The way music is created is changing entirely.
The Future Music Oregon program at the University’s School of Music and Dance has taken technology by the reins to create a music degree focused on the creation of music with new technology and media. 
“For me, I can think of no application of technology that is more humane and loving than to create beautiful music and art,” said Jeffrey Stolet, professor and director of Intermedia Music Technology at the University, or FMO.
Though the application of music and technology has mostly been focused on the technical aspects, such as sound recording or editing, FMO focuses on the musical expression and composition technology can create.
The courses students take emphasize music composition, performance and real-time media environments. The program offers the option to receive a Bachelor of Science with a music technology option, or a master’s or doctoral degree in Intermedia Music Technology.
Unlike many arts or music programs, FMO puts a great deal of emphasis on scientific knowledge.
“You take classes like physics and computer sciences. It’s good to have a background in Web design, computer science, (music) performance or recording engineering,” Simon Hutchinson, graduate teaching fellow in music technology, said.
Another difference is the medium in which students create music.
Creating music with an instrument, for example, requires someone to put physical energy into something to produce sound, and typically that instrument only produces one specific part of the overall piece. But the “data-based instruments” students use at FMO are radically different than that of the acoustic model of music.
The data-based instruments vary greatly and include sensors of various types, game controllers, video analysis software and recent technology like Apple’s iPhone, iPod Touch, or the iPad.
“Because this new type of instrument, where data has replaced energy, is such a radical departure in the history of music, work in this area is proving to be of increased importance,” Stolet said.
The end result of music technology projects can be quite elaborate, mixing music and science often with multiple art forms, such as visual art or dance. Music technology could be used to retell a myth or story, for example, with electronic composition that mixes narration, music and dance to tell the story.
As abstract as it sounds, Stolet thinks the use of music technology is how we in this era can represent today’s music and its significance.
Stolet said he fears that in the future, people will look back on this musical period and find nothing unique or current about it.
“One way to assure that we don’t fall prey to such tragedy is to use technologies, devices and concepts that have been developed only recently and are, therefore, specifically of our time,” he said. “These technologies, devices and concepts represent our thinking and our ways of working.”
This idea of electronic composition and “future music” technology is spreading in use worldwide.
The program’s upcoming concert,”Sonic Rain Concert: Music Technology Around the World,” will feature the best sonic-based works out of the 300 submissions from around the world. Countries chosen include the U.S., France, China, the U.K. and Colombia.
” (The concert) might be described as ‘acousmatic,’ that is, sound where one hears the sound, but does not see the originating sound source. For me, this makes such concerts different, mysterious and magical,” Stolet said.
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