Biography:
David is currently reading for his PhD in Music in the Faculty of Music at the University of Cambridge, under the supervision of Professor John Rink. His thesis is entitled Collaborative Creativity in Classical Guitar Performance: ‘Reassessing the Role of Accompanist’.
Previously, David completed his MPhil in Music Studies at the University of Cambridge (2017-18), and obtained a BA in Music (1st Class Honours) at the University of Durham (2013-16).
In recent years David has studied with some of the world's leading musicians including:
Alison Smith (University of Plymouth, UK)
Andrew West (Royal Academy of Music, UK)
Antigoni Goni (Greece)
Carlos Bonell (Royal College of Music, UK)
Dame Emma Kirkby (UK)
Daniela Rossi (Argentina)
David Russell (Scotland)
Diego Castro Magas (Catholic University of Chile, Chile)
Graham Devine (Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, UK)
Hector Sequera (University of Durham, UK)
Jacob Heringman (UK)
John Mills (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, UK)
John Snijders (University of Durham, UK)
Margarita Escarpa (Spain)
Máximo Diego Pujol (Argentina)
Miloš Karadaglić (Montenegro)
Paco Seco (Spain)
Pavel Steidl (Czech Republic)
Passionate about ensemble performance, David frequently collaborates with cellists, choirs, clarinetists, composers, electronics, flautists, guitarists, guitar orchestras, harpists, percussionists, pianists, recorder players, singers, and violinists. He performs as one half of Duo Palatino, with mezzo-soprano Sophie Kidwell.
Other musical interests range from EDM to progressive rock music, and particularly the music of Genesis.
Research Interests
- Accompaniment
- Aesthetics
- Classical guitar
- Collaboration
- Creativity
- Ensemble performance
- Entrainment
- Expressiveness
- Flow
- Gesture
- Improvisation
- Live performance
- Motion capture
- New complexity
- Phenomenology
- Physicality of performance
- Practice-led research
- Sound analysis
- Virtual Reality
Other Professional Activities
Achievements
Captain - Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge
University Challenge 2020-21
Captain - Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge
University Challenge 2019-20
Awards
Graduate Research Fund Award
Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge
2019
Studentship Award
International Guitar Research Centre / University of Surrey
2019
Judith E Wilson Award
Faculty of English, University of Cambridge
2019
Employability Scholarship
(for International Guitar Research Centre Conference, University of Surrey)
Awarded by University College, University of Durham
2016
Performances
See www.davidthomascotter.com/events
See www.duopalatino.com/concerts
Presentations (Lectures / Lecture-Recitals / Papers / Posters)
Cotter, David, 'Remote Collaboration: Communication, Creativity, and Latency' (Upcoming Paper at Music-Musicology-Interpretation International Conference, University of Arts in Belgrade, Serbia, 21-23 October 2021)
Cotter, David, and Estibeiro, Marc, 'Remote Collaboration: Communication, Creativity, and Latency' (Upcoming Paper at Creating and Experiencing Space, British Audio-Visual Research Network - Virtual Colloquia, University of Leeds, 6 May, 2021)
Cotter, David, 'Guitarists in Lockdown: Collaboration, Communication, and Latency' (Upcoming Paper at The 21st Century Guitar International Interdisciplinary Conference, Centre for the Study of the Sociology and Aesthetics of Music (CESEM), Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (NOVA FCSH) in collaboration with the International Guitar Research Centre (IGRC, University of Surrey) and the Canadian Music Centre, 22-26 March 2021)
Cotter, David, and Nixon, Ella, '2020 Vision: Sound Instruments, Sonic Cultures, and Virtual Reality' (Upcoming Paper at The Sound of Modernity, Sound Instruments and Sonic Cultures Interdisciplinary Conference, White Rose College of Arts and Humanities, National Science and Media Museum, Bradford, 18 December, 2020)
Cotter, David, '2020 Vision: The Guitar and Virtual Reality' (Paper at Midlands New Music Symposium, University of Nottingham, 6 December, 2020)
Cotter, David, '2020 Vision: Music, Indeterminacy, and Virtual Reality' (Paper at Indeterminate Futures / The Future of Indeterminacy Conference, University of Dundee, 15 November, 2020)
