Tod Machover: Mediated Music: Robotic Operas, Guitar Hero, Collaborative Symphonies and Beyond

Wed, March 20, 7pm W.M. Keck Lecture Hall Called "America's Most Wired Composer" by the Los Angeles Times, Tod Machover is the Muriel R. Cooper Professor of Music and Media at the MIT Media Lab, where he also directs the Opera of the Future Group. He is known for his boundary-breaking compositions and for designing transformative technologies for music. His hyperinstruments—smart performance systems to enhance artistic expression—have been created for virtuosi from Yo-Yo Ma to Prince, been used to introduce musical creativity to amateurs of all ages and to promote health and well-being, and have served to launch successful products such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Machover is particularly well known for his radical operas, including the "robotic" Death and the Powers—touring worldwide since its 2010 premiere at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, under the patronage of Prince Albert II. Machover has received numerous prizes and awards and was Finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize in Music. He is currently working on A Toronto Symphony, a musical collaboration with the entire city of Toronto, to be premiered there in March 2013. SCI-Arc