Watch: CCM alum Timothy O'Neill on AI's Future Influence on Classical Music

Watch the first alumni guest lecture presented as part of CCM Speaks, lead by the UC Alumni Association. UC College-Conservatory of Music alum Timothy O'Neill presents "A New Renaissance: AI's Future Influence on Classical Music."

Timothy O'Neill (BM '03, MM '04, MS '06) weaves together a unique blend of high-level expertise and decades of experience in the tech and music sectors. He is a Senior Director of Engineering & Data Science for a public software company where he manages approximately 150 technical personnel in Product Development, co-leads Artificial Intelligence strategy for the organization, and regularly presents to internal and external business leaders on AI's impact to industry.

As a violinist, he has toured nationally and internationally and is featured on multiple recordings and ViolinMasterclass.com. He was a co-founder of NeXT Ens, one of the first electroacoustic ensembles in the U.S., with performances across the country, numerous world premieres and multiple artists' residencies. As a composer, he debuted at age 15, conducting the premiere of his first-string symphony. His works have been performed subsequently at such venues as the Kennedy Center.

Lecture summary: As Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) speeds toward reality within the next few years, it is imperative that we develop a plan to converge Human and AI contributions to preserve the unique power of humans within art and creative expression. Classical music is a soul-impacting art form that, despite centuries of historic significance, has declined in popularity over the past few decades. Without intervention, it risks further marginalization confined to museums, archives and background music for advertisements. My vision is that the current GenAI wave (and eventually AGI) poses a revitalization opportunity, a new renaissance. I will unpack four key objectives needed to realize this forward-thinking vision as well as share an original audiovisual composition for Violin and GenAI.