Thinking about Thinking is a lecture series that invites speakers from different walks of life to come together with young people, researchers and professionals in Armenia who welcome thinking differently, unconventionally, and looking at things from new perspectives.

The Thinking about Thinking lecture series offers time to think, a community of like-minded people to think with, and exposure to diverse points of view, and a wealth of real-world experience.

This Lecture Series invites people who are pioneers in their fields: science, arts, media, business, social entrepreneurship etc.

When: February 24, at 6:00pm
Where: Manoogian Hall at the American University of Armenia
1st of the Luys Lecture Series by : Professor Tod Machover, World-Renowned Composer and Inventor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Media Lab

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TRANSFORMING MUSIC:

From Guitar Hero to Robotic Opera and Beyond

Music exerts a powerful force over our minds and bodies, engaging us at least as fully as any other human activity. Yet, due to perceived lack of talent or expertise, many are excluded from performing or creating music themselves. Composer and inventor Tod Machover will describe how the doors to musical expression are being opened through new tools and technologies, from animated operas to virtuosity simulators like Guitar Hero to medical devices that use music for rehabilitation and general well-being. He will also explain how a new musical ecology is developing which links people across generations, geography, and "genius" levels to provide more deeply integrated and satisfying experiences for individuals and societies.

Tod Machover has been called "America’s most wired composer" by the Los Angeles Times, and is celebrated for his boundary-breaking compositions as well as for inventing new technologies for music. A professor and founding member of the MIT Media Lab, Machover had pioneered Hyperinstruments, which use technology to extend the expressive range of traditional instruments and to make active music-making accessible to all, from Yo-Yo Ma to Prince to children to players of Guitar Hero, which grew out of his Lab. Machover is also renowned for his innovative operas, including the Brain Opera and the recent "robotic" Death and the Powers, which premiered last year at the Monte-Carlo Opera (under the patronage of Prince Albert II) and is currently on world tour.

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