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A class of University of Michigan students will be performing the first-ever live orchestra performance using iPhones on December 9. The students are part of a course (another first of its kind) taught by computer science professor and musician Georg Essl.

The course shows that computer science is emerging as a field with more than just programming ambitions—it combines mobile development, engineering, sound synthesis, and interactive media arts. You can view a video of the students in action here.

According to 9to5 Mac:

The touch-screen, microphone, GPS, compass, wireless sensor, and accelerometer can all be transformed so that when a performer runs their finger across the display, blows air into the mic, tilts or shakes the phone, for example, different sounds emanate.

Students then compose for these new instruments and ultimately perform their works. Because the course brings together so many aspects of engineering, composition, and performance, the class demands a high degree of both creativity and technological savvy.

This definitely won’t be the last artistic endeavor we see utilizing the iPhone, or other mobile devices. Now that mobile devices are so powerful (1Ghz and dual-core phones are coming sooner than you think), they’re also emerging as creative tools for both amateurs and professional artists alike.

In a way it’s almost poetic—give humans tools, and somehow art surfaces.

[Source: 9to5 Mac]