UCC announces scholarship in honour of trailblazing music pioneer

13 May 2024

• Emmy award winning and Oscar nominated sound designer Douglas Murray funds UCC scholarship.
• The scholarship honours Dr Danijela Kulezic-Wilson, a distinguished scholar of music and lecturer at UCC School of Film, Music and Theatre.
• The successful candidate will be awarded a scholarship of US$38,750 over three years.

University College Cork has announced that applications are now open for a PhD scholarship in honour of Dr Danijela Kulezic-Wilson, a pioneering researcher in film music and sound. The scholarship is supported by Douglas Murray, Oscar nominated and Emmy award winning sound designer, and the WHH Foundation.

The prestigious award is established to support the next generation of PhD scholars in film, music and theatre. It will support a PhD researcher to pursue research in their chosen field and gain exceptional experience in UCC’s School of Film, Music and Theatre

Dr Danijela Kulezic-Wilson was a lecturer in Music at University College Cork and was internationally known as a trailblazing scholar of music. Her interdisciplinary research explored the relationships between film, sound, and music, and produced a radically new understanding of the musicality of contemporary film sound design. Her work was widely published in leading journals and she worked as music editor on documentaries, short films and television productions.

Supporting the next generation of artists and filmmakers

Emmy award winning and Oscar nominated sound designer Douglas Murray

Douglas Murray is an Emmy Award-winning film sound designer who has worked in the feature film industry for many years. He has worked on many renowned films, including The Batman, Cloverfield, Ad Astra and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Douglas completed a Masters in Experimental Sound Practice at UCC, where he worked alongside Dr Danijela Kulezic-Wilson. She shared her intellectual curiosity and passion for the arts with Douglas and fellow students, inspiring scholars of cinema and music. Following Danijela’s death in April 2021, Douglas and the WHH Foundation established the Dr Danijela Kulezic-Wilson Memorial PhD Scholarship.

Douglas Murray said: “Enrolling in the MA in Experimental Sound Practice at UCC in 2019 turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. I met amazing talented people including Dr Danijela Kulezic-Wilson who inspired all who met her. I am delighted to be involved in funding this Memorial Scholarship in her honour, supporting the next generation of researchers, artists, filmmakers and performers.”

A wonderful and deeply missed colleague

John Godfrey, Head of UCC School of Film, Music and Theatre, said: "We in the School of Film, Music and Theatre wanted to create a way to remember and to honour our wonderful and deeply missed colleague Danijela Kulezic-Wilson, who passed away in 2021. Danijela was a trailblazing scholar of music with an intense intellectual curiosity and passion for the arts. Her research explored the relationships between film, sound and music and produced a radically new understanding of the musicality of contemporary film sound design.”

“We created the Danijela Kulezic-Wilson award to empower others to embody the spirit of her remarkable and interdisciplinary approach to the arts. This has been made possible by UCC Alumnus Douglas Murray and the WHH Foundation, to whom we are immensely grateful; philanthropy is vital for UCC and this scholarship will have a significant and enduring impact,” John said.

Professor Cathal O’Connell, Interim Head of UCC College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences said: “We are delighted to honour the impact of Dr Danijela Kulezic-Wilson’s legacy. We’re grateful to Douglas, a truly outstanding UCC graduate, for partnering with us on this visionary opportunity. We are so pleased to enable this opportunity for a PhD scholar to join UCC’s School of Film, Music and Theatre, a ground-breaking centre of learning, research and experimentation.”

The successful candidate will be awarded a scholarship of US$38,750/ €35,400 over three years. The application deadline is Monday, 15 July 2024.

Further details on the Danijela Kulezic-Wilson Scholarship can be found here.