Interviews with Hsiaoyi Yu

Our main focus was "how to modernize classical performances without altering or damaging the physical structure of national-level concert halls." Our goal is to create a brand-new "cultural innovation prototype" that transforms traditional pipe organ performances into a profound, immersive, and interactive visual journey. Through this high-tech performative syntax, we hope to deeply engage contemporary "digitally native audiences," allowing classical music to seamlessly enter modern daily life through an innovative approach.

Inspiring Formosa is a highly scalable cultural performance framework. We have already launched the "Ten Halls Project" and simultaneously released digital and physical albums. Starting from the twin cities of Taipei and Kaohsiung, we plan to expand this smart technology-driven performance model to concert halls in cultural capitals worldwide. Using the pipe organ as our medium, we aspire to establish a cultural-tech masterpiece that represents Taiwan, ensuring that Taiwanese creativity continues to resonate in top-tier international venues.

The development of this project started in 2023 in Taipei, Taiwan, undergoing years of incubation and technological breakthroughs. The first iteration made its grand premiere at the National Theater and Concert Hall in Taipei in August 2024. The project was subsequently expanded and presented in an advanced performance at the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) in October 2025, completing the twin-city curatorial framework for this futuristic prototype.

This is a self-initiated cross-disciplinary creation driven by our team's profound sense of mission to promote pipe organ art. We observed the contemporary challenges facing traditional classical concerts, and therefore collaborated with the cutting-edge research and development technology of the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to find a completely new path for Taiwan's pipe organ culture. This is not just a concert; it is a "Taiwanese Cultural Declaration" that we are presenting to the world through technology and art.

Currently, this system is jointly held and utilized by the Formosa Pipe Organ Society and our collaborative teams. Because it is highly modular and scalable, and completely abandons heavy traditional touring props, we are very open to future partnerships—through licensing, international co-productions, or technology exports—with major national venues, arts festivals, and cross-disciplinary brands worldwide. We aim to promote this highly marketable and sustainable performance framework globally.

The pipe organ has a glorious thousand-year history, yet its development in Taiwan spans only about sixty years. The core motivation behind designing this work is the desire to ensure that classical music is no longer just "passively inherited," but perfectly integrated with Taiwan's world-leading technological prowess (such as 5G and Generative AI). We wanted to create a contemporary cultural syntax unique to Taiwan, allowing classical music to exhibit a powerful vitality capable of breathtaking modern audiences. In terms of musical narrative, alongside classic and modern European and American organ works, more importantly, we encourage and develop original Taiwanese organ compositions featuring composers like Tzu-Chin Hsu and Tyzen Hsiao. We also drew inspiration from the film scores of internationally acclaimed director Mi-Sen Wu, weaving cinematic narrative into the performance structure of the classical pipe organ.

For visual design, we were spearheaded by top Taiwanese teams: Peppercorns Interactive Media Art and SANYIN Visual Art Lab. This work is deeply inspired by the artistic paintings of Taiwan's national treasure-level painter Huei-Tung Chen and contemporary artist Hsiang-Yin Chen. Through technology, we transformed their physical paintings into dynamic visuals, allowing classic paintings and pipe organ music to intertwine across time and space.

Our target audience is highly diverse. First are the "digitally native generation" and the general public who enjoy immersive experiences; we use high-sensory audio-visual stimulation to make them fall in love with classical music again. Second are global cultural and artistic institutions, iconic concert halls, and city brand marketing teams; this performance system can provide them with a highly marketable, forward-looking technological performance solution.

Unlike traditional theatrical designs that rely on "pre-recorded videos" or "pre-programmed lighting cues," the greatest uniqueness of Inspiring Formosa lies in its "Real-time Generative" nature. Through a low-latency architecture and a multi-modal AI engine, we instantly translate the acoustic frequencies, timbre, and melodies of the live performance into magnificent architectural projection mapping. Every note triggers a new birth of light, making every performance a one-of-a-kind, unreplicable piece of co-created art.

