Dr Bradley Hoover

Bradley is an academic researcher specialising in the teachings of François Delsarte (1811–1871) and his influence on the study of the Arts & Sciences.

Bradley's doctoral research at the University of Oxford focused on reconstructing Delsarte's 'lost' aesthetic system, which Delsarte developed and taught for over thirty years in Paris, from 1839–1870, as his 'Course in Applied Aesthetics.' Delsarte died without publishing his research, and so Bradley's research is the first to bring Delsarte's general aesthetic system to light.

Bradley's first publication, The Aesthetic System of François Delsarte and Richard Wagner: Catholicism, Romanticism, and Ancient Music, is based on his doctoral dissertation and will be published as part of the Cambridge Elements Series 'Music and Musicians, 1750–1850' by Cambridge University Press in April 2025.

Bradley holds a DPhil in Music from the University of Oxford, an MA in Theatre History from the University of Victoria, and an Hons BA in Classical Civilisation, with a double minor in Drama and English Literature, from the University of Toronto.