Personal profile
Biography
Alex South is a part-time Lecturer at the RCS, where his teaching has included the design and delivery of the 'Other Species Counterpoint' module for 3rd year BMus students. In his recent Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (University of Edinburgh), Alex's research was focused on ethical questions arising from the human use of the sounds of other animals. His interdisciplinary PhD, Cetacean Citations, combined practice-led research from the perspectives of ecomusicology and zoömusicology with bioacoustical studies on humpback whale song. Alex’s compositions inspired by whale song have been performed across the UK and internationally, and featured in recent CBC documentary ‘The Musical Animal’. He also teaches on undergraduate music courses at the University of St Andrews. For recent publications please visit ORCID.
Research interests
Animal Communication, Animal Culture, Animal Ethics, Bioacoustics, Ecomusicology, Zoömusicology
Links
External positions
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Edinburgh
1 Sept 2024 → 30 Jun 2025
Instrumental Co-ordinator (Wind), Laidlaw Music Centre, St Andrews
1 Sept 2019 → …
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Geological Excursion
Davidson, N. (Performer), MacGlone, U. (Performer) & South, A. (Performer), 14 Mar 2026Research output: Performances, compositions and other non-textual forms › Performance
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Music Defined: A Provocation
South, A., Taylor, H., Barrett, R., Ryan, R., Smart, G. & Denley, J., 15 Jan 2026, In: Tempo. 315, p. 6-20Research output: Contributions to journals › Article › peer-review
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From the Coast
Searle, O. (Composer) & South, A. (Performer), 19 Jun 2025Research output: Performances, compositions and other non-textual forms › Performance
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Maiden Mother Mage
South, A. (Composer), 17 Jul 2025Research output: Performances, compositions and other non-textual forms › Composition
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Sea Murmurs, Claw Echoes
MacGlone, U. (Performer), McEwan, J. (Performer) & South, A. (Performer), 17 Feb 2025Research output: Performances, compositions and other non-textual forms › Performance
Engagement Activities
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Whale Listening
South, A. (Performer) & South, A. (Speaker)
10 Feb 2026 → 14 Feb 2026Activity: External performance, talk or presentation › External Performance
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Playing Bird!
South, A. (Performer) & Doolittle, E. (Speaker)
4 Nov 2025Activity: External performance, talk or presentation › External Performance
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Musicking with, or musicking alongside, the sounds of another species?
South, A. (Speaker)
22 Oct 2025Activity: External performance, talk or presentation › Talk for a mainly academic audience (e.g. at an academic conference)
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Maiden Mother Mage
South, A. (Performer)
18 Sept 2025Activity: External performance, talk or presentation › External Performance
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Songs Without Words: Interspecies Translation Through Multispecies Musicking
South, A. (Speaker) & Susam-Saraeva, Ş. (Speaker)
1 Jul 2025Activity: External performance, talk or presentation › Talk for a mainly academic audience (e.g. at an academic conference)
Press/Media
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Review: Rebecca Sharp's Maiden Mother Mage at Culross
18/07/25
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Press / Media
Thesis
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Cetacean Citations: Rhythmic Variability in the Composition and Recomposition of Humpback Whale Song
South, A. (Author), Doolittle, E. (Supervisor), Rendell, L. (Supervisor) & Garland, E. (Supervisor), 12 Jun 2024Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis
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