From AI-generated compositions to personalized playlists with warm, voice-guided interludes tailored to your listening habits, artificial intelligence has a resounding presence in the music world of the future. However, its impact on artistry remains hotly debated. Multi-instrumentalist, composer, data scientist and researcher Cameron Summers will join U of A faculty members Nikola Radan (flute), Jake Hertzog (electric guitar), Garrett Jones (double bass) and Chris Peters (drums) for an Honors College House Concert offering a peek into the music of the future, where the audience will take an active role in creating the soundscape. 

“I’m interested in the connection between music and well-being,” Summers said. “There’s a growing concern that AI, whether through social media algorithms or creative automation, is contributing to anxiety and fear. People worry about job loss, about what the future holds. So I thought, what if we flipped that narrative? What if a concert like this could be centered on healthful interaction, using technology to create connection rather than fear?” 

The Honors College House Concert returns at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2, with an evening of live music in the warm, inviting glow of the Honors Student Lounge (GEAR 130). With soft lighting, comfortable seating and the easy closeness of a living room performance, the setting offers an intimate, relaxed atmosphere. 

The concert is free and open to all. Guests are encouraged to arrive early to find a seat. Parking is available in the Harmon Avenue Parking Garage. 

Attendees should register in advance here. Students may use their UARK ID to log in; community members may register using a guest account. 

Trained as a mechanical engineer, Summers made a bold pivot after graduation  to study jazz trumpet at the Manhattan School of Music. He’s performed across the U.S., Europe and Japan with nationally recognized artists and composers.

When live music hit pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, Summers dove back into his engineering roots, pioneering cutting-edge technology that lets computers listen to music the way humans do. His innovations power music discovery for giants like Apple, Spotify, Google and Amazon. He also landed a contract with the U.S. National Park Service to build an AI tool that automatically detects bird species in audio recordings, now assisting ecology research in Alaska. 

Radan notes that while many students are already using AI platforms to generate music, the technology Summers will demonstrate offers a dramatically different experience from what’s currently available to the public. Rather than replacing musicians, Summers is developing tools designed to assist those who already know how to create and produce music. 

“The heart of this performance is live music — live musicians, live sound,” Summers said. “That’s not only more engaging for the collaborators, but it also offers something essential for a generation so used to interacting with art through screens. So much of what we experience now, especially tech-driven music or AI-generated content, is static — it lives online. This concert is about creating reasons to gather, to experience something real and immediate, something that feels new and good and grounded in community, both for the performers and the audience.”  

The concert will be followed by a Q&A with Summers on the future of AI in music technology. As both a musician and a researcher working where sound meets machine learning, Summers recognizes both the excitement and promise AI holds, as well as the skepticism and fear that come with it, concerns he believes are entirely warranted but in need of open, thoughtful conversation and scholarly investigation.  

“I think it’s really important to talk about these things head-on,” he said. “We’ve built institutions to help us wrestle with big questions—law, government, the humanities—and now we’re facing new ones with AI. There’s this idea of just waiting to see how it all shakes out, but I think there’s real value in engaging with it now. No one knows exactly what’s coming, but the more we talk about it, the better our chances of shaping something worthwhile.” 

ABOUT CAMERON SUMMERS

Summers is a composer, performer and technologist who blends music and technology into engaging sonic experiences. He has performed across the United States, Europe and Japan, including appearances with the Foo Fighters at the Grammy Awards, John Paul Jones, Juliette Lewis, Ravi Coltrane and David Liebman. He has toured nationally with Broadway shows and the American Wind Symphony Orchestra, and performed on the double Grammy-nominated album Elevation by film composer Patrick Williams. 

A winner at the National Trumpet Competition in Washington, D.C., Summers holds a Master of Music in jazz trumpet from the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Jon Faddis and Scott Wendholt. 

In 2013, he brought his music and technology interests together in Silicon Valley, where he developed novel AI algorithms for music discovery used by Apple, Spotify, Google and Amazon. His work has led to peer-reviewed publications and patents, and he continues to develop artist-first AI music creation tools. 

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a deep reassessment of how he engages with music — not just as a performer, but as a listener, creator and collaborator. The interruption of live performance created space to reimagine the role of technology in musical expression, leading to his current project: a hybrid of composition, improvisation and AI-driven interactivity that explores new forms of emotional and embodied connection through sound. 

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About the Honors College: The University of Arkansas Honors College was established in 2002 and brings together high-achieving undergraduate students and the university’s top professors to share transformative learning experiences. Each year the Honors College awards fellowships that provide $80,000 over four years, and more than $1 million in undergraduate research and study abroad grants. The Honors College is nationally recognized for the high caliber of students it admits and graduates. Honors students enjoy small, in-depth classes, and programs are offered in all disciplines, tailored to students’ academic interests, with interdisciplinary collaborations encouraged. All Honors College graduates have engaged in mentored research.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $3 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.