Presenters and Panelists

Daniel J. Levitin is associate professor of psychology at McGill University, where he holds the Bell Chair in the Psychology of Electronic Communication and the FQRNT Strategic Chair in Psychology, and where he heads one of the largest laboratories for the study of music perception and cognition in North America. He is an Associate member of the School of Computer Science, Department of Music Theory, Program in Sound Recording, Program in Music Technology, and Department of Integrated Studies in Education. He earned his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology with a Ph.D. minor in Music Technology from the University of Oregon, his B.A. from Stanford in cognitive psychology (with honors) and did post-doctoral training in psychoacoustics at Interval Research Corporation and in neuroimaging at Stanford University. He has also studied at M.I.T., UC Berkeley, and Berklee College of Music.

As a musician (tenor saxophone, guitar and bass), he has performed with Mel Tormé, Nancy Wilson, and members of the Steve Miller Band and Santana. Levitin served as Vice President of Artists & Repertoire at 415/Columbia Records (now Sony Records) from 1984- 1988, as President in 1989. After 415 was sold to Sony, Levitin ran a successful production and consulting company whose clients included every major American record label and several film companies. He has produced or consulted on albums by artists including Stevie Wonder, The Grateful Dead, Steely Dan, and Chris Isaak.

Levitin has published more than 40 peer-reviewed scientific articles, and over 300 popular articles about music and music technology in commercial and trade magazines including Billboard, Electronic Musician, Mix, and Grammy. For his technical and marketing contributions to the recording industry, Levitin has been awarded 12 gold or platinum records, and two of his projects received Oscar nominations. He has consulted on underwater sound source separation for the U.S. Navy, sound quality for Sirius Satellite Radio and Bombardier, and currently directs the McGill Laboratory for the Study of Music Cognition, Perception and Expertise. He is the author of the book "This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession" (Penguin, 2006), currently the #1 best-selling music book in the U.S., and a Top 40 best-seller overall.

:: Back to Presenters and Panelists ::