My Background
John Levack Drever is Emeritus Professor at Goldsmiths, University of London, and a Visiting Fellow with Cambridge Digital Humanities. As Creative Director of the soundscape and ambiance consultancy Otoloci, his professional work explores the intersections of sound, space, hearing and society. He also leads Working Group 1 of COST Action CA23145, Architectural and Urban Ambiances of European Cities, and serves as co-director of LAURA (Leverhulme Trust Aural Diversity Doctoral Research Hub).
An active sound artist, John holds a PhD from Dartington College of Arts (2001) and is a qualified acoustician. His interdisciplinary research spans acoustics, soundscape and acoustic ecology, ambiance theory, urban planning, sound studies, sound art, media, and experimental music, with a longstanding commitment to practice research.
John is credited with coining the concept of auraldiversity (Harvard, 2015), a term that emerged from his research into the detrimental effects of high-speed hand dryers on individuals with sensitive hearing and those with specific auditory requirements. He led the MMus in Sonic Arts at Goldsmiths between 2003 and 2024, where he co-founded and co-directed the Unit for Sound Practice Research as Professor of Acoustic Ecology and Sound Art.
Additional roles have included: a director of the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (1997–2019); research assistant, The Digital Crowd, University of Plymouth (2000–02) directing Sounding Dartmoor; co-founder of the UK and Ireland Soundscape Community, for which he chaired the first conference on soundscapes in the UK (2001); Arts Council of England/AHRB Arts and Science Research Fellow at City University London (2003–04); trustee of Sonic Arts Network (2004–09); teaching on the MArch Design for Performance & Interaction at the Bartlett, UCL; serving as Deputy Dean of the Graduate School (2016–20); Deputy Director of CHASE: Consortium for the Humanities and the Arts South-East England (2022–2024).
John has had visiting appointments with City University of Hong Kong, Seian University of Art and Design, Japan and Aarhus University, Denmark. He has seen 21 PhDs to completion and has examiner more than 40.
