Biography
Takuto Fukuda is a composer, researcher, and educator. He is Assistant Professor in Electronic Music and Media Art at the University of Pécs, Hungary (2025–present). He holds a D.Mus. from McGill University (2023), where his doctoral research investigated the concept of the simulacrum in live concert through a composition for five cellos, electronics, and video. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Concordia University (2023–25, FRQSC) developing mixed-reality opera.
Prior degrees include an MA from the Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustics (IEM), Kunstuniversität Graz; an MA from the Institute of Sonology, Royal Conservatoire, The Hague; and a BA from Kunitachi College of Music, Tokyo.
His research spans three interconnected threads — Music with Digital Musical Instruments, Gameful Composition, and Music on Ambiguous Reality — unified by the question of what engenders a sense of ‘authentic’ experience in the technologically augmented, co-present concert after our habituation to mediatized culture. All three threads are built on a shared compositional infrastructure: the gradual transformation of musical units within a hierarchical compositional model, first formalised in his Sonology MA thesis (2011).
His lived experience with schizophrenia informs his artistic practice as an epistemological and creative lens — most directly in Lost in Plain Sight, a mixed-reality chamber opera in which the dramatic subject (perceptual instability) and the compositional technique (the real–virtual boundary) are isomorphic.
Awards & Grants
Composition Prizes
| Year | Award | Work |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1st Prize + Commission, GroundSwell Emerging Composers | Lost in Plain Sight / Super Colliders II |
| 2021 | 2nd Prize, ICU International Composers Contest, Symphonic Category | Convergence |
| 2020 | 2nd Prize, ISMIR Music Awards | Super Colliders |
| 2020 | Runner-up, IEMC | Pythagorean Domino |
| 2017 | Andrew Svoboda Memorial Orchestral Commission Prize, McGill | Convergence |
| 2016 | Honorary Mention, BGSU New Music Ensemble Call for Scores | Tongue-Twister Competition |
| 2014 | 3rd Prize, Musicacoustica-Beijing | Beyond the eternal chaos |
| 2014 | Finalist, Destellos Electroacoustic Competition | Beyond the eternal chaos |
| 2013 | 3rd Prize, International Taiwan Electroacoustic Music Award | Assimilation |
| 2011 | FUTURA Prize, Contemporary Computer Music Concert | Satellite |
| 2010 | Honorary Mention, Musica Nova | Still-life of cb. |
Research Grants & Fellowships
| Year | Grant | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Postdoctoral Fellowship | FRQSC, Québec |
| 2022 | Commission, Simulacra | CIRMMT, McGill |
| 2018 | Doctoral Research Scholarship | FRQSC, Québec |
| 2016 | Graduate Excellence Fellowship | McGill University |
| 2015 | Förderstipendium | Kunstuniversität Graz |
| 2013 | EXPERIMENTALSTUDIO-academy Scholarship | SWR, Germany |
| 2013 | Research Grant | Nomura Foundation, Japan |
| 2009 | Non-EEA Scholarship | Royal Conservatoire, The Hague |
Residencies
- 2020 — Eastrn-DC Residency, ZKM Karlsruhe (Germany)
- 2016 — McGill Contemporary Music Ensemble (Canada)
Collaborations
blablaTrains
A duo with Ana Dall’Ara-Majek focusing on the integration of physical gestures and electroacoustic sounds into multimodal performance. Using an augmented Theremin and gestural controllers, the duo explores synchronisation between gesture-sound relationships and inter-performer coordination. 2nd Prize, IEMC 2021. Performances at NIME 2019, Live@CIRMMT 2020, Now Hear This Festival 2018. blablatrains.com
Elektrichka
An international electronic music collective founded in 2013 in Graz with Jonathan Carter (USA) and Nick Acorne (Ukraine). The ensemble performs with both traditional and custom-built electronic instruments, manipulating audio and video streams live. Presented at Ars Electronica, Make Munich, and Next Generation 5 at ZKM. elektri4ka.nickacorne.com
Some Designers
An artistic collective of five artists and designers from diverse backgrounds, focused on interactive media art. somedesigners.com
Other Collaborative Works
- The Mourning Door (2015) — animated film exploring themes of self-discovery
- SIDOL (2012) — multimedia project combining poetry, film, narration, and composition
- Life Area (2009) — sound installation using reclaimed lockers
Teaching
University of Pécs (2025–present)
Gameful Composition I & II · Mixed-Media Composition I & II · Interface Design I & II · Colloquium · Listening Room (acousmatic concert series) · Gradient Scale (monthly showcase)
McGill University (2017–2021, Teaching Assistant)
Advanced Digital Studio Composition I & II (10 semesters)
Commitments
- Listening Room — acousmatic concert series at the University of Pécs with active curation of women composers
- Disability arts advocacy — Lost in Plain Sight amplifies voices of individuals living with disabilities
- Schizophrenia as epistemological vantage — personal experience informing artistic and research practice