The “Alessandro Scarlatti” Conservatory of Music in Palermo is much more than an academic institution: it is a forge of talent, a sonic engine capable of connecting tradition and innovation, research and performance, classical music and experimentation. In this spirit, the Palermo Conservatory now presents itself as the driving force and beating heart of the MUSIC4D – Music Fourth Dimension project, a national and international initiative that aims to redefine musical languages through immersive technologies, artificial intelligence, robotics, environmental soundscapes, and augmented reality.

Founded in 1618 as the Orphanage of the Good Shepherd and later becoming one of the oldest and most prestigious European conservatories, the “Scarlatti” is today led by Director Mauro Visconti—a national point of reference—supported by a faculty team that combines high-level artistic training with openness to contemporary languages. The Conservatory is a promoter of the Network of Sicilian Conservatories and leads the MUSIC4D project, in partnership with academic institutions, universities, research centers, and national and international cultural partners.

At the core of the project lies a radical challenge: to place musical creation at the center of technological innovation, bringing back acoustic sensitivity, the sonic body, and human intelligence into dialogue with machines, data, and digital networks. Palermo, with its millennia-long intercultural vocation and recent cultural resurgence, is the ideal setting for such a reflection: a city that sounds, welcomes, and reimagines.

The Scarlatti Conservatory is not merely a logistical hub but a living space for production, sharing, and experimentation. Its auditorium, composition labs, digital classrooms, and instrument park become theaters for immersive performances, augmented concerts, and interdisciplinary experiments among musicians, engineers, choreographers, directors, scientists, and students.

The objective is clear: to transform the Conservatory from a temple of tradition into a laboratory of the future. This vision does not deny its roots—one need only consider the centrality of the Composition School or orchestral and choral activities—but rather projects them into the fourth dimension, where the arts, sciences, and technologies converge.

Throughout 2025 and 2026, the Conservatory will be a protagonist of a series of international events: augmented reality concerts, artistic residencies, and performances in Palermo, New York, Vienna, London, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, and South America. This is a challenge that speaks of a South that innovates, a Mediterranean that generates culture, and a musical Italy with the courage to look beyond.

With MUSIC4D, the “Alessandro Scarlatti” Conservatory strengthens its mission: to train musicians as global citizens, capable of navigating the new creative spaces with skill and freedom. No longer just interpreters, but architects of sound and builders of worlds.

Note: The MUSIC4D project is coordinated by Fabio Crescente, Conservatory professor and member of the Academic Council, and Giuseppe Vasapolli, professor of Jazz Orchestration and Conducting. Both play key roles in the planning and implementation of the project’s activities.