Wesley Bradford

Wesley J. Bradford holds a Bachelor of Arts (Music Composition) from Austin Peay State University, Master of Music (Theory) from the University of Oklahoma, and a PhD in Music Theory from Louisiana State University. Before coming to Lafayette, Dr. Bradford taught ear training labs and Rudiments of Music at Louisiana State University. He was awarded the Dissertation Year Fellowship for the spring semester of 2016. His dissertation applied both narrative and mathematical approaches to analysis of 20th century woodwind repertoire. 
Currently, Dr. Bradford is an Assistant Professor and the Coordinator of Music Theory at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He joined the faculty at UL Lafayette in 2016. At UL Lafayette, he teaches a variety of music theory courses, ranging from freshman undergraduate theory through graduate analysis and music composition, as well as study abroad courses in London, England. Dr. Bradford also coordinates the Theory/Composition studio meetings and recitals.
Dr. Bradford’s research focuses on musical meaning and interpretation, with a special interest musical narrative. Recently, his projects have explored interpretive approaches to video game music, including the application of musical narrative and semiotic theories to suggest new avenues for listening to and understanding modern musical genres. Dr. Bradford presents his research regularly at both local and international conferences. He is a member of both the South Central Society for Music Theory and the national Society for Music Theory.

Ph.D Music Theory, 2016
Louisiana State University

M.M. Music Theory, 2013
University of Oklahoma

B.A. Music Composition, 2010
Austin Peay State University

• “Music in Video Games,” Guest Speaker on Amateur Hour podcast by Jackson Moon, March 12, 2022. https://open.spotify.com/episode/1dW627FrCjjv058uJd9DUj?si=8oXJBTn0ROO6kDq6YQ-0wg&nd=1
• “Defining Danger through the Music of Nintendo” –
• SPARK ArTech Grant Presentation, Lafayette, LA, March 19, 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7H54g6ilbY
• “Exploring the Narrative Implications of Emerging Topics in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.” Journal of Sound and Music in Games 1, no. 4 (Fall 2020): 1–21. https://online.ucpress.edu/jsmg/article/1/4/1/111972/Exploring-the-Narrative-Implications-of-Emerging
• 120 Shrines which are Related Only with One Another: Modernist Style and Neo-Narrative in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” – North American Conference on Video Game Music, Ann Arbor, MI, January 13-14, 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXSEXfSojzk
• “Review of Everett, Yayoi Uno, Reconfiguring Myth and Narrative in Contemporary Opera.” Music Theory Online 23.4. (2017) https://mtosmt.org/issues/mto.17.23.4/mto.17.23.4.bradford.html
• Dissertation: “Developing a Mathematically Informed Approach to Musical Narrative through the Analysis of Three Twentieth-Century Monophonic Woodwind Works” (2016) https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4510&context=gradschool_dissertations