Professor Darren Sproston
Assoc Dean (Education & Student Success)
Biography
Professor Sproston provides leadership to the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences in the delivery of strategic initiatives with respect to learning, teaching and the wider student experience. He is responsible for monitoring external drivers, such as the OfS regulatory requirements, to enhance the Faculty’s and University’s performance against sector benchmarks. He oversees the validation of new programmes which contribute to the continued development, growth and financial sustainability of the Faculty’s portfolio. More broadly, Professor Sproston supports the PVC/Executive Dean in the achievement of financial plans for the Faculty, and co-ordinates the operational and financial planning and budgetary control for education resources including staffing, equipment and estate. He is the strategic link between the Faculty and Professional Service Department such as the Centre for Academic Innovation & Development and Academic Services. He continues to contribute to teaching and research as Professor of Music within the School for the Creative Industries.
Teaching and Supervision
Throughout his career Professor Sproston has taught across a wide range of areas at all levels. His undergraduate teaching includes composition/songwriting, twentieth century musicology (European and American), performance, music and the moving image, music technology, music and multimedia, popular music theory and popular music analysis. He has supervised dissertations across a breadth of areas including John Cage, Philip Glass operas, Steve Reich, film music, Joe Satriani, Dream Theater and twentieth century performance practice. At postgraduate level he has taught composition (classical, jazz and studio composition), twentieth century analytical techniques, supervised dissertations across classical and popular music. He has supervised six postgraduate research students through to successful completion in original composition and musicology and has examined externally for three PhD candidates (University of Huddersfield and London College of Music).
Research and Knowledge Exchange
Professor Sproston is a composer and musicologist. He has fulfilled a number of commissions which have been performed as far afield as Moscow and by musicians such as Richard Ingham, Alan Cuckston, and Rhodri Davies. His principal area of musicological research has been the Anglo-Catalan composer Roberto Gerhard. Other areas of interest include Stravinsky, analysis and analytical methodologies, and minimalism.