A robot is set to conduct the National Orchestra of Korea through a performance on 30 June in what will be first in that country.

EveR6, the robot conductor. Image courtesy of National Theatre of Korea.

Named EveR6, the android will follow a pre-programmed path, after having been trained using motion capture information of baton movements and speed as performed by a live conductor. With joints allowing for rapid, precise and flexible movements, EveR6 is also able to convey emotion through expression. Developed last year by the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, it does not have the capability to generate material or interact with its performers – yet.

In the orchestra’s program Absence (also known as Disproof), EveR6 will lead a solo performance and then join conductor Choi Soo-yeol in a collaborative performance of Sense by composer Ill Hoon Son, a work that offers instructions rather than scores to its performers, and which requires an unusual degree of communication between players and conductor.