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A stage with ultiple computer screens and a projected screen with assorted letters in white text, graphic overlayed shows musical notes in multiple different colors
  1. NEWS
  2. A Digital Symphony

A Digital Symphony

David Rafferty January 16, 2023
Arts and Culture

Hear from David Rafferty, associate professor of practice in music technology, about AUC's first laptop ensemble, where students explored the intersections between music and technology. Participating in this ensemble exposed students to the creative potential of laptops in music making, culminating in an innovative live performance.

Laptop Ensemble - The Spatial Experiment

Watch the ensemble's performance, shown in the Malak Gabr Theater on December 4th, 2023.

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Why a Laptop Ensemble?

The laptop ensemble was motivated by the many explorations integrating computers with  music. The idea of working on a laptop collective is not a new concept in music programs. These creative experiments had their origins in the early 2000s in institutes like Princeton and Stanford, where students and professors created laptop orchestras like the Princeton Laptop Orchestra and the Stanford Laptop Orchestra. 

These days, it is generally expected that music students are somehow working with computers, programming in some environment and experimenting with the technologies at their fingertips. So establishing a laptop ensemble at AUC is intended to expose students to what most institutes already have implemented for years. Why laptops? Laptops and mobile devices are ubiquitous, and it is logical to get a deeper understanding of our relationship with these portable devices. These are powerful tools and have extreme potential for new areas of creative work.

Creating the Ensemble

The Laptop Ensemble was not a course, but an ensemble, designed to meet weekly and build several concepts to be performed at the end of the semester. In our weekly meetings, the students were introduced to various technologies that are commonly used in this field. The laptop ensemble this semester was an ‘onboarding’  into real-time signal processing in performance practice rather than a direct hands-on experience to the programming environment itself. This was due in part because the foundation to learn interactive programming environments would require a deeper dive – a full semester dedicated just to programming with a visual programming environment like Max – built in to Ableton Live – or any of their counterparts (i.e. PureData, Supercollider, Processing, OpenFrameworks, etc.). In our case the students were exposed to the various technical possibilities using Max. Throughout the semester, we examined several collective and individual projects to work on. It was more of a dialogue and experimental process where we discussed technicalities, hit some instruments, and then I would take the concept and program a project for the student to perform with Max. The hope was to motivate students to accept that the world is changing rapidly and these devices, programming environments, and software they always work with can open a world of unique creative opportunities – something I strongly encourage them to embrace in their own pursuits.

In this ensemble, the most interesting part of teaching and working on the projects was the challenging problems that students presented. During the experimental phase, we discussed ideas and established a framework for the performance by students interacting with the computer. Then using the Max programming environment, I would take these concepts and program the complex system. In each project, the problems were unique, whether it was managing wireless accelerometer data as a trigger for samples, finding the most accurate pitch detection function or managing the complexities of pitch-shifting, sampling and mapping them to an eight-channel audio system. These were challenging ideas that kept the work refreshing – frustrating and rewarding – which is always a healthy experience. 

Final Thoughts

Working with computers in a creative space is finicky and working with programming environments and devices is not without challenges. During the dress rehearsal, we had a device behaving erratically for the first time –– something that never happened once during the prototyping phase. I think it may have come as a surprise to the students, but I reminded them throughout the semester that “there are always problems”. Troubleshooting during times of pressure is an essential skill in my field, and we discussed collectively and resolved the issue. In the end, we found a workable solution, not ideal, but kept a flow to our concert. Engagement in a process is a powerful learning experience from the beginning of the semester until the intense last moments to complete the task. For me, this is a key takeaway from working on a project of this nature, constantly being engaged in the “doing” and less on the chatter.

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Visual Voices

“I always insist on the collective because this is how you change history,” says Bahia Shehab (MA ’09), professor of practice in the Department of the Arts and co-editor of Revealing, Recording, Reflecting: Graphic Women from Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA), the first publication of its kind to document the work and legacy of contemporary women designers.“This landmark book is about the ‘us’ of women,” says Shehab, who founded AUC’s graphic design program in 2011. ‘When people hold the book, I want them to recognize women’s voices in the Arab world. They are beautiful, they are colorful and they are varied. And they’re not limited to the geography of the Arab world. We are everywhere.”Full of vibrant images, the book emerged from a collaborative initiative aimed at documenting and celebrating the contributions of SWANA women in the field of design. It all started when four women graphic designers from different institutions — Shehab from AUC in Egypt, Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès from Khatt Foundation in the Netherlands, Yasmine Nachabe Taan from the Lebanese American University in Lebanon and Soukeina Hachem from Shape interior design studio in Morocco — decided to research and showcase the work of Arab women designers. “We are four women from various parts of the region who came together to reflect, collect and reveal stories of Arab women designers,” says Shehab. Not only were they tapping into an undocumented frontier, but their research process was atypical. “The normal route usually involves archives and a lot of reading,” explained Shehab. “But for this book, we decided to do something else: We opened up our research to a bigger community. So we were four curators, not authors. The idea is that it is a collective story of over 80 Arab women graphic designers that we are telling together, so there isn’t a single authority or voice.”The first step for the co-editors was to focus on themes, the types of stories they want to tell. For Shehab, the choice was clear. “I love everything about Arabic design — its calligraphy, letters and typography — so I chose to work on Ladies of Letters: women who are as passionate about Arabic letters as I am. Each of us worked on a topic that she felt eager to explore in-depth.” The book explores themes of Visual Storytelling by Women, Engaged Image-Making for Social and Political Commentary, Ladies of Letters (connecting generations of women writers and designers) and Navigating Diasporic Identities. Focusing on the work and impact of Arab women graphic designers, illustrators, calligraphers and typographers, the book includes critical writing, testimonials, primary documents and artwork. The co-editors proposed the project online, collecting reflections on the different themes through Zoom panels and collaboration with a cultural space in Berlin, Germany for people to share their insights and recommend women in the field who can be featured in the book. “That physical space became our living research space, with sticky notes, observations, posters and new books. It was the first time for us to experiment with collective crowd-sourced research, and it was an enriching experience,” Shehab says.Questionnaires were then sent out to women graphic designers, asking them to tell their own stories. “In the book, we are not reflecting on how they feel or assuming the meaning of their work. They are choosing what stories they want to tell — in their own words,” affirmed Shehab. 
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The Secret to a Long Life

