Events

Music, Computing and AI – Three Talks and a Mini-Concert

Join us on Wednesday, 20 March, for an evening of inspiring talks from our guest speakers! Please email development.office@stcatz.ox.ac.uk to register for this event.

 

Our speakers 

Professor Ray d’Inverno (St Catherines 1962-1965, Southampton) 

Ray is a pioneer in Computer Algebra, where his system has been used extensively in the field of Exact Solutions in General Relativity. His recent book “Introducing Einstein’s Relativity – A deeper understanding” (Oxford University Press, 2022) was recently co-authored with his colleague Professor James Vickers. He has also carried out research in Numerical Relativity – solving Einstein’s equations numerically on a computer. At Southampton he set up the Gravity Group which has grown to be the largest such research group in Europe. He gave the first undergraduate course in the UK on “Artificial Intelligence” (with David De Roure as one of his students) and introduced “Jazz Studies” into the Music Department at Southampton University. He is an award-winning jazz pianist and his FutureLearn online course “Learn Jazz Piano” has attracted over 50,000 students worldwide. His BandCamp site hosts 30 of his CDs. Ray will track some of his involvement in music and computing.

Professor Mark d’Inverno (St Catherines 1983-1996, Goldsmiths College)

Mark (eldest son of Ray) came up to Catz in 1983 and like Ray read Mathematics where he had the same tutor as Ray, the late Alan Tayler, a founding fellow of the College and a pioneer in the field of Industrial Applied Mathematics. Mark is also a critically acclaimed jazz pianist (BBC TV and National Radio, BBC Music Magazine, Guardian, Observer, Jazz Review) and has played in a wide variety of musical genres. Mark is Professor of Computer Science at Goldsmiths College, University of London, and his research explores the relationship between artificial intelligence, human creativity, music, improvisation, ethics, and performance. He has given a range of public engagement activities and invited talks across Europe exploring human musical creativity through improvising with AI. He was formerly Director of Research at Goldsmiths and currently holds honorary professorial positions at the Instituto de Investigación en Inteligencia Artificial, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain and Politecnico di Milano, Italy. Mark will explore what it is to “sound right” in music with AI.

Professor David De Roure (Oxford, Director e-Research Centre 2012-2017)

David started as a mathematics undergraduate at Southampton University and a personal tutee of Ray and went on to become a professor in the Computer Science Department. He is now Professor of e-Research at the University of Oxford and a Turing Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute, as well as Honorary Visiting Professor at Royal Northern College of Music. David’s personal research is at the intersection of music, machines and AI, empowering the creative human music in composition and performance. His research is truly interdisciplinary and he works across a number of areas including humanities (digital music), social sciences (social science and web machines), engineering (Internet of Things), computer science (distributed systems and sustainable science), and libraries and archives (knowledge infrastructures). He co-founded the Centre for Practice & Research in Science and Music (PRISM) at RCNM and the national Software Sustainable Institute. He is Academic Director of Digital Scholarship Oxford and has been involved in organising the Digital Humanities Summer School since 2011. David will draw on music and AI research in composition and performance to talk about humans living “in the moment” with AI, and realising a future with pervasive AI tools.

Mini-Concert: After their three talks the jazz piano trio of Ray d’Inverno (piano), Mark d’Inverno (drums) and David De Roure (bass) will play some jazz standards.

 

Itinerary

 4.30pm – Tea & coffee for guests 

 5.00pm – Three talks & a mini concert

 

Accessibility: If you have any accessibility requirements, please let us know by emailing the development.office@stcatz.ox.ac.uk

 

Date

20 March, 2024

Time

4.30pm

Venue

The Mary Sunley Building, St Catherine’s College

Dress Code

Smart/casual