Violist and PhD student Malinda McPherson

Research articles

Malinda J. McPherson, 23, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Cognitive Science from Johns Hopkins University, and an MPhil in Music and Science from the University of Cambridge. At Cambridge, Malinda was a member of Churchill College, and was a Churchill Scholar. Malinda is currently a PhD student in the Harvard/MIT Program in Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology, where she is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. Her research interests include pitch perception, the neural basis of creativity, rhythmic coordination, and emotion. In her free time, Malinda enjoys playing viola, rock climbing, hiking, and cooking. As part of MIT Music and Theater Arts Malinda has participated in the MIT Chamber Music Society and performed Chausson's Piano Quartet, Op. 30 with an ensemble coached by Institute Professor Marcus Thompson. 

Her research was just published in Nature.

How Emotions Change the Way Musicians' Brains Work

Emotional Intent Modulates The Neural Substrates of Creativity

Ken Urban Wins 2024 Blue Ink Award

Congratulations to Ken Urban, winner of the 2024 Blue Ink Award for The Conquered.

Composing for 37 Years at MIT

In the intimate but acoustically reassuring Killian Hall, with the cooperation of Collage New Music, the Institute’s Music Department hosted an evening of Peter Child’s recent works.

MTA Associate Professor Emily Richmond Pollock Named 2024 MacVicar Fellow

Four outstanding undergraduate teachers and mentors have been named MacVicar Faculty Fellows: professor of electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) Karl Berggren, professor of political s

Play It Again, Spirio

A piano that captures the data of live performance offers the MIT community new possibilities for studying and experimenting with music