The Boyer College of Music and Dance presents Mari Kimura in the Temple Performing Arts Center chapel.

MUGIC®: Mastery over Novelty — A Lasting Tool for Musicianship and the Performing Arts

This lecture explores a pivotal shift in the relationship between technology and the performing arts—from chasing novelty to cultivating mastery. Violinist, composer, and technologist Mari Kimura presents MUGIC® (Music/User Gesture Interface Control), a groundbreaking motion sensor designed to deepen, not replace, musicianship.           

Unlike many fleeting tech innovations, MUGIC® is a lightweight, wearable device that captures expressive gestures in real time, converting them into control data for sound, visuals, and interactive media. Designed with performers in mind, it emphasizes expressivity, accessibility, and longevity—offering a sustainable model for integrating technology into the arts, education, and therapeutic practices.

A highlight of the system is the MUGIC® Glove, a custom-designed wearable glove engineered for comfort, precision, and versatility. Crafted from hypoallergenic, breathable materials, the glove supports both rapid and nuanced movements. Medical-grade Velcro patches allow the sensor to be attached not only to the glove but also to costumes, props, instruments, or other body parts, expanding creative potential far beyond a single form.      

Drawing from over a decade of development and real-world application—from interdisciplinary curricula to stages such as Lincoln Center, the Venice Biennale, and Expo 2025 Osaka—Kimura showcases how mastering a robust, intuitive tool fosters deeper expression and long-term artistic growth.

Mari Kimura is a visionary violinist, composer, technologist, and entrepreneur whose work bridges performance, innovation, and education. A recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship, Harvard University’s Fromm Commission, and a residency at IRCAM in Paris, she was awarded the 2025 SEAMUS Award for lifetime achievement in electroacoustic music. The Carnegie Corporation honored her as an “Immigrant: Pride of America” in recognition of her artistic and technological contributions.
Hailed by The New York Times as a “virtuoso playing at the edge,” Kimura is internationally recognized for inventing the subharmonics technique, an extended bowing method that enables violinists to produce pitches an octave below the instrument’s natural range. As a performer, she has premiered landmark works by composers including John Adams, Luciano Berio, Tania León, and Salvatore Sciarrino, and has collaborated extensively with improvisers and experimental musicians such as Elliott Sharp, Henry Kaiser, and Jim O’Rourke.

Kimura has served on the faculty of The Juilliard School since 1998 and joined the University of California, Irvine in 2017 as Professor of Music in Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology. In 2020, she launched MUGIC® (Music/User Gesture Interface Control), a compact motion-sensor system that transforms physical gesture into expressive control of sound and media, now used internationally at major institutions and festivals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she earned an MBA from UC Irvine’s Merage School of Business and received congressional recognition for her achievements in innovation and entrepreneurship.

This event is free and open to the public.