Katie Chatburn

Biography

Katie Chatburn is a Leverhulme Unit for the Design of Cities of the Future (LUDeC) PhD researcher within the School of Digital Arts (SODA) at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her research investigates the impact of city soundscape by involving under-represented groups within creative, co-produced research. This work aims to inform the creation of interactive and playful sonic interventions within urban spaces.

Katie’s career has involved work as a composer/sound artist, arranger / orchestrator and workshop leader. She is passionate about working with sound and music through interdisciplinary and cross genre projects. In 2009 she co-wrote the Popular Music Performance BMus for the Royal Northern College of Music and subsequently worked for ten years part time as the Deputy Head of the programme alongside a freelance music career. Katie has also held teaching and education management positions at the Academy of Contemporary Music and Leeds Conservatoire. 

In 2017, Katie formed Ignition Orchestra as conductor and arranger, bringing together orchestra and electronic music. Following their debut at Liverpool International Festival, the orchestra has performed to sell out audiences at venues including The Barbican, Eventim Apollo and The Royal Albert Hall as part of the Garage Classical project. In October 2019 they were featured on the Graham Norton Show performing with The Sugababes and the same month signed to Sony with Garage Classical the album, featuring artists including Paloma Faith, Lily Allen and Emeli Sande. Katie has worked as an arranger and orchestrator for the BBC Philharmonic, BBC Concert Orchestra, Opera North and Chineke Orchestra and developed ‘Bassline Symphony’ of Bradford City of Culture 2025. 

Katie is passionate about community outreach work and she has delivered workshops across different sectors of the community both independently and for organisations including Liverpool Philharmonic, Manchester Camerata, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Brighter Sound and Music for Youth. She has been invited to speak at conferences on music and sound studies internationally and works as a consultant for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM).

Academic and Professional Qualifications

Diploma in Sound Arts Therapy  British Academy of Sound Therapy 2023

ARAM, Royal Academy of Music awarded 2016

MMus Composition, Royal Northern College of Music 2013

Post 16 PGCE, Institute of Education 2008 

LRAM, Royal Academy of Music 2003 

BMus Composition, Royal Academy of Music 2003  

Research Output  

Kirsten van den Bosch (University of Gronigen) Chatburn, Katie, Arezoo Talebzadeh (Ghent University) (2025) Diversity In Soundscapes Studies: A Monochromatic Case On Nature, Collaborative Paper and presentation. Forum Acousticum Euronoise June 2025, Malaga.

Chatburn, Katie (2025) Diverifying Soundscape Research, Collaborative Paper with Arezoo Talebzadeh (Ghent University) and Kirsten van den Bosch (University of Gronigen). Abstract accepted for Forum Acousticum Euronoise July 2025, Malaga.

Chatburn, Katie (2024) ‘Do you wanna feel how it feels?’: Music to heal and harm within the sounds of Stranger Things’ by Anton Roberts et. al. In The Psychgeist of Pop Culture – Stranger Things, Play Story Press. 

Chatburn, Katie (2024) ‘Engaging under-represented groups in soundscape evaluation through creative, embodied listening practices’, Internoise 2024: International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering, 25–29 August, Nantes, France.

Chatburn, Katie (2024) ‘The Shape of Sounds: Bringing Co-produced Graphic Scores to Life through Improvised, Interactive Performance’, DvRK MASS performance event in collaboration with The School of Digital Arts, MMU, 8th June 2024, HOME, Manchester. 

Chatburn, Katie (2023) ‘Book review: Sounding Conflict: From Resistance to Reconciliation by Fiona Magowan et. al’,  In IASPM Journal pp118-120:13.3

Chatburn, Katie (2023) ‘Can the sound of the city make us feel better? A journey through the shapes of sounds’, Theatre and Performance Association Research Annual Conference (TaPRA) Conference 30th August – 1st September, University of Leeds.

Chatburn, Katie (2023)  ‘Making the creative city: how researching (post)industrial urban spaces with creative and dialogic methods can help us engage citizens in urban transformation’, Group Presentation with Erika Conchis, Suzanne Cloves, Sarah Day and Joe Shute,  Making the City: Transformative Processes in (Post)Industrial Urban Spaces,  29th June – 1st July 2023, Chemnitz, Germany,

Chatburn, Katie (2022)  Nominated as a finalist for the Scottish Soundscape Prize, work displayed as part of the conference proceedings, Internoise 2022: International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering, 21-24, August, Glasgow. 

Chatburn, Katie (2022) ‘Reinventing the City, The Journey So Far’’, Invited collaborative talk with Erika Conchis, Sarah Day, Alicia Denby and Amanda Seville for The Institute Of Place Management, 8th December, Manchester Metropolitan University.

Chatburn, Katie (2022) ‘A (research) problem with no name: A reflection on the barriers to collaboration, and opportunities to make a change’, Invited collaborative talk for LUDeC/NWCDTP Collaborative Symposium, 29th October, Manchester Metropolitan University.

Chatburn, Katie (2022)  ‘Can graphic tools be used to explore the relationship between sound and wellbeing within urban environments?’ Collaboration with Viviana Di Miceli,  PAHC Bad Fences Make Bad Neighbours symposium, Manchester Metropolitan University. 18-19 May, Manchester Metropolitan University.

LUDeC Connections

My research has consistently interfaced with the LUDeC proposal through its focus on social justice and creative, co-created research. My work also looks at the concept of play and its role in transformative sonic processes within outdoor urban environments.

Contact Information

Kathryn.chatburn@stu.mmu.ac.uk