UVic’s School of Music is delighted to welcome Dr. Sarah Belle Reid as an assistant professor in technology starting January 2026. A performer-composer and pioneering artist in the field of electronic and electroacoustic music, Reid will bring her expertise in experimental performance, creative technology and innovative instrument design to our Music program.
“I’m really looking forward to joining the School of Music,” says Reid. “It’s an incredible opportunity to share my passion for electronic and electroacoustic music, explore new technologies for creative expression, and contribute to a space where we can all deepen our listening and sound-making practices together.”
With a background spanning technology, composition, and education, Reid brings a rare blend of artistry and technical insight to her teaching. Her approach to music-making emphasizes curiosity, experimentation, and empowerment through creative tools.
“One of the reasons I’m passionate about integrating technology into creative practice is that it gives artists a powerful sense of agency,” she explains.
“So much becomes possible when you can build and shape your own tools, systems, and processes. I want students to experience that sense of freedom and curiosity, and to create work that feels personal, alive, and adventurous—whether they’re designing a new instrument or controller for performance, building interactive installations, programming custom software tools, or creating dynamic modular synth patches.”
A performer-composer at the frontiers of sound
Sarah Belle Reid is a performer-composer who plays trumpet, modular synthesizer, and an ever-growing collection of handcrafted electronic instruments. Her music inhabits the intersections of contemporary classical music, experimental electronics, noise, and improvisation, offering audiences deeply immersive sonic experiences.
Find out more about her research in this Youtube video in which she takes an historical, technical and musical deep dive into the Buchla 100 Series Modular System — the first voltage controllable modular synthesizer built by Don Buchla in the mid-1960s — now held at San Francisco’s Mills College Center for Contemporary Music.
Often praised for her ability to transport listeners through vivid sonic adventures, Reid’s work has been described as ranging from “graceful” and “danceable” to “silk-falling-through-space” and “pit-full-of-centipedes” (San Francisco Classical Voice).
Reid holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the California Institute of the Arts, where she focused on the development of new electronic instruments and musical notation systems as tools for exploring temporal perception and co-creation. She has previously held faculty positions at CalArts, Chapman University, and Temple University, teaching courses in music technology, physical computing, and electronic instrument design.
Welcome, Sarah Belle Reid — we look forward to the exciting sounds and ideas you’ll bring to the UVic School of Music community!
