On the evening of October 6, Yerevan’s iconic Republic Square will set the scene for WCIT 2019’s opening ceremony. Spectators will be treated to an unprecedented concert blending human and computer talent like never before.

The orchestra was created to perform for the first time at the WCIT 2019 opening ceremony. Grammy award winning DJ Armin Van Buuren will perform. The orchestra musicians are already arriving in Armenia (video). The main rehearsal for the performance will be on October 5.

The WCIT Orchestra, composed of musicians from 15 countries, which have hosted the forum in the past 40 years will perform on stage the music composed by AI in real time. The orchestra will have 100 musicians, including 30 from Armenia. The participating host nations include Canada, the Netherlands, Malaysia, the United States, Greece, Taipei, Spain, Japan, France, Denmark, Mexico, Brazil, Australia and India.

The concert will be performed under the baton of Maestro Sergey Smbatyan, the Artistic Director, and Principal Conductor of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra. The Orchestra will be accompanied by an AI software whose programmed to incorporate the musical DNA of all 15 countries, including uniquely Armenian compositions. Renowned Armenian composer Aram Khachaturyan’s most acclaimed composition, The Sabre Dance, will be brought into the digital age, with awe-inspiring 3D mapping projected onto Republic Square.

“Initially, we have intended to make the IT World Congress in Yerevan an unforgettable and remarkable event: this is one of the surprises we have prepared for the international community to show the Armenian innovative thought. As it is known, the music will be composed by artificial intelligence, which we call artificial talent. We prove that the center of the world is where there is talent and innovation, in this particular case in Yerevan’s heart, in the Republic Square,” said the president of the Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises (UATE), Alexander Yesayan.

“It is considered that technologies distance people. With the creation of the WCIT global orchestra we break that stereotype: the orchestra unites musicians from different countries providing a new platform for communication. Both music and technologies contribute to this union as a means of communication. As a rule, world orchestras are formed around an idea.

By the creation of the WCIT orchestra the IT world highlights the power of art and music. Thus, the IT world promotes the development of classical music,” said Artistic Director, and Principal Conductor of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra Sergey Smbatyan.

The ceremony will conclude with the hypnotic sound of world-class musical innovator Armin Van Buuren. His show will be accompanied by psychedelic visual effects. Armin Van Buuren is a Grammy-winning DJ and record producer, whose unique mixes are credited with erupting trance music into a global sensation. Van Buuren’s heavy schedule includes headlining at over 150 concerts per year. He also leads some of the world’s biggest festivals, including Electric Daisy Carnival, Ultra Music Festival and Tomorrowland.