Dr. Mike D’Errico initiated the Electronic Digital Instrument program at Albright College, allowing students to take applied music lessons in DJing, beatmaking, synthesis, and other forms of digital music production. As a DJ and producer of hip-hop and electronic dance music, Dr. D’Errico has performed and collaborated with hip-hop and electronic dance music artists from Boston to Los Angeles. As a digital media artist, he has worked as a sound designer for virtual reality art installations and experimental video games, and he has developed mobile apps for music and multimedia annotation. His research interests include hip-hop, electronic dance music, popular music and technology, video games, and emerging digital media. His current book project, “Interface Aesthetics: Sound, Software, and the Ecology of Digital Audio Production,” examines the ways in which trends in music software and digital instrument design influence the composition and production of electronic music. He currently serves on the executive committee for the US branch of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music, and is a former technical editor of two online music journals, Echo: a music-centered journal and Ethnomusicology Review. Dr. D’Errico holds degrees in musicology, music, and music education from UCLA, Tufts University, and the University of New Hampshire, and has served on the faculty of music, music industry, and media studies departments at Pitzer College, Pomona College, and UCLA. Mike is on the executive board for Lion Records at Albright.