Cameron Cummins

Composer, Theorist, and Conductor
B.M. UCF 2026

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About

Cameron Cummins (b. 2004) is an emerging music theorist and composer based in Orlando, FL, and Philadelphia, PA, whose music spans genres and traditions and is performed by both classical and jazz ensembles. His compositions have been commissioned and performed by the International Trombone Summit, loadbang, the Brevard Music Center, and the Heidelberg New Music Festival, among others. He is currently studying music composition at the University of Central Florida.Cameron’s theoretical research focuses on ludomusicology, computational musicology, and corpus analysis, including quantitative studies of style, timbre, harmony, and rhythm. His current projects include his Honors Thesis, From Lap to Map: How Musical Scale, Place, and Play Drive the Interconnected Mario Kart World and a conference paper entitled Creating Chaos: Distracting Music for One Player in Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (2015).As a passionate advocate for inclusivity and accessibility in music education, Cameron has collaborated with organizations including the University of Central Florida and the Florida Music Educators Association to create works and experiences that promote engaging, equitable music-making for all learners.He is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) and the Society for Music Theory (SMT). He is an inductee of the Order of Pegasus, UCF’s most prestigious student award, a Presser Scholar, and a National Merit Scholar.Cameron's current and former teachers have included Will Ayers, Alex Burtzos, and Christine Lapka.

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Creative Works

Large Ensemble

Chamber

Solo

In Progress/Planned

Academic Publications & Projects

From Lap to Map: How Musical Scale, Place, and Play Drive the Interconnected Mario Kart World

Deserts, castles, and ghost houses— Super Mario’s environments are whimsical and charming, but why are they so compelling, and what happens when our analysis extends beyond individual levels to worlds or even entire games?
Drawing on Cresswell’s theory of place (2014) and recent work on musical place-building in Mario Kart 8 (Heazlewood-Dale, 2024), I propose a spectrum between localized and globalized scale in games. As game environments become increasingly globalized, the music may similarly be affected. Consequently, players encounter a broader, less musically congruent sense of place. This leads to different “affective energies” and potential interactions compared to those in localized environments (Grasso, 2024).
Using Mario Kart World as a case study, I apply a mix of qualitative and quantitative musical analysis to demonstrate that the game’s Free Roam mode produces a uniquely globalized sense of place through its trans-environmental musical “radio.” Employing statistical modeling, musical congruency, and transformational media analysis (Grasso, 2024; Summers and Farmer, 2023), I argue that the affective potential (“sense of play”) in Free Roam becomes more exploratory than that of other modes because of its more globalized sense of place. In doing so, I adopt the developers’ term “interconnected world” to describe games with this globalized structure.
By plotting interconnected worlds, open worlds, and level-based video games along a continuous spectrum from localized to globalized senses of place and play, this paper offers a new framework to demonstrate that games produce differing musical-spatial coherence across environments of various scales.

Multiple Abilities in One Ensemble: How Do You Do That?

Discover a groundbreaking approach to inclusivity in educational music! Join us for an enlightening session introducing the concept of flexible instrumentation and varied-ability
parts in educational music. In this session, you’ll experience the premiere of a dynamic new piece and engage in a discussion on how to build a program focusing on inclusivity using this methodology. Ideal for high school bands, orchestras, choirs, and community or university ensembles, this session promises to expand the boundaries of musical inclusion. Explore how individuals of all abilities can contribute meaningfully, with every part carrying significance. Don’t miss this opportunity to embrace a more inclusive future in music!

Conference paper co-presented at the Florida Music Educators Association Conference, Tampa, FL, January 12, 2025 with Christine Lapka.

Music Gallery

To Soar Above the Clouds (UCF Concert Band)

Wintry (International Trombone Summit)

Fanfare for Five Trombones (International Trombone Summit)

The Matterhorn (MIDI)

A Lunar Anamnesis (Kaia Leavitt)

Memories