Rebecca Simpson-Litke

Dr. Simpson-Litke completed her Ph.D. in music theory at the University of British Columbia in 2010, studying with Dr. William Benjamin, Dr. John Roeder, and Dr. Richard Kurth. Prior to her doctoral studies, she completed an M.A. in music theory at UBC in 2003, examining pitch organization in the flute music of Philippe Gaubert in her thesis, and a Bachelor of Music in flute performance at the University of Manitoba in 2001, receiving the University Gold Medal for Music. 

Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, her doctoral research uses transformational and tonal approaches to examine pitch organization in the music of Olivier Messiaen, with a focus on the structure, compositional use, and musical effects of the composer’s Modes of Limited Transpositions. Her more recent research activities explore rhythmic interactions between music and dance, focusing on salsa and other Latin social dances in particular. She has presented her research at international conferences in Canada, the U.S., and Europe, including meetings of the Society for Music Theory, the Canadian University Music Society, and the Royal Musical Association. In 2015, she co-founded the SMT Dance and Movement Interest Group.