The David Poole Lecture welcomes the community to discover math in engaging, approachable ways. Featuring speakers who connect theory with everyday life, these talks welcome community members who enjoy learning, problem-solving, and seeing familiar ideas in new ways.

Upcoming Lecture

A Hard Days' Math

A Hard Days’ Math: The Connections Between Mathematics and Music

Dr. Jason I. Brown

Professor, Dalhousie University
Live performance by an alumni band

  • calendar iconThursday, November 12, 2026
  • time icon7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
  • location iconMarket Hall, 140 Charlotte St, Peterborough, ON K9J 2T8

Register Now

Lecture Abstract

Music is full of mathematics – from sums of trigonometric sound waves that comprise audio recordings to transitions between melody notes, between chords, and between onsets in a rhythmic pattern.  A variety of mathematical tools (including calculus, linear algebra, number theory and combinatorics) are available for both musical analysis and generation. In this talk we discuss

  • how mathematics can create musical paradoxes,
  • how patterns and transformations play a significant role in musical aesthetics,
  • how least common multiples literally moved Chuck Berry,
  • why we are drawn to the repetitive nature of the blues,
  • why the bridge to I Want to Hold Your Hand is so mathematically perfect,
  • what statistics and machine learning can say about music authentication, and
  • how Fourier transforms can unravel a few musical mysteries surrounding A Hard Day’s Night.

About Dr. Jason I. Brown

Headshot of Jason I. BrownJason I. Brown is a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Dalhousie University and has written over 110 research articles in graph theory and combinatorics. His work that used mathematics to uncover mysteries surrounding the music of the Beatles has garnered worldwide attention, including national and international newspapers, CBC, BBC and NPR radio, Guitar Player magazine, and the web sites of Wired and the Wall Street Journal. He has also written a number of textbooks (Mathematics for the Liberal Arts, Elementary Linear Algebra, and Discrete Structures and their Applications) as well as Our Days Are Numbered (McClelland & Stewart), a book for the general public that explains the mathematics in everyday life.

For more information email communityspeakerseries@trentu.ca.

Past Lectures

Past Lectures
Donate to this Lecture

Donate to this Lecture

David Poole

About Dr. David Poole 

Dr. David G. Poole is a Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Trent University and one of Canada’s most highly regarded educators in mathematics. He joined Trent in 1984 and served the university for more than three decades, including multiple terms as Chair of Mathematics and as Associate Dean of Arts and Science.

Professor Poole is a recipient of many of the country’s top teaching honours, including the 3M Teaching Fellowship, the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations Teaching Award, and the Canadian Mathematical Society’s Excellence in Teaching Award. In recognition of his national impact on mathematics education, he was named a Fellow of the Canadian Mathematical Society in 2018. His widely used textbook Linear Algebra: A Modern Introduction is now in its fifth edition and has been translated into four languages.

Prof. Poole established the David Poole Lecture in 2021 to engage the Trent and broader communities in discussions about mathematics and mathematics education.