Vice Principal

BA (Hons) MPhil PhD, PGCE DMS (Ed), FHEA

Since graduating in Music and Information Technology from Canterbury Christ Church University in 1993, Andrew Gower has pursued an active interest in electroacoustic composition which he studied with Paul Patterson, Roderick Watkins and Paul Max Edlin.  Between 2003-7 he was a shortlisted composer of the Society for the Promotion of New Music, and research into the structural spatialisation of sound within the electroacoustic compositional process led to an award of PhD in 2006.  Compositions include Thou art darkness, I thy Light (for double choir, semi-chorus, organ and electronics) which was premiered by Canterbury Cathedral Choir, and As it was bright (for flute, vibraphone, 'cello and electronics), a recording of which is available here. 

Prior to his appointment in 2002 as a Senior Lecturer in Music at Canterbury Christ Church University, Andrew Gower held posts at Kingston University and at Canterbury College.  While at Canterbury Christ Church he had a varied range of responsibilities including programme direction of the BA in Commercial Music and programme development of undergraduate degrees including Performing Arts, Creative Music Technology, Music Production and Music Industry Management, with teaching focused in areas such as studio production, computer music and electronic composition.  Between 2007-2011 Andrew Gower was Director of the University's Broadstairs Campus providing academic and operational leadership in the development of the Campus through substantial growth in undergraduate programmes centred on the Creative Industries, Business Management and also the Public Services.  Additional responsibilities within the University's Faculty of Arts and Humanities included the role of Faculty Quality Officer and then Knowledge Exchange Co-ordinator through which a range of national and international academic, business and community collaborations were established in the UK, US and Singapore. 

In April 2011 Andrew Gower was appointed as Vice Principal, responsible for providing strategic leadership of the College’s curriculum.  With a particular interest in professional education and in the creative sector, he is currently engaged in a new area of research exploring Singaporean public policy and educational practice in polytechnic and university arts education, with special reference to the strategic development of the digital industries.

Andrew Gower is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.  He has acted as an external examiner for Edexcel Higher Education programmes in Music and Music Technology, as an external assessor for programme validation at the Royal Northern College of Music, and between 2007-11 as the External Examiner for the BA (Hons) in Popular Music at the University of Wolverhampton. 

In addition, Andrew Gower is a Bass Lay Clerk in Canterbury Cathedral Choir, which as well as singing the daily services, gives regular concert performances and broadcasts on radio and television.