Music Technology Hackathon: Build the Future of Creative Tools

Jesse Engel is a lead research scientist on Magenta, a research project within Google DeepMind exploring the role of machine learning in creative applications. He did his Bachelors and PhD at UC Berkeley, studying the Martian atmosphere and quantum dot nanoelectronics respectively, and a joint postdoc at Berkeley and Stanford on neuromorphic computing. Afterward, he worked with Andrew Ng to help found the Baidu Silicon Valley AI Lab and was a key contributor to DeepSpeech 2. He joined Google Brain in 2016, where his research on Magenta includes creating new generative models for audio, symbolic music, adapting to user preferences, and work to close the gap between research and musical applications. Some of his projects include NSynth, MusicVAE, GANSynth, DDSP, MT3, SingSong, MusicLM, MusicAISandbox, and Lyria RealTime.

Jonathan Rochelle is a product leader and entrepreneur currently building AI-powered music technology at Lutely. He previously led product teams at LinkedIn and Zapier, and earlier at Google he helped shape products including Sheets, Docs, Drive, Forms, Classroom, and Jamboard, bringing collaborative tools to hundreds of millions of people.

Jonathan Wyner is head of artistic technology initiatives for BEATL (Berklee Emerging Artistic Technology Lab), professor of music production and engineering at Berklee College of Music, and an instructor at Berklee Online. He is also the chief engineer at M Works Studios in Somerville, Massachusetts; past president of the Audio Engineering Society (AES); and former education director for iZotope. A musician, performer, producer, and engineer, he has mastered and produced more than 5,000 recordings over the last 40 years, with credits including James Taylor, David Bowie, Aerosmith, Kiri Te Kanawa, Aimee Mann, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Pink Floyd, Josh Groban, Bruce Springsteen, and Nirvana. At BEATL, his work centers on helping artists, educators, and industry leaders engage with AI and other emerging technologies in ways that are grounded in real musical practice and attentive to questions of authorship, identity, and impact. As an advisor to music and technology companies — including iZotope, Suno, Softube, and Moises — he represents the perspective of working musicians and educators in the development of creative tools.

Lillia Betz is the Head of AI R&D at Ableton. Originally from France and with a background in classical music education, she earned a degree in Electronic Production and Design at Berklee College of Music. Having worked as a freelancer in Los Angeles, she joined Ableton ten years ago, where she became Head of Max for Live. In her current position, she continues to drive innovation, focusing on AI’s positive impact on artists and the creative process.

Michele Darling is the chair of the Electronic Production and Design Department at Berklee College of Music. An accomplished sound designer, composer, recording engineer, and educator, she brings a unique combination of professional experience and passion for electronic music and sound design to our jury panel. Darling worked for many years as part of an Emmy Award–winning production team at Sesame Workshop, composing music and creating sound design for Muppets characters. Her career includes sound work for animated television shows such as Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh!. She is also a founding member of Aerostatic, composing audio environments for films, installations, and music performances featured in galleries and festivals worldwide.

Christian Steinmetz is a Research Scientist at Suno, where he works on foundational research for large-scale music generation models. He earned his PhD from Queen Mary University of London and has a background in machine learning, audio signal processing, and audio engineering, with a focus on high-quality music and audio production. Previously, he conducted research at Meta, Adobe, Dolby, and Bose. His work centers on building audio technologies that connect research with practical creative tools for musicians and audio creators.

Jean-Baptiste "JB" Thiebaut is CEO of Music Hackspace and Chordline Ventures. He holds a PhD in computer music from Queen Mary University of London and built a career bridging R&D, product, and community in music technology. He has led programmes and teams focused on creative coding and music technology education, supporting thousands of artists and developers to ship new tools, prototypes, and products. His work sits at the intersection of research, hands-on making, and ecosystem building across the global music tech community.

Jesse Engel is a lead research scientist on Magenta, a research project within Google DeepMind exploring the role of machine learning in creative applications. He did his Bachelors and PhD at UC Berkeley, studying the Martian atmosphere and quantum dot nanoelectronics respectively, and a joint postdoc at Berkeley and Stanford on neuromorphic computing. Afterward, he worked with Andrew Ng to help found the Baidu Silicon Valley AI Lab and was a key contributor to DeepSpeech 2. He joined Google Brain in 2016, where his research on Magenta includes creating new generative models for audio, symbolic music, adapting to user preferences, and work to close the gap between research and musical applications. Some of his projects include NSynth, MusicVAE, GANSynth, DDSP, MT3, SingSong, MusicLM, MusicAISandbox, and Lyria RealTime.

Lucas Cantor Santiago is a composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and author. He completed Schubert's Unfinished Symphony with AI, and his work has been performed and featured across major platforms including the Olympics and Super Bowls—alongside winning two Emmys (2008 and 2012). He also invests in music technology as a founder and General Partner at Mindset Music Tech.

Jonathan Rochelle is a product leader and entrepreneur currently building AI-powered music technology at Lutely. He previously led product teams at LinkedIn and Zapier, and earlier at Google he helped shape products including Sheets, Docs, Drive, Forms, Classroom, and Jamboard, bringing collaborative tools to hundreds of millions of people.