As a composer in San Francisco, Tarik O'Regan is at the epicentre of the collision of classical music and AI.
In San Francisco now, there's the same buzz as in the early 00s' tech boom. But 'old tech' is moving out and Silicon Valley has a new nickname: 'Cerebral Valley'. Around Tarik's studio, buildings are constantly bought up for AI start-ups and ‘Hacker Houses’ - where budding engineers live, eat, code together - proliferate.
And one of AI's fastest areas of development? Music creation. But classical music is part of San Francisco’s life blood. Since the 19th century, it's had a reputation for concert halls and opera houses.
British composer Tarik O’Regan takes a personal journey around the city he now calls home, riding a driverless taxi to talk to figures from both the tech and classical music worlds. Will AI ultimately turn his professional career into a hobby, or will it prove a useful tool to human composers?
He talks to Tamara Rojo from San Francisco Ballet, composer Mason Bates, and composer and AI entrepreneur Ed Newton-Rex, and uses AI to compose a new work to be performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
Production co-ordinator, Stuart Laws
Sound designer, Jonathan Thomas; Andrew Smillie
Producer, Fay Lomas, BBC Audio Wales
With thanks to Steve Jang and Catherine Robinson