Cotter, David, ‘2020 Vision: The Future of Musicology Through Virtual Reality' (Paper at Shaping the Present by the Future: (Ethno)musicology and Contemporaneity, Young Musicology International Conference, Belgrade, Serbia, 24 September, 2020)
Cotter, David, ‘2020 Vision: Remembering and Reinventing Music Through Virtual Reality’ (Paper at Memory and Polysensoriality, 5th Cambridge AHRC DTP International Conference: Form and Forgetting, University of Cambridge, 23 September, 2020)
Cotter, David, '2020 Vision: Identity, Musicology, and Virtual Reality' (Paper at Baltic Musicological Conference: Music and Change Before and After 1990, Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Vilnius, Lithuania, 12 September, 2020)
Cotter, David, 'Old Frogs, New Tricks: Identity and Technology in a New Collaborative Work' (Poster presentation at Who is the ‘I’ that Performs?: Enacting Musical Identities, Orpheus Institute, Ghent, Belgium, 29 November, 2019)
Cotter, David, 'Virtual Reality and the Classical Music Industry' (Paper at CMIC2019: Second Annual Conference on The Classical Music Industry, Middlesex University, 13 November, 2019)
Cotter, David, 'Classical Guitar & Live Electronics with Dynamic VR Score: Hands-On Research in a New Collaborative Work' (Lecture-Recital at Hands-On Guitar Conference, Hands-On Symposium, University of Aveiro, Portugal, 2 November 2019)
Cotter, David, 'The Collaborative Classical Guitar: Reassessing the Role of Accompanist' (Paper at Hands-On Guitar Conference, Hands-On Symposium, University of Aveiro, Portugal, 2 November 2019)
Cotter, David, 'New Work for Classical Guitar & Live Electronics with Dynamic VR Score: Structuring improvisation in a three-dimensional virtual environment' (Lecture-Recital at International Guitar Research Centre Conference, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Hong Kong, 14 July 2019)
Cotter, David and Packham, Jonathan, 'BREKEKEKEX (2019): A New Collaborative Work for Classical Guitar, Live Electronics & VR Headset Score' (Lecture-Recital at The Classical Musician in the 21st Century Conference, University of Cambridge, 23 May 2019)
Cotter, David and Packham, Jonathan, 'New Work for Classical Guitar & Live Electronics with Dynamic VR Score: Structuring improvisation in a three-dimensional virtual environment' (Presentation at EXPO2, University of Oxford, 25 February 2019)
Cotter, David, ‘New Approaches To Understanding The Role Of Physical Gesture In Classical Guitar Performance’ (Lecture at Research Masterclass, Guildhall School Of Music And Drama, 15 October 2018)
Roles
Academic Programme Manager
Brescia Classical Guitar Symposium
Brescia, Italy
Summer 2021
Associate
Guitar Foundation of America
Organising Committee
The Classical Musician in the 21st Century
Royal Musicological Association Study Day
Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge
23 May 2019
Delegate
NordicSMC Winter School (sound and motion analysis)
RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion
University of Oslo, Norway
4 - 8 March 2019
Dublin Guitar Symposium
TU Dublin Conservatory of Music and Drama, Republic of Ireland
22 - 23 February 2019
Dublin Guitar Day
TU Dublin Conservatory of Music and Drama, Republic of Ireland
21 February 2019
International Guitar Research Centre Conference
University of Surrey, UK
18 - 23 March 2016
Member
Ismena Collective
Society for Musicology in Ireland (December 2018 - March 2020)
Committee Roles
Committee Member
Colloquium Committee, Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge
2020 - 2021
PhD Representative
Library Committee, Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge
2020 - Present
PhD Representative
Faculty Board, Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge
2019 - Present
PhD Representative
Equality and Diversity Committee, Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge
2019 - Present
PhD Representative
Graduate Committee, Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge
2019 - Present
PhD Representative
Staff-Student Committee, Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge
2019 - Present
Masters Representative
Faculty Board, Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge
2017 - 2018
Masters Representative
Staff-Student Committee, Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge
2017 - 2018
Workshops
Vocal Outreach Workshop (w/ Paul Smith: co-founder of VOCES8)
Mount Kelly Foundation, Tavistock, Devon
14 October 2016
