If you visit Chicago’s Adler Planetarium and make your way through the Stargazer’s Hub exhibit, be sure to interact with the archway installation and listen for the soundscape that unfolds. That hidden layer of interactive audio—crickets, shooting stars, and black-hole-inspired effects—is just one example of the work of Jonesy Jones ’19. His path to designing sound experiences began with Northwestern’s MA in Sound Arts and Industries (SAI) program, where he learned to fuse technical problem-solving with creative sound design.
Although Jones studied electrical engineering and mathematics at the University of Maryland as an undergraduate, he also had a creative side: He was a musician, active in improv, and hosted his own show on WMUC-FM, the college radio station.
After graduation, he wasn’t ready to follow the same track as many of his classmates: working for a military contractor. Instead, he wanted to find a career that would let him blend technical skills with sound-related interests, and he thought Chicago would be a great place to do it.
“I thought I might as well look into grad school options in the area,” says Jones. “I found the SAI program, and it was the only grad school program I applied to. It seemed like a great excuse to head out to Chicago, but it also turned out to be the right environment to merge my technical and artistic brains. I was looking for a hard left turn: the opportunity to learn new things and work with new types of tools and programs, and I found that at Northwestern.”
Structured Learning Supports Creative Freedom
One of the highlights for Jones was cohort’s collaborative spirit as they moved through the coursework together. “I appeared in other people’s work as a voice actor, for example. We were always in the studio working on each other’s projects, passing our talents back and forth.”
While the environment was highly cooperative, he also appreciated the fact that the classes were structured. For example, in Professor of Instruction Stephan Moore’s Digital Musical Instrument Design course, Jones says the opportunities to create were almost limitless, but there were still deadlines and expectations to abide by.
The course introduces students to the fundamentals of creating instruments using modern technology. In the first half of the class, students learn about the history of instrument design and read about accomplished professionals who design digital instruments. The second half lets students design their own instruments and explore Max, a visual programming language.
“The course had a lot of overlap with my electrical engineering work,” Jones explains. “One of my projects involved designing an instrument that was also a game. As you played, you made music while little icons appeared on the screen to blast enemies that were approaching. It was lots of fun and good practice thinking about that type of interaction with different control schemes.”
Putting SAI Skills to Work
Jones says those SAI projects and classroom moments paid off—first in the theater world, where he did freelance sound design work after receiving his master’s degree, and then when the Adler Planetarium came calling. After initially joining the museum’s exhibits operations team in 2022, he has worked his way into a more specialized role. Today, Jones is the digital experience technician, responsible for creating digital and interactive experiences on the floor.
“I also work with our theaters, where we do planetarium shows, so I have my hands in sound, lighting, and projections. I’m doing something different almost every day. Sometimes I’m building sound design for a new exhibit, and sometimes I’m stepping in to run a show,” he explains. “I was set up for success thanks to SAI, from how to think about sound to how to troubleshoot. I can put all the skills I have into this job. I’m on a great path, and I wouldn’t be here without that experience.”
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