About Bofan
Bofan Ma (马博凡) is a composer-performer, intermedia researcher and multidisciplinary artist based in Manchester and Northwest England. Originally from China, he makes music that embodies an intricate entanglement between sound, images, performative actions, as well as a normalised, transnational artistic identity.
His work often draws on instrumental theatre, multimedia, preconditioned improvisation, and materials associated with historically and culturally-informed stereotypes. He is a keen researcher and practitioner of applied Artificial Intelligence technologies, creatively articulating a mutual, ongoing encounter between the subjective self and an increasingly problematised digital world.
Having completed a PhD in composition at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester in 2021, he was the first Post-doctoral Research Associate at the RNCM Centre for Practice & Research in Science & Music (PRiSM) and is currently the RNCM Research & Knowledge Exchange Post-doctoral Fellow. He is the Chair and the current Artistic Director of the Manchester branch of the international network of Contemporary Music for All (CoMA), a community-based new music group with a focus on inclusivity and accessibility. Between 2025-26, Bofan is one of the ten ‘In Motion’ artists supported by Sound and Music.
Bofan has worked with ensembles/initiatives including Shanghai Conservatory Chinese Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Psappha, International Contemporary Ensemble, Ensemble Mise-en, Ensemble X.y, Distractfold Ensemble, ANU Productions Ireland, Drake Music, Vonnegut Collective, Music Theatre Wales. His music has been heard across the globe, namely in the Shanghai Spring International Festival (China); Mise-en International Festival (USA); Hearing Art Seeing Sound International Festival (Armenia); Darmstädter Ferienkurse (Germany); The Irish Museum of Modern Art (Ireland). His work has gained international recognition in recent years, including features in the Irish Times, the New York Times, RTÉ Lyric FM (Culture File), Olympias Music Foundation (Mapping Migrant Voices), among others.
Research
Current and Future Research
- Technology-assisted music-making and instrument learning
- Musical gamification/communication of real-time air quality data
- Transnationalism in and through music
Research Areas
- Artistic Research and intermedia musical practices
- Music Technology and data inclusion
- Interdisciplinary collaboration
- Digital Humanities
Teaching
Research Supervision
Completed PhDs:
- Bofan Ma, On dialogues between sound and performance physicality: Compositional Experimentation, Embodiment, and Placement of the Self.
Research Outputs
Written Outputs
Understanding Piano Sight-Reading Exercises: A Score-Based Encoder-Decoder LSTM Framework
Ma, B., Fan, H., De Roure, D., Howard, E. & Thormählen, W., May 2026, (E-pub ahead of print) Music Encoding Conference (MEC) 2026.Coming Up for Air in [LOCATION]: An Art-Research Initiative Exploring the Critical Effects of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
Ma, B. & Williams, K., 2025, (Accepted/In press) European Platform for Artistic Research in Music (EPARM).CoMA Manchester: ‘Streaming Blue’ Continued
Ma, B. & Sargen, E., 12 Feb 2024, RNCM PRiSM Blog Series.Learning to Learn: A Reflexive Case Study of PRiSM SampleRNN
Ma, B., Sargen, E., De Roure, D. & Howard, E., 2024, International Conference on AI and Musical Creativity (AIMC).Practice Research/Compositions
again, upon the bench of solace
Ma, B. (Composer), 2024AirPlay
Ma, B. (Composer), 2024Coming Up for Air: Concerto
Goves, L. (Composer), Williams, K. (Performer), Aszodi, J. (Composer), Baldyga, O. (Composer), Beentjes, C. (Composer), Beugger, M. G. (Composer), Breeze, A. (Composer), Campbell, E. (Composer), Haines, C. (Composer), Chase, S. (Composer), Coates, O. (Composer), Czerowin, C. (Composer), bear, C. (Composer), Cully, E. (Composer), Dring, C. (Composer), Ellis, P. (Composer), Erwin, M. (Composer), Fox, C. (Composer), Haigh, R. (Composer) & Hale, L. (Composer) & 28 others, , 2024Coming Up for Air in Rossendale: Phase 1 of Coming Up for Air in [LOCATION]
Ma, B. (Composer) & Williams, K. (Producer), 2024Web Resources
PLAY
Fan, H. (Developer), Laidlow, R. (Producer), Ma, B. (Consultant / Advisor) & Sargen, E. (Consultant / Advisor), 2024PRiSM Musical Audio Gesture Recognition (AGR)
Howard, E. (Producer), Fan, H. (Developer), De Roure, D. (Consultant / Advisor), Ma, B. (Consultant / Advisor) & Lewis, G. (Consultant / Advisor), 2024Professional Activity
Public Presentations and Performance
At the Edge of Recognition: Spoken Voice, Synthetic Discourse, and Compositional Agency
Ma, B. (Speaker / presenter)
Agar
Ma, B. (Performer), Leung, J. (Performer), Rees, G. (Director), Jones, D. (Collaborator) & Elliott, A. (Collaborator)
AI in/through Creative Practice and Art-Science Collaboration
Ma, B. (Speaker / presenter)
Understanding Piano Sight-Reading Exercises: A Score-based Encoder-Decoder LSTM Framework
Ma, B. (Speaker / presenter), Fan, H. (Collaborator), Howard, E. (Director), De Roure, D. (Director) & Thormählen, W. (Director)
One thing led to another: Encountering composition, technology, and interdisciplinary collaboration
Ma, B. (Speaker / presenter)
Composing DEVIANCE: European Platform for Artistic Research in Music: EPARM 26 Oslo
Howard, E. (Speaker / presenter), Kanga, Z. (Speaker / presenter), Ma, B. (Speaker / presenter) & Gustafsson, E. (Speaker / presenter)
Coming Up for Air in [LOCATION]: An art-research initiative exploring the critical effects of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
Ma, B. (Speaker / presenter)
RNCM Young Explorers Series: Music and Video Game Controllers
Ma, B. (Keynote speaker) & Sargen, E. (Keynote speaker)
Introduction to PRiSM for ABRSM Board
Howard, E. (Speaker / presenter) & Ma, B. (Speaker / presenter)
Professional Service
17th International Symposium on Computer Music Multidisciplinary Research (Event)
Ma, B. (Reviewer)