Austin Oting Har

Assistant Professor

Education

DMA in Composition and Music Technology, University of Sydney
MMus in Music Technology Innovation (summa cum laude), Berklee College of Music
MSc in Ancient Philosophy (with Merit), University of Edinburgh

Website: www.austinotinghar.com

Biography

Austin Oting Har is a composer, writer, and performer with a background in music technology and ancient philosophy. His works utilize ancient concepts, languages, and instruments, digital sound design and creative coding, bridging traditional, experimental electronic, contemporary classical, and popular music worlds. Phonaesthetics informs his creative writing and translation, where the sound of words is as important as their meaning.

With collaborations that extend globally, Austin engages with interaction designers, linguists, poets, and cultural bearers across Australia, Europe, the U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S., and Japan in his work intersecting Greek tragedy, Japanese noh theatre, and renga poetry with contemporary music.

As an Associate Artist of the Australian Music Centre—the national organization representing Australian art music and sonic art—Austin's music has been released internationally on Neuma Records (U.S.) and Possible Futures (Germany), commissioned by Dark Mofo (Australia), Berlin Atonal and MaerzMusik (Germany), published by BabelScores (France), awarded in the Ise-Shima International Composition Competition (Japan), the Carillon Society of Australia Composition Competition (Australia), and the Create NSW Arts and Cultural Fund (Australia), and supported by Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts (U.S.) and Atlantic Center for the Arts (U.S.). His research has been published in Context: Journal of Music Research (University of Melbourne), Leonardo (MIT Press), and Organised Sound (Cambridge University Press). His poetry has been published in Modern Haiku (U.S.), Acorn (U.S.), Presence (U.K.), seashores (Ireland), hedgerow (UK), and tsuri-dōrō (U.S.).

In fall 2025, Austin joined the faculty of Michigan State University as an Assistant Professor in RCAH, where he is collaborating with students, faculty, and staff to launch an RCAH recording label that will feature an eclectic mix of music, spoken word, and ambient sound.

Previously, he served as an editor for the Sydney Undergraduate Journal of Musicology, which publishes research by the top honors students at Sydney, and has supported and developed initiatives for underserved youth in the U.S. Virgin Islands and California.

Austin first played violin in orchestras for musicals, then worked as a project coordinator and music engineer in Hollywood. He also has worked as a senior high school English tutor in Sydney, an audio-visual technician in San Francisco, and an audio engineer in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Originally from Australia, Austin has lived in Scotland, Belgium, Spain, California, the Virgin Islands, and now resides in Michigan with his wife, Vanessa. In his free time, he enjoys tennis, films, reading, thrifting, and exploring new places.