Robert Coleman is a composer and sound artist whose work explores place-based practices through embodied listening, environmental sound, and participatory arts. Drawing on ecoacoustics and field recording, his work investigates relationships between human and nonhuman worlds, with a particular focus on listening as an ecological act.

He completed a PhD in Sonic Arts at SARC, Queen’s University Belfast in December 2025, where he was supervised by an interdisciplinary team from Sonic Arts and Biological Sciences. His research combined ecoacoustic methodologies with artistic practice, leading to the development of ecological soundwalks which have now become a key focus of his work. He previously studied at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague with Yannis Kyriakides and Diderik Wagenaar, and has a background in architecture, which continues to inform his spatial and environmental approach to composition and sound art.

His work has been commissioned and presented by organisations including Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Sound Scotland, New Music Dublin, Crash Ensemble, Irish National Opera, the National Concert Hall Dublin, the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), and Tallaght Community Arts. He has collaborated extensively with artists across film, dance, visual art, lighting design, writing, and ecology, including the Experimental Film Society, Laura Sarah Dowdall, Mihai Cucu, Pim Piët, Emily DeDakis, Slipdraft, and ornithologist Seán Ronayne.

In 2023, Robert founded the School of Wild Listening, a platform dedicated to ecological sound art and music. SOWL hosts open listening groups, workshops, and performances that explore awareness, biodiversity, and the role of listening in the context of the ecological crisis.

He is a founding member and former co-director (2013–2018) of Dublin-based new music group Kirkos, and currently serves as Non-Executive Director. Kirkos’ experimental and interdisciplinary work ranges from Fluxus-inspired happenings and New Discipline performances to multi-sensory events in the dark. The ensemble has premiered over 200 works by Irish composers and commissioned many of Ireland’s most prominent and emerging talents. Kirkos also runs one of Dublin’s only DIY music venues, located near Smithfield.

As a performer he has explored experimental and collaborative works at festivals and venues including Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Sound Festival Scotland, the Hugh Lane Gallery, the Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin Fringe Festival and Jennifer Walshe’s Aisteach.

Alongside his artistic practice, he is an experienced educator. He has taught composition and music technology at SARC, Queen’s University Belfast, and has developed and delivered creative sound and environmental education projects with schools and youth organisations across Ireland, including Music Generation South Dublin and Wicklow and Alt Ents Arts Group. He holds an Associate Diploma (ARIAM) in piano teaching from the Royal Irish Academy of Music.

His work has been supported by the Arts Council of Ireland, South Dublin County Council, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and other public funding bodies.

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