Overview
On October 10, 2026, an international interactive workshop on quantum technology, music, and creative expression was held at Kobe University, organized by the EP4A (Souma) Laboratory, Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University, in cooperation with EntangleTune. Approximately 50 people attended, including researchers and students from scientific and technological fields, people involved in music and the arts, and members of the wider public, to explore emerging connections between quantum computing and creative practice.
The programme included introductory talks on quantum computing and its applications to music, two specially invited talks, seven poster and demonstration presentations, and a quantum computer music concert.
Opening talks and quantum computer music demonstration (Part 1)
Satofumi Souma (Kobe University) opened the workshop with an introduction to fundamental concepts in quantum computing, followed by Eduardo Reck Miranda (University of Plymouth, UK), who spoke about quantum computing and musical creativity.
Following the talks, Miranda first introduced and demonstrated quantum computer music systems developed by his research group. One example was “Q1Synth”, which allows users to manipulate qubit states on the Bloch sphere and incorporate those states and measurement outcomes into sound synthesis. Participants were also invited to access the system on their own devices and try it themselves.
Souma and Miranda then performed an interactive session linking a cello and a synthesizer through a remote physical quantum computer. The cello’s audio signal was captured through an audio interface and processed in real time using Python before being transmitted via a MIDI interface to Miranda’s system. This enabled real-time interaction with a quantum computer located overseas, with the quantum computation results reflected in the synthesizer performance.
Special invited talks (Part 2)
The programme included two special invited talks. Daichi Ando (Tokyo Metropolitan University) presented “AI-driven exploration of musical writing and compositional technique”, discussing how AI can be used to explore compositional techniques, including harmonic progressions. Yukiko Yoden (Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, Kobe University) presented “Composing Space: Exploring Musical Expression through Multichannel Sound”, discussing approaches to composition involving sound placement and movement, as well as the acoustic characteristics of architectural spaces.
Poster and demonstration session (Part 3)
The poster and demonstration session comprised seven presentations covering research and creative practice in music information science, composition and musical expression, acoustics and cognition, quantum computer music, and quantum information science.
Following short introductory presentations, approximately one hour was devoted to discussions between presenters and participants. The workshop was attended by researchers and practitioners from both science and technology and music and the arts, as well as students and members of the public.
Quantum computer music concert (Part 4)
In the final part of the workshop, Eduardo Reck Miranda (University of Plymouth, UK) performed two works, I Don’t Know How, But I Will Find a Way and Collapse Variations. The concert was a separate programme from the cello demonstration in Part 1.
I Don’t Know How, But I Will Find a Way combines three approaches to quantum computer music: QuSing, a quantum AI system that communicates with a quantum computer during performance, listens to musical patterns, and responds in real time; PhotonSynth, which translates the behaviour of photons into sound; and a system based on Partitioned Quantum Cellular Automata (PQCA). Rhythmic patterns generated using 96 qubits on an IBM quantum computer were prepared in advance, as were the sounds produced using PhotonSynth, and incorporated alongside QuSing’s live musical responses.
Collapse Variations incorporates quantum superposition and measurement into its musical structure. Drone-like textures accompany the preparation of a quantum state, with sound modulated by the performer’s gestures; an action corresponding to quantum measurement then produces a particular melodic variation. Repeating the preparation and measurement process gives rise to different musical realizations.
Both works were accompanied by visual projections created by Tiange Wang, featuring graphics inspired by wave dynamics in quantum mechanics that responded to the music in real time.
Related activities
EntangleTune conducts research and development on applications of quantum technology to music and creative expression. Further details of the programme and presentations are available on the Kobe University workshop website linked below.