Thomas Dolby is new Hanex Professor

With an illustrious career including platinum-selling singles, an appearance at the Live Aid concert and numerous tours, and writing original scores for feature films, Thomas Dolby can add another accomplishment to his resume as inaugural recipient of the Taylor A. Hanex Professorship in Music for New Media.

The formal installment, which took place at the Hopkins Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C., included performances by both Dolby and some of his students.

“Working with my students is a joy and a privilege,” Dolby says. “Each day, they inspire me with their curiosity, creativity, and determination. I am deeply grateful not only to teach them, but also to learn from their unique perspectives and innovative ideas.”

Dolby started the Music for New Media degree path, which focuses on composing soundtracks for video games, films, and augmented reality experiences, when he joined the faculty of the Johns Hopkins Peabody Institute in 2014.

“The Taylor A. Hanex Professorship in Music for New Media is another major step forward in our Music Engineering and Technology Program,” Peabody Institute Dean Fred Bronstein says, adding the endowed professorship provides financial stability for the program moving forward.

“And Taylor is the quintessential wonderful volunteer. She is incredibly generous herself, but also a great advocate for Peabody, just her passion for the place,” Bronstein says.

In addition to being a Peabody Institute Advisory Board Chair Emerita and a Johns Hopkins University Trustee Emerita, Hanex holds two degrees from Peabody and is a successful financial consultant. She also previously funded the John J. Hanex Memorial Scholarship in honor of her father.

“Taylor is fearless, unapologetic, and unwavering in her support and determination to have Peabody be the best it can be,” Bronstein says. “And so, Thomas’s being the inaugural holder of this particular professorship is significant because this program is the latest manifestation of Peabody’s entrepreneurship and innovation.”