With less than 1,400 cases of supercentenarians in history, the exceedingly rare occurrence of living past 110 is a sought-after phenomenon in the research on human longevity. However, Sungsoo Chun, professor at AUC’s Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology, points out that the experimental methods used to research each case differs, with each country’s experts typically studying their supercentenarians independently. This creates problems when comparing results, making it difficult to generalize or draw scientific conclusions that apply beyond each individual case. “We need to collectivize existing and future studies to find the secret behind extreme longevity,” Chun says.To do this, Chun started a cohort study network composed of international subject matter experts. This method pools together existing data on supercentenarians while the network designs a protocol to standardize future research in this area of study. The protocol, which will determine the specific cohort design and data points to be collected in future studies, will connect all research on supercentenarians, allowing longevity researchers to work together. “Without the collaboration of global experts, it’s impossible,” says Chun. The Global Supercentenarian Cohort Network Study conference, which was hosted at AUC in May 2025, brought researchers one step closer to finalizing a protocol. “Two years ago, we set up the network with 42 study panel members from around the world, and they all shared their insights. Accordingly, we developed a draft of the protocol,” he says. “This conference was one of the final stages to global experts reaching a consensus.” 
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New Academic Programs

Music MajorThe music program within the Department of Arts has remodeled its music technology and musical arts in performance majors into a singular music major. Students within the major now have the option to choose a concentration in either music technology or music performance. Non-music majors still have the option to minor in either music technology or music performance. Restructuring the major is designed to consolidate what both programs originally shared and streamline the majors process to define their concentration."Aligning the concentrations and putting them under one roof allows for a much streamlined format so students can plan a four-year degree,” said David Rafferty, associate professor of practice and director of the music program. “With the restructuring, all music students can be in the same prerequisite classes together, such as Arabic and Western Music Theory, before breaking out into specific genres and specializations.” By giving all students the same baseline, the program can continue to grow and flourish as a united music community. “It's a fresh start that allows us to focus on our strengths — such as Arabic music, jazz, pop and rock — which many of our students are passionate about,” said Rafferty.Sustainable Energy MinorThe Department of Petroleum and Energy Engineering’s new sustainable energy minor was created for students who are interested in sustainable energy and environment. The program is open to any students in the School of Sciences and Engineering (SSE), except those already majoring in petroleum engineering. For students curious about sustainable development, energy policy and climate innovation, this program offers a mix of core engineering and economics courses that suit those interests. “Graduates of the program will be well-prepared for careers in the renewable energy sector, sustainability consulting, environmental policy and energy systems design,” said Abdelaziz Khlaifat, professor and department chair. “The sustainable energy minor is designed to give students a solid foundation in energy systems, renewable technologies and sustainability practices. It offers a pathway for SSE students to be more environmentally conscious and align with industry standards emphasizing sustainability, innovation and systems integration.”Genomics and Biotechnology Specialization Genomics and biotechnology are now being offered as a specialization for biology majors, alongside ecology and conservation biology. In the growing genome-based fields within academia and industry, a concentration in genomics can offer key insight into the fundamentals of biological science. Students will have the opportunity to choose from classes like Bioinformatics, Molecular Biology of the Gene, and Cellular and Molecular Immunology, and Tumor Biology, in addition to the biology core requirements. “This specialization isn’t just about preparing students for careers in academia or industry,” said Ahmed Moustafa, professor of bioinformatics and genomics data science. “It also aligns directly with Egypt’s national vision and the global shift toward precision medicine. With the Egypt Genome Project underway, there’s a significant investment in genome-centered healthcare that will open new opportunities in research, diagnostics and therapies. Our goal with this program is to ensure that our students are equipped for these opportunities. They will graduate with the knowledge and skills to participate in these advancements and help shape the future of precision medicine in Egypt, across the region and around the world.”
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