Woodland Hills resident leads robotics and orchestra collaboration

John M. Kennedy, professor of music in the College of Arts and Letters at Cal State LA, is leading a visionary new project that brings together robotics, orchestral performance, and real-time innovation.

The Mars, PA, Robotics and Orchestra Project is a collaboration among Professor Kennedy, the Mars Robotics Association in Pennsylvania, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena.

The project features a newly composed musical work for a traditional ensemble, enhanced by robotic sound generators developed by the students of the Mars Robotics Association. The association is an award-winning STEM group based in the Mars Area School District that engages middle and high school students in advanced robotics design, programming, and engineering.

“In alignment with Cal State LA President Berenecea Johnson Eanes’ call for innovation and the CSU Chancellor’s initiatives around AI, I’m collaborating with a team in Mars, Pennsylvania, to develop a musical work that blends live orchestral performance with real-time robotics,” said Kennedy.

The performance, scheduled for June 7, 2025, will debut in Mars as a centerpiece of the town’s Martian New Year Celebration. A second performance is under consideration for June 5 in Pittsburgh. JPL has offered guidance on integrating robotics and space-themed design elements into the performance.

“This piece celebrates boundless imagination when art and science meet,” Kennedy said. “Throughout the work, conventional and robotic musical instruments combine to tell the story of innovation and discovery, set to images of the Martian landscape.”

In March, Kennedy traveled to Mars to meet with the student engineers and programmers who make up the Mars Robotics Association. Together, they began developing ideas to integrate robotics into a live orchestral context. Since then, the team has continued to meet biweekly via Zoom, collaborating on sound production techniques, interactive design, and the role of robotics in performance art.

A President’s Distinguished Professor at Cal State LA, Kennedy’s creative activity and scholarship have an international focus and include a U.S. Fulbright Scholar Award to the University of Malta and performances of original compositions in 15 countries on four continents. His work has been recognized with annual awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers since 1991, along with commissions from soloists and ensembles worldwide.

A Woodland Hills resident, Kennedy attended the Berklee College of Music and Baldwin Wallace Conservatory, completing undergraduate studies in double bass. He received a fellowship in composition to attend the University of Michigan, where he completed the M.M. and A.Mus.D. While attending Michigan, he was awarded the prestigious Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York.