The name "Inspiring Formosa" (島影情深) encapsulates our deep affection for Taiwan. "Inspiring" not only represents enlightenment and inspiration, but it also echoes the fact that the pipe organ is a living entity that requires "breathing" (airflow) to sound; "Formosa" represents beautiful Taiwan. The Chinese title "島影情深" symbolizes our approach: using music as the core and technology as the bridge, we portray the profound emotions and future visions of this island through light, shadow, and sound.

This is a precision system integrating hardware and software. We used TouchDesigner as the core generative visual engine, integrating a 5G NDI low-latency multi-cam real-time capture system. The computational end combined ITRI's deep-learning multi-modal AI engine with Gaussian Splash simulation technology. For output, we utilized multiple high-lumen projectors for architectural-scale projection mapping, flawlessly synchronizing stage lighting via DMX and ArtNet protocols.

The most unique aspect is "transforming the entire concert hall into a colossal interactive immersive space," much like entering a giant contemporary art museum. Without making any physical alterations or causing damage to national cultural heritage venues, we use non-invasive projection mapping to replace physical stage sets. We instantly transform invisible acoustic energy into a tangible, immersive visual space, making the audience feel as if they are sitting inside the structure of the music itself, showcasing the ultimate aesthetic of cross-disciplinary fusion.

This is a cross-disciplinary collaboration gathering top professionals. The project was initiated by Executive Producer Jeff Lin and myself (Formosa Pipe Organ Society), coordinated by ArtPure Culture & Art International Co., Ltd., and involved deep collaboration with the top scientific research team from the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). We also brought together tech-art teams such as Peppercorns Interactive Media Art and SANYIN Visual Art Lab, with Ms. Yu-Chieh Lin and Director Mi-Sen Wu serving as creative consultants. This is a collective intelligence sparked jointly by curators, performers, AI engineers, and visual artists.

In this design, technology is no longer just a "supporting tool" or "static background," but rather a "Co-creator" and "narrative protagonist." The AI system listens to and analyzes the organist's live performance, instantly generating computational visuals, while 5G technology ensures the ultimate zero-latency interaction between sound and light. Technology has endowed classical art with a completely new form of life, transforming rational algorithms into warm, emotional resonance.

Yes. We conducted in-depth "research on acoustic wave physics and algorithmic applications." Using multiple acoustic sensors, we captured the real-time frequencies, melodic contours, and timbre shifts of the pipe organ performance. This massive amount of live acoustic data was fed into an AI platform for analysis and decoding. The research team conducted rigorous acoustic field testing and on-site experiments at two national concert halls in Taipei and Kaohsiung to ensure perfect synchronization between the sound and the visually generated outputs driven by massive data computation.

The biggest challenge came from the dual pressures of culture and technology. Culturally, we had to infuse a futuristic vision without compromising the solemn historical heritage of the classical pipe organ, while navigating various venue restrictions of the concert halls. Technically, national-level concert halls offer very limited rehearsal time, which severely tested the team's integration capabilities. Furthermore, converting real-time sound into AI visuals is highly prone to severe frame latency. We ultimately overcame these technical bottlenecks by using "non-invasive virtual architectural projection mapping" instead of physical sets, and by integrating a 5G low-latency network architecture.

We hope this is more than just a fleeting spark on a single night. By participating in leading international competitions, we aim to prove to the world that Taiwan is not only a "Silicon Island of Technology" but also possesses the formidable soft power to export "top-tier cultural content," seeking opportunities to replicate this performance model globally. This work has already won numerous international honors, including the French Design Awards, iF Design Award, Global Music Awards (GMA), InterContinental Music Awards (ICMA), and MUSE Design Awards. Through recognition on the international stage, we aspire to establish a global benchmark for cultural innovation, letting the world witness the infinite possibilities of Taiwan's cross-disciplinary art.

This process profoundly taught me the immense power of "crossing boundaries." As the principal organist and curator, I learned about the infinite creative possibilities sparked by cross-disciplinary collaboration. It pushed me to step outside purely auditory thinking and integrate architectural space, visual computation, and the audience's sensory experience into a holistic "performance syntax." During the performance, I must not only manage highly complex organ techniques but also maintain acute real-time interaction with the AI visuals. This is not just a challenge of personal performance skill, but a comprehensive elevation of artistic philosophy.

