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The Opera of the Future Group Showcased New Research on "Music, Movement, Meditation and Machines" at Harvard/Osher Center Symposium

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Osher Center For Integrative Health

Osher Center For Integrative Health

Members of the MIT Media Lab’s Opera of the Future group presented new work—partially funded by the Gus Solomons, Jr. Trust—on Music, Movement, Meditation and Machines at the High-Tech Medicine, Soft-Touch Healing conference hosted by the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Talks on foundational work were given by Professor Tod Machover, Alexandra Rieger (in absentia), Kimaya Lecamwasam, Nina Masuelli and Treyden Chiaravalloti, and a premiere performance of a new composition for "mediated walking"—MMMM—was performed by Machover (cello), Chiaravalloti (movement), Manaswi Mishra (live AI system), and Ana Schon (audio mixing).

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Clémence Taillandier

Key presentations by Opera of the Future members at the conference were:

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Clémence Taillandier

This suite of coordinated presentations was followed by a first-time performance of MMMM, an experience integrating music, movement, meditation, and AI.  Prof. Machover’s cello playing provoked responses and interpolations from a live AI system created and monitored by PhD student Manaswi Mishra. Treyden Chiaravalloti revealed a progression of movements—from internally focused to energetically expansive and back—that mirrored the audio from cello and AI, in turn inspiring variations in the sound. Master’s student Ana Schon monitored overall sound to assure maximal balance between acoustics and electronics. Prof. Machover observed that this experiment “promises to open up new horizons for easy-as-walking guided meditational movement practices—inspired by recent books such as A Philosophy of Walking and Walking from Scores—and is an area that the Opera of the Future group will continue to pursue.”

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Clémence Taillandier

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Clémence Taillandier

About Harvard’s Osher Center Integrative Medicine Network Forum:

The 6th Biennial Osher Integrative Medicine Network Forum, which took place at Harvard Medical School on December 9 and 10, 2024, aimed to foster essential dialogue on how technology shapes and impacts integrative healthcare. The forum explored how innovative tools such as wearables, artificial intelligence, advanced diagnostics, and artistic practice can offer new insights into integrative health modalities like acupuncture, meditation, and music therapy, while also informing whole-person health approaches.

Through keynote sessions, panel discussions, live demonstrations, performances, and interactive Q+A, the forum delved into current projects, future possibilities, and the opportunities and challenges of applying technology to integrative healthcare. 

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