Sean Bailey | musician
Sean Bailey, Ph.D. enjoys an active, interdisciplinary musical life in the Philadelphia area, engaging with the field of musical creativity in ever-evolving contexts: including roles as an audio engineer, composer, educator, performer, and technologist—making music at the intersection of technology and the creative spirit.
Creative
IN THE STUDIO | ENGINEER | CREATIVE TECHNOLOGIST
Expressive human creativity and the technology which enables its realization are inextricably linked, whether that "technology" refers to an acoustic instrument or a bespoke implementation of an AI algorithm. My creative practice leverages my musical training and deep experience relating to musical instruments in the embodied, corporeal sense—brought to life alongside the boundless sonic possibilities of computer synthesis and audio manipulation.
In particular, I am interested in exploring modalities for human-AI musical interactivity—seeking to orient a technology-enabled creative practice around irrevocably human qualities, while embracing my unique set of aesthetic sensibilities, honed over years of performing in multifarious idiomatic contexts. Practically, this has lead to a compositional philosophy emphasizing improvisation, functioning both in the ideological sense (referring to historico-critical power structures related to authoritative composers) and through musical pragmatism to empower performers to approach music-making as a truly collaborative process—placing instinctual human creativity firmly at the center of the artistic paradigm.
I have taught courses on audio recording, audio editing, computer music, and advanced production for the Music Technology program at Temple University since 2017; I have taught for the Sound Recording and Music Technology (SRMT) program at the Community College of Philadelphia, in addition to serving on the SRMT program's advisory committee; I have designed and delivered music technology courses at Saint Joseph's University since Spring 2026; and, I work in the music technology area of the Music Theory, Composition, and History program at West Chester University, including coursework on music entrepreneurship, production, and film scoring.
*until large-scale data-mining companies begin to hold themselves to meaningful ethical standards regarding source attribution and responsible copyright use, my original content appearing here is limited to commercially available media. To request perusal scores or to start a conversation, please contact sean [at] upbeatmusician (dot) com
GENERIC
GENERIC (a work in 5 movements for clarinet and electronics) explores the nexus of human and artificial intelligence—both in theory and praxis through the lens of musical composition.
Hover
hover is a collaboration with composer Erin Busch, who wrote the music and conceptualized electronic textures. I realized the electronics and contributed my playing and improvisation—ultimately leading to a work that exceeds the boundaries of either of our singular aesthetic sensibilities.
pending works
Upcoming projects include the release of pace, a 2025 work of a similar aesthetic to GENERIC; and, recent works from 2025 and 2026 including AFL/PFL and Not A Love Song—to be announced as part of a forthcoming effort to advance community among experimental electroacoustic practitioners.
Interpretive
ON THE GROUND | PERFORMER
Multi-instrumentalist Sean Bailey has performed and/or recorded alongside a spectrum of notable artists and institutions. As an ensemble player, highlights include the Philadelphia Ballet Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Opera Philadelphia, Philadelphia Orchestra, Philly Pops, the Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia; as a jazz soloist with greats including Randy Brecker, Jimmy Heath, Christian McBride, and Terell Stafford; and, as a first call woodwind doubler, local performances of national tours for superstar acts including The Who, Hugh Jackman, Andrea Bocelli, and shows including "Into the Woods," "Some Like it Hot," and "Wicked," among many others. An avid chamber musician, Sean is a member of, or collaborator with, new music ensembles including the Bowerbird Arcana ensemble, Network for New Music, Orchestra 2001, Relâche, and Revolution Winds. As a session musician and contributing creative improviser, Sean has recorded for commercials and film scores for studios including Google, Hilton, Legendary Pictures, and Signature Films. Sean's numerous recording credits encompass a range of styles, collaborations, and musical aesthetics.
Vroom!
Vroom! (Cream Puff) is a work by composer Hannah Cai Sobel for alto saxophone, loop pedal, and carrot. You can hear me playing these elements in the film above, conceptualized by Eamon Kelly.
Without Borders Suite (live)
without borders suite was conceptualized and commissioned by Network for New Music, and esteemed collective operating in Philadelphia. Here I appear as a clarinetist in several works.
Academic
IN THE IVORY TOWER | ACADEMIC | COMPOSER
Sean holds a Ph.D. in Music Studies from Temple University (2025), with a dissertation (GENERIC: Musical Improvisation with Machine Learning and Generative Composition) exploring the nexus of human and artificial intelligence—both in theory and praxis through the lens of musical composition.
I maintain several university teaching posts in which I create and deliver classes operating within various musical domains, including: audio recording arts, creative music technology, entrepreneurship, music production, music studies, and instrumental pedagogy and performance. I have published numerous recordings as an audio engineer, and in 2021 I was awarded a grant through the Rutgers University Library System to author a free, open-source textbook on arts entrepreneurship.
As a composer-performer-scholar, I have presented papers, compositions, and performances at international conferences including Audio Engineering Society [Europe] (AES-Europe), Music and the Moving Image (MAMI), New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival (NYCEMF), PDMaxCon25~, and the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS).
Teaching Appointments
Boyer College of Music and Dance, Temple University
2017–2021 | Adjunct Instructor
2021–2025 | University Fellow (Ph.D.)
2026–present | Adjunct Assistant Professor
Community College of Philadelphia
2019–present | Adjunct Instructor
Saint Joseph's University
2024–present | Adjunct Instructor
West Chester University of Pennsylvania
2022–present | Instructor
Moore College of Art and Design
2019–2020 | Adjunct Faculty
Part-time woodwind applied lessons at Drexel University 2022–2025; Widener
University 2022–present; Rutgers University—Camden 2019–present
Courses Taught
Community College of Philadelphia
Introduction to Music Technology (Spring 2023)
Moore College of Art and Design
Entrepreneurship (Fall 2019)
Saint Joseph's University
Introduction to Music Technology (Spring 2026)
Music Technology Senior Project Prep (Fall 2026)
Temple University
Advanced Audio Production* (Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2022, Spring 2024)
Arts Enterprise (Fall 2018, Fall 2019)
Computers in Musical Applications (Fall 2023)
Exploring Music (Spring 2021)
Music Studies Independent Study Advisor (Spring 2021)
Sound Editing (Spring 2018–Spring 2021)
Sound Recording (Fall 2017–Spring 2024)
Sound Recording and Editing Techniques* (Fall 2023, Fall 2026)
Sounds of Philadelphia (Fall 2026)
Teaching Assistant: New Music Seminar (AY 2022–2023)
Teaching Assistant: Investing for the Future (AY 2015–16, 2016–17)
West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Music Entrepreneurship (Fall 2026)
Music Technology Essentials (Fall 2026)
Scoring in Film and Media (Fall 2026)
Single Reeds Methods (Spring 2022)
Woodwind Foundations (2023–2026)
*denotes graduate course