Trent University professor of Cultural Studies Dr. Martin Arnold has spent a lifetime composing experimental melodies. His work has been featured in international Royal Conservatories and symphonies, and most recently, was awarded the Open Ear Prize from Amsterdam’s Oscillating Air Foundation (Stichting Trillende Lucht). 

Professor Arnold is the fifth recipient of the prestigious prize, which celebrates composers who create music that forms a world of its own. 

“I want people to encounter my music like a new destination—moving through the sounds freely, discovering unexpected possibilities. My creative process reimagines familiar elements, like sweet, sentimental melodies, by placing them in strange and disorienting contexts. Through this, I craft music that challenges perceptions and invites exploration.” says Prof. Arnold.  

Catching the Ears of International Listeners  
Awarded biannually, the honour includes a bronze ear sculpture, a €35,000 cash prize (approximately CAD$50,000), and a dedicated concert of Prof. Arnold’s compositions this November in the Netherlands. 

“Martin Arnold’s music exemplifies a deeply personal and innovative approach to contemporary composition,” reads the award announcement from the Oscillating Air Foundation. “One of the defining features of his work is its ability to simultaneously evoke feelings of both familiarity and estrangement, creating a distinctive emotional and thoughtful listening experience.” 

Composing New Ways of Thinking
Prof. Arnold’s practice and approach as a composer of experimental music is inextricably interconnected with his vocation as a teacher.  

"Education, to me, is a shared process, ever-changing, experimental engagement with lived experiences,” Prof. Arnold explains. He sees both composition and teaching as acts of continuous questioning rather than exercises in certainty. He strives to foster an environment where students feel encouraged to interrogate ideas, discovering hidden potentials and making unexpected connections.  

"I don't want students to grasp onto a fixed synthesis, I want them to generate a proliferation of new and unforeseen possibilities." 

To hear Dr. Martin Arnold’s music, check out his SoundCloud library. You can read more about the award online, with notes from the jury panel and learn more about Trent’s interdisciplinary Cultural Studies program.