I would like to add that Inspiring Formosa is not merely a concert; it is a continuously evolving "cultural-tech brand." In addition to releasing a highly collectible twin-city live audio/video physical album (2 CDs + 2 DVDs)—transforming fleeting digital art into a permanent publication—we have gone a step further to collaborate with Taiwanese enterprises such as Karihome, Orient Pharma, and Orient EuroPharma. This seamless extension allows the touching fusion of technology and classical art to fully enter the everyday lives of modern people.

AI is never the protagonist of Inspiring Formosa.Culture is.The project begins with Taiwan’s cultural identity, pipe organ heritage, and the preservation of cultural assets. AI simply helps us make culture more accessible and engaging.I believe technology should not replace humanity. Its greatest value lies in helping culture transcend the limits of time and generations. That is why we adopt a human-centered and culture-centered approach, ensuring that technology serves cultural sustainability rather than the other way around.

I believe that sustainability is not only environmental—it is also cultural.Inspiring Formosa integrates cultural preservation, technological innovation, and public engagement to explore how culture can be preserved, shared, and continuously reimagined in the digital age.I hope this model can be adopted by cultural institutions, cities, and corporate partners, allowing art to become a platform for cultural sustainability, social impact, and international cultural exchange.

The core of Inspiring Formosa is not merely redefining the relationship between music and space, butrethinking the role of cultural heritage in contemporary society.The pipe organ itself embodies music, architecture, craftsmanship, and collective memory. It is acultural asset in its own right.Through generative design and immersive experiences, I hope audiences can move beyond listeningto music and actively engage with culture, discovering how heritage can connect with technology,education, and society.

The greatest challenge was not technological, but cultural.Throughout the creative process, we constantly asked ourselves how innovation could coexist with cultural preservation.The pipe organ carries profound historical and cultural significance. Therefore, our goal was never to let technology dominate the experience, but to help audiences better understand and connect with cultural heritage.Ultimately, Inspiring Formosa is an exploration of cultural sustainability—using contemporary tools to reconnect historical cultural assets with modern society.

For me, visuals are not decorations for music; they are part of cultural storytelling.Through real-time generative technologies, we hope audiences can experience the relationship between music, architecture, space, and cultural memory.When music transforms into moving light and imagery, audiences are not simply watching visuals—they are experiencing culture itself.

I envision Inspiring Formosa as a global platform for cultural exchange rather than simply a touring production.Every city possesses its own cultural memory and heritage. Through the integration of art, technology, and cultural preservation, I hope to create meaningful dialogue across cultures.In the future, I look forward to collaborating with museums, cultural institutions, foundations, and corporations to develop new models of cultural sustainability and international cultural exchange, using art as a bridge between cultures.I believe cultural sustainability requires cross-sector collaboration. In the future, I look forward to working with corporations and broader society to support cultural preservation and international cultural exchange, allowing culture to become a force that connects communities and shapes the future.

The most important idea behind Inspiring Formosa is to rethink the role of culture in shaping the future.As a Taiwanese pipe organist, I believe culture is not merely something to preserve from the past—it is a force that can shape the future.By integrating Taiwanese music, Taiwanese cultural heritage, artistic creation, and digital technology, we hope to share the richness and diversity of Taiwan’s cultural identity with the world while establishing a new model of cultural sustainability—one that keeps culture meaningful, participatory, and alive for future generations while creating new value on the international stage.

I believe cultural heritage should never remain a passive backdrop.Many concert halls and historic buildings carry cultural memory, local history, and community identity.Through Inspiring Formosa, we transform the concert hall from a venue into an active participant in cultural storytelling. By integrating art and technology, architecture becomes part of the cultural experience itself.

I believe the most important elements are not AI, but people and culture.Culture defines the soul of a work, people define its direction, and technology helps us explore new possibilities.For me, the greatest value of AI is not creating content—it is helping us preserve culture, understand heritage, and make cultural assets visible to wider audiences.Technology will become an important partner in cultural sustainability, but culture itself must always remain at the center.