Thomas Butler is a composer based in Glasgow. In February 2013 he was appointed Sound and Music Embedded Composer in Residence with the Red Note Ensemble. Thomas sees the act of composition to be the creation of a performance in its entirety, not simply the writing of dots on a page. This expanded approach to composition sees many of his pieces contain extra-musical elements such as video, still images, lighting effects and theatrical gestures, which are used to explore recurring themes of technology, authority and illusion. After studying music at the University of Edinburgh, Thomas studied composition at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where he is currently a PhD candidate under the supervision of Gordon McPherson and Yannis Kyriakides. He produces the new music podcast I'LL CADENCE WHEN I DIE! (www.cadencewhenidie.org) and manages the peer-reviewed Scottish Journal of Performance (www.scottishjournalofperformance.org).