William Moylan, Biography  

William Moylan is Professor of Sound Recording Technology and Music at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where he has been the Coordinator of the Sound Recording Technology program since arriving in 1983 and served as the Chairperson of the Department of Music from 1998 to 2006.  He has been active in Music and Recording Technology communities for over 25 years, with extensive experience and credits as a record producer, recording engineer, composer, author and educator.

Dr. Moylan has been teaching audio recording since 1979, and has been engaged in many related activities including serving on the education committees of the AES (Audio Engineering Society) and SPARS (Society of Professional Audio Recording Services), and consulting internationally on program development, assessment and curricular matters.  Under his guidance, the recording program at U Mass Lowell has become recognized as one of the strongest in the nation and has gained a significant international presence and reputation.

As a producer and engineer Dr. Moylan has recorded many leading artists and ensembles in a broad cross section of music genres.  His recordings have been released by major and independent record labels and have resulted in wide recognition, including several GRAMMY Award nominations in a number of different categories.

Focal Press, an imprint of Elsevier Science, publishes William Moylan’s most recent book, Understanding and Crafting the Mix: The Art of Recording, second edition, 2006. The first edition was released in 2002, and has been adopted by many recording programs throughout the US and in Europe, and has been released in Italian translation. Understanding and Crafting the Mix is unique in its focus on the artistic and creative aspects of the recording process, its study of how the unique aspects of sound controlled by the recording process can shape music, and the development of critical listening skills for audio production and evaluation.

William Moylan is the composer of over forty published compositions encompassing a variety of styles and media, including music meant to be recorded, electronic music, and traditional works for orchestra, chorus, chamber ensembles (vocal and instrumental).  Leading artists and ensembles have performed his works throughout North America and in Europe and Japan.  Seven of his works are commercially recorded including a CD exclusively of his compositions, Origins on Albany Records.

Dr. Moylan holds the Bachelor of Music in Composition from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, the Master of Music in Composition from the University of Toronto, and the Doctor of Arts degree in Music Theory and Composition from Ball State University.