulting best practices as outlined by the Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ), their home institution, other granting agencies (e.g., Tri-Agency), and through the greater CIRMMT community’s expertise.

CIRMMT is primarily funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture/Nature et technologies (FRQSC-FRQNT) as a strategic cluster. The allocated funding covers the Centre’s operation costs for renewable, 6-year terms, and was awarded in 2003, 2009, 2015 and in 2021 for a period of 7 years. 

Partner institutions McGill University, Université de Montréal, Université de Sherbrooke, and ÉTS are also important contributors to the Centre’s funding. They provide the financial support necessary for the implementation of various activities.

Specific projects undertaken by CIRMMT, developed within CIRMMT’s community, or carried out through industrial partnerships are funded by multiple sources. These include: the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), le Ministère du Développement économique, de l'Innovation et d'Exportation (MDEIE), Healthy Brains Healthy Lives (HBHL), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Counsel (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), among others.

Significant infrastructure grants obtained by the Centre include:

CFI-2 (2000) $6.5 million: Wieslaw Woszczk (PI), Jeremy Cooperstock, Phlippe Depalle, Steven Epstein, Vincent Hayward, Daniel Levitin, George Massenburg, Bruce Pennycook, Takeo Yamamoto, Robert Zatorre

CFI-5 (2006) $14.2 million: Isabelle Peretz (PI), Stephen McAdams, Caroline Palmer, Marcelo Wanderley, Robert Zatorre, Evan Balaban, Douglas Eck, Virginia Penhune.

CFI-8 (2014) $10.9 million  Marcelo Wanderley (PI), Jeremy Cooperstock, Catherine Guastavino, Richard King, Stephen McAdams, Robert Normandeau, Caroline Palmer, Caroline Traube, Isabelle Cossette, Jean Piché. 

If you are interested in becoming a member of CIRMMT, please visit the following page that details the different types of membership available: https://www.cirmmt.org/en/membership/information

To apply for membership: https://www.cirmmt.org/en/membership/how-to-apply 

To view these documents, please visit the page on Useful Information.