Professor Annie Mahtani BMus (Hons), MA, MPhil, PhD

Photograph of Dr Annie Mahtani

Department of Music
Professor of Electroacoustic Composition and Practice

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 414 5787
Email
a.j.mahtani@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
Bramall Music Building
Music Department
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

I am a composer of electroacoustic music, specialising in acousmatic composition and multichannel audio.

Qualifications

  • BMus, MPhil, PhD University of Birmingham
  • MA Birmingham City University

Biography

I am an electroacoustic composer, sound artist, and performer whose work explores environmental sound and spatial audio. I am Professor of Electroacoustic Composition and Practice at the University of Birmingham and co-director of BEAST (Birmingham Electroacoustic Sound Theatre).

Teaching

I teach undergraduate modules in studio composition and postgraduate modules in Electroacoustic Resources and Advanced Electroacoustic Resources.

Postgraduate supervision

Electroacoustic music
Acousmatic composition
Spatial Audio
Multichannel composition including ambisonics
Spatialisation and diffusion
Field-Recording
Cross-disciplinary collaboration
Site-specific composition and installation

Find out more - our Music postgraduate study  page has information about doctoral research at the University of Birmingham.

Research

My research explores electroacoustic composition, immersive audio technologies, and the creative potential of environmental sound. I specialise in multichannel acousmatic music and ambisonic audio, developing compositional strategies for large-scale spatial works and investigating how sound can shape perceptions of space and place.

A key focus of my practice is acoustic ecology and the sonic identity of environments. Through extensive field recording, I create works that amplify subtle or imperceptible sonic characteristics, fostering new modes of listening and engagement with the environment. This includes site-specific installations and augmented soundwalks that integrate technology and embodied experience.

I am an active performer with BEAST (Birmingham Electroacoustic Sound Theatre), advancing live acousmatic and improvisatory practices. My interdisciplinary collaborations with dance and theatre companies extend my research into cross-disciplinary contexts, combining sound design and composition to create immersive experiences.

Other activities

I am Undergraduate Programme Lead for the Department of Music and Senior Admissions Tutor for LCAHM.

Recent performances and conferences:

  • Exposure, Radio 3: Performance and Interview
    20 Jul 2017
  • Sound + Environment 2017: Performance
    26 Jun 2017 → 2 Jul 2017
  • Klang! Électroacoustique Festival 2017: Performance
    2 Jun 2017
  • Invisible Places 2017: Soundwalk
    7 Apr 2017 → 9 Apr 2017
  • Klang! Électroacoustique Festival 2017: Jury Member
    1 Apr 2017 → 4 Jun 2017
  • The Engine Room 2017 , Morley College London: Jury Member
    1 Feb 2017 → 4 May 2017
  • Sound and Music, George Butterworth Award 2017: Panel Member
    1 Feb 2017 → 31 Mar 2017
  • Sound + Environment 2017, University of Hull: Reviewer
    1 Jan 2017 → 22 Mar 2017
  • Sound Junction, University of Sheffield: Performance
    26 Nov 2016
  • Minimum Monument, Lakes Alive Festival: Performer
    28 Aug 2016
  • BEAST FEaST 2016: Performance
    30 Apr 2016
  • Sound and Music, George Butterworth Award 2016: Panel Member
    9 Feb 2016 → 8 Mar 2016
  • Bath Spa University, MPA Research Forum talk: The Augmented Soundwalk: Speaker
    3 Dec 2015
  • Women in Sound/Women on Sound Symposium 2015: Performance
    13 Nov 2015
  • INTIME 2015: Performance and Paper
    24 Oct 2015 → 25 Oct 2015
  • British Composer Awards 2015: Panelist
    17 Jul 2015 → 18 Sep 2015
  • KLANG! Électroacoustique - Festival 2015: Performer and Jury Member
    4 Jun 2015
  • BEAST FEaST 2015: Performance
    1 May 2015
  • Hear and Now - Radio 3: Interviewee
    14 Mar 2015
  • International Society for Contemporary Music, British Section: Panel member
    1 Sep 2014 → 31 Aug 2017
  • Minimum Monument, Birmingham performance (Birmingham Hippodrome): Performer
    2 Aug 2014

Publications

Highlight publications

Mahtani, A, Racines, 2019, Digital or Visual Products, emprientes DIGITALes, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Recent publications

Composition

Mahtani, A, Ripples, 2025, Composition.

Mahtani, A, Shimmer, 2025, Composition.

Mahtani, A, Within the Silence, 2025, Composition.

Mahtani, A, Lewis , C, Pettican, A & Mojsiewicz, K, Brass Art: this voice; this life; this procession: 2-channel video comprised of LiDAR data and Kinect capture, colour and monochrome, with sound. 13 mins, 2024, Composition.

Mahtani, A & Mapp, C, Gardening Humans, 2024, Composition.

Mahtani, A, Infernal Waves, 2024, Composition.

Mahtani, A, Reflections of Azet, 2023, Composition.

Digital or Visual Products

Mahtani, A, Dobrzynski, D & Myers, J, Becoming Tree, 2024, Digital or Visual Products. <https://soundcloud.com/annie-mahtani/becomingtree/s-QqbPuo4Xpth?si=abb2332144684f5083a9d5b614fd18e4&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing>

Mahtani, A, BIFoR Dawn Chorus, 2024, Digital or Visual Products.

Exhibition

Mahtani, A & Batchelor, P, Chamberlain Clocktower Sonic intervention, 2025, Exhibition.

Mahtani, A & Hewitt, C, Everything in the forest is the forest, 2025, Exhibition.

Mahtani, A, Inside The Clock, 2025, Exhibition.

Mahtani, A, Art , B, Lewis , C, Pettican, A & Mojsiewicz, K, Brass Art: this voice; this life; this procession: 2-channel video comprised of LiDAR data and Kinect capture, colour and monochrome, with sound. 13 mins, 2024, Exhibition, HOME Mcr, Manchester, UK.

Performance

Mahtani, A, Breathe, 2022, Performance.

Mahtani, A, Gonsai, S, Wood, K, Alexander, D, Raithatha, K & Patel, M, Cultivate, 2022, Performance.

View all publications in research portal