Dr Diego Benalcazar

Biography

Diego is a producer, composer, educator, and researcher with a diverse background in music production, sound design, and audio post-production. His current practice and research interests revolve around his doctoral project, "El Sonido Ancestral," which delves into the fascinating world of ancestral sound objects from pre-Hispanic cultures in Ecuador, experimental music composition, and immersive audio.

Before joining LCC in 2022, Diego worked as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Westminster and, in 2017, was appointed Associate Professor at Universidad de las Artes in Guayaquil, Ecuador. There, he served as Course Leader for the Music and Sound Production program and taught music recording, mixing, and audio post-production. He also shared his expertise in music technology at the MA in Music Composition and Audio Postproduction and the MA in Digital Audio-visual Postproduction at ESPOL.

At UArtes, Diego spearheaded the funded research project "Ecuador Sound Map," a collaborative and interactive sound map, and co-founded "CASE," the Ecuadorian Sound and Audio Conference, as well as "mMAT," an Art, Multimedia, and Technology showcase/festival. In 2019, he participated in the Global Minds program at HoGent University College Ghent and was awarded the "COMUNA" artistic residency fund for a residency at CMMMAS (Mexico), where his work was featured at the Visiones Sonoras Festival in 2020 and 2021.

Diego is always on the cutting edge of audio technology. His research and artistic practice focus on ancestral sound artefacts, archival processes, and memory.

He is currently the Sound and Music Programme Director at the London College of Communication.