October 22-24 at Symphony Hall: already and not yet – A World Premiere by Tod Machover

Tod Machover’s new BSO commission, already and not yet, features live AI — designed by Media Lab PhD student Manaswi Mishra—that collaborates with each musician, creating unexpected connections across the orchestra and offering what Machover calls a “possible, positive vision” for the future of democracy. The program is led by acclaimed conductor Kent Nagano, with audio mixed by Media Lab PhD student Ana Schon.
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*Free ticket available for the Media Lab Community for the performance on October 22 at 7:30PM – Tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis – Please contact ML40support@media.mit.edu for more info.

October 24 at 6:30 pm: Pre-Concert Talk – "Positive Vision" 

Before the October 24 performance of already and not yet, composer and AI-music pioneer George Lewis joins Machover for a conversation on the evolution and future of musical AI. Together, they will explore questions of subjectivity, social intelligibility, and ultimately, what it means to be human, offering a "possible, positive vision" for the future of shared creative life, and of democracy itself. 

Sunday, October 25: Talk Series at the Thomas Tull Concert Hall

2:00 pm: 40 Years of Music at the MIT Media Lab

Panelists: Teresa Marrin Nakra, Alex Rigopulos, Anna Huang, Ben Bloomberg, Nicole L’Huillier and Tod Machover (moderator).

For 40 years, the MIT Media Lab has brought together artists, scientists, engineers, and designers to explore bold new ideas. Music has been central to this culture from the beginning, inspiring groundbreaking projects from the Hypercello and Brain Opera to Guitar Hero. This panel brings together several generations of Media Lab music alumni to reflect on the Lab’s unique approach to musical innovation, their work since leaving the Lab, and what it might suggest for the future of music.

3:30 PM: Holly Herndon – AI as Musical Practice

with Q&A moderated by Manaswi Mishra, PhD student, MIT Media Lab, Opera Of The Future

“Herndon is among the most technologically ambitious musicians working today.” — The New York Times 

“Herndon is leading new creative frontiers in how AI and music can intersect.” — Pitchfork 
 

Composer and artist Holly Herndon offers an inside look at how she uses machine learning as a medium for musical creation. Drawing on her work, she explores how artistic choices—from creating training material to curating datasets and evaluating outputs—shape AI systems and their creative possibilities.