AI-driven music takes center stage at 7th China Now Festival in New York

This year's theme, "Composing the Future," highlights the intersection of music and AI technology, marking a significant step forward in the collaboration between traditional music composition and cutting-edge technology.

At Saturday's concert, the festival introduced two orchestral works created by the AI and Music Information Technology Department of the CCOM: "Overture: Welcome" and "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains."

These pieces leverage AI programing to achieve effects impossible through conventional methods, offering a glimpse into the future of music creation.

Li Xiaobing, director of the AI Composition System at the CCOM, said: "This performance only showcased a small portion of AI-composed music due to the limited equipment in the concert hall. We hope to bring even more immersive sensory experiences to New York next time, potentially even featuring a robot conductor leading the orchestra."

The week-long event brings together five generations of composers and musicians from both China and the United States, spanning from the 1960s to the 2000s. Notable participants include Qin Wenchen from the CCOM and American composer Anthony Paul De Ritis.