NYC Gazette

Juilliard is advancing its integration of technology in music education and performance, aiming to prepare students for the evolving artistic landscape. The curriculum now includes self-produced recordings, AI-assisted role preparation, immersive performance environments, and virtual world-building.

David Serkin Ludwig, dean and director of the Music Division at Juilliard, emphasized the necessity of engaging with technology. "We need to engage with technology because our students are going to be engaged with it," he stated. "A 21st-century career in music demands it."

Edward Bilous, founding director of The Center for Creative Technology (CCT), highlighted Juilliard's role in technological exploration. "Since 2001, the center has been home to Juilliard’s technology-driven activities," Bilous said. He noted that these collaborations have led to new art forms bridging visual and performing arts.

Bilous prefers the term transdisciplinary over interdisciplinary to describe how different disciplines within a piece shape each other. In such works, choreography depends on music and vice versa. Technology acts as a unifying element: “Technology serves as the glue that binds everything together.”

The Future Stages Festival showcases performances at the intersection of music and technology. It begins with "Our Future Voices," part of Juilliard Music’s The New Series curated by Ludwig in collaboration with Carnegie Hall’s Nuestros sonidos festival.

Highlights include Music and Emerging Technologies—a concert using cutting-edge software—and Convergence, an ambisonic concert celebrating CCT’s anniversary featuring AI-enhanced visuals and interactive digital projections.

The festival also presents The Space Between Us concert where alumni explore digital content creation using technologies like IRCAM’s RAVE for sound processing and MUGIC motion sensors for controlling sound through movement.

Other technologies featured include Perception Neuron 3 for motion capture and Unreal Engine for high-fidelity graphics in gaming and VR experiences.

Ludwig addressed concerns about technology replacing human artistry: “Technology is a tool dependent on the expertise of the user...It’s about how we use it to expand creativity, not replace it.”

He sees AI as a creative partner for composers while performers can use digital platforms for global audience engagement through telematics—performing in sync across continents.

For Ludwig, inclusivity is key: “For me, the first goal of our engagement with technology is inclusivity.” This approach allows Juilliard to reach a global audience by sharing its work widely.

Looking ahead, Juilliard plans further integration of AI into opera productions and historical performance programs. As Ludwig stated: “The artists of tomorrow need to understand the tools of today.”

Tenor Joshua Simka (BM ’14) serves as Juilliard’s assistant editor.