Beyond the Machine

A Festival of Electro-Acoustic and Intermedia Art @ Juilliard
Edward Bilous, Artistic Director

Beyond the Machine is a multimedia performance environment that offers young musicians, actors and dancers the opportunity to bring their creative ideas to life with digital technology. Our programs feature collaborations with creative artists from around the world who share an interest in new technology and interdisciplinary work.

Beyond the Machine and the resident performing group The Juilliard Electric Ensemble have performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Miller Theater – Columbia University, the Clark Theater at Lincoln Center and the Orpheum Festival for Young Artists in Zurich. 

The Juilliard Electric Ensemble

Collectively, the actors, dancers and musicians who perform in Beyond the Machine are the Juilliard Electric Ensemble. The Juilliard Electric Ensemble was created in 2003 to provide students from all three of Juilliard’s divisions (dance, drama, and music) with an opportunity to use new technology in the creation and performance of interactive and multi-disciplinary work.

In past performances, the Juilliard Electric Ensemble has used interactive technology to expand the range of their instruments, control audio and visual elements with electronic tools, shape video and projection design in real-time by moving through a virtual field and interact with artist and computers around the world via the web.

Since its debut, the Electric Ensemble has performed works by over 50 composers including Joan La Barbara, Kenji Bunch, Eric Chasalow, Sebastian Currier, Avner Dorman, Jonathan Harvey, Jocelyn Pook, Steve Reich, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Morton Subotnick Alejandro Vinao, Jacob Ter Veldhuis, David Wallace, Mark Wood and Peter Wyer.

Since 2010, Beyond The Machine events are held in the new Willson Theater at the Juilliard School.  The Willson Theater was designed with Music Technology Center events in mind and features state-of-the-art audio, lighting and computer systems. The Willson Theater is linked to the Music Technology Center to support and facilitate demanding multimedia productions.

Alumni of Beyond The Machine and The Electric Ensemble include some of today’s most dynamic creative artists:

Music: Mason Bates, BlindEar, Vicky Chow, Jakub Ciupinski, Michelle DiBucci, Avner Dorman, Cornelius Dufallo, Ethel, Ralph Ferris, Ryan Francis, Clarice Jensen, Mari Kimura, Milica Paranosic, Paola Prestini, Adam Schoenberg, Nadia Sirota, Spence Topel, David Wallace, Arianne Warsaw-Fan, Eric Whitaker and Airi Yoshioka.

Dance: Esme Boyce, Charlotte Bydwell, Andrea Miller, Rebecca Stenn, and Yara Travieso. 

Theater: Ian Belton, Kirsten Kelly, Sara Ramierez, Cameron Scoggins, Samantha Soule and Brendan Spieth