Nathan Lam is an Australian-American music theorist, currently serving as Assistant Professor of Music Theory at Eastman School of Music. He earned his Ph.D. in music theory at Indiana University, Bloomington. Before joining Eastman, Nathan taught music theory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He currently supervises sophomore music theory and conducts a range of masters and doctoral seminars.

Nathan’s research sits at the intersection of modes, solfège, history of theory, mathematical music theory, and multiculturalism. Topics from recent publications and takes include Chinese pentatonic transformations, 19^th-century French modality, and Schubert’s diatonic transformations. He is working on a monograph titled Diatonic Modes from Plato to Pokémon, which is based on a fusion of solfège and set theory. (See NathanLam.com for links to his work.)

Nathan’s own compositions extend his theoretical research into the creative realm. He is working on a full-length album titled Canonic Variations, which originated as musical examples for his theory classes. In his free time, Nathan enjoys reading and cycling.

Photo Credit: John Schlia Photography