Shawn Trail

Shawn Trail, PhD is a Fulbright Fellow, interdisciplinary sound artist, audio researcher, music producer, recording engineer, and music-technology educator whose work bridges music, computing, accessibility, and innovation. A multi-percussionist, composer, tonmeister, audio archivist, and applied computer scientist, he integrates creative practice, technological research, and inclusive program development.

Trail is the founder and program director of Deaf Sonic Agency, a $90,000 National Endowment for the Arts Research Grants in the Arts project investigating music perception, production, and performance among Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing musicians. As a visiting researcher in the Reiss Audiology Lab at Oregon Health & Science University, he is developing new interfaces for Deaf musical expression, producing a Deaf-created album, and creating an accessible K-12 music curriculum. His interdisciplinary scholarship, with an h-index of 7, has been published and presented at leading international venues including NIME, ICMC, ISMIR, IEEE, and ACM ASSETS. Across his research and creative initiatives, he has secured nearly $1 million through grants, philanthropic support, industry sponsorships, and institutional investment. Trail previously served as Robotics and Interface Technician for Pat Metheny’s Orchestrion world tour, maintaining its computer-controlled acoustic instruments and designing custom interfaces.

His recordings and productions have appeared on Temporary Residence Ltd., Boomarm Nation, Central Scientific, and Nonesuch Records. Quantum Cowboy by The Inbetweens, which he produced and engineered, was selected as a New York Times Critics’ Choice. His work has received international exposure through PBS, NTS Radio, and Rinse FM, and he has performed at venues including Lincoln Center and the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival.

Trail earned a PhD in Computer Science and Music from the University of Victoria, where he was an SSHRC Doctoral Fellow in the MISTIC Lab. He later served as a Fulbright Fellow at Aalborg University Copenhagen and holds degrees from Purchase College and Bellarmine University, with additional ethnomusicological study at the University of Ghana.

He co-founded the accessibility-focused Confluence Recording Company and served as Product Strategist for Mode Marimba’s E.P.K., the world’s first contactless pickup system for electroacoustic marimba. He has developed innovative curricula in music technology, audio production, and interdisciplinary arts while contributing to graduate education, accreditation, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and technology innovation efforts.