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MIDI Association Presentations on the Music China 2024 X Stage

The MIDI Association

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Music China and the Chinese Musical Instrument Association (CMIA) have really stepped up their support for MIDI and digital music making and right next to The MIDI Association booth was the X Stage where we did a number of presentations over the course of 4 days.

Brian Hardgroove and Sennheiser Immersive Audio Presentation

Because of a long standing relationship, Sennheiser supported Brian Hardgroove’s appearance at Music China’s opening performance. He also did the first presentation on the X Stage next to The MIDI Association. Brian along with IMAC advisory board member Nevin Domer (who ran a punk record label in China and speaks fluent Mandarin) and Zhao Yajun, engineering specialist for Sennheiser presented a talk on the X Stage. Brian focused on the process of cross border, cross cultural communication in working on songs with Bian and Kong and Zhao Yajun focused on Sennheiser products particularly the HD490 Pro headphones.

A pair of black Sennheiser over-ear wired headphones with a cushioned headband and ear pads, a mesh grille on the ear cups, and a coiled cable, shown on a black background.
Three men are on a stage in front of a Sennheiser backdrop. Two are seated while one stands and speaks into a microphone. A drum set is visible behind them. The event is branded “music CHINA” in the corner.
Three men sit on stage in front of a Sennheiser sign, one speaking into a microphone while the others listen. A drum set is behind them, and the Music China event logo appears in the corner.
Three men sit on stage having a panel discussion at Music China, with drums behind them and a large photo of a singer performing projected in the background. One man speaks into a microphone while the others listen.

The MIDI Association had worked with Music China and Sennheiser so people could come to The MIDI Association booth and register to receive a copy of a song written by Brian which featured Bian on Erhu and Kong on piano and also enter a drawing to win a pair of headphones.

This really helped us increase traffic at the MIDI Association booth.

MIDI Innovation Awards and Chinese Users Choice Awards Presentation

Finalists in the MIDI Innovation Awards were invited to participate in Synthefest UK 2024 , Music China 2024 and NAMM 2025. Here is an article we did Synth Fest UK on the event and a picture of from the event itself.

Three men stand behind a booth at a technology event, showcasing audio equipment, speakers, and various electronic devices. A red sign with MIDI Innovation Awards and QR codes is displayed on the table.
Boaz from Arcana Instruments Strum, Jean Baptiste Thiebaut from The MIDI Innovation Awards and Andrej Kobal from seqMPEror.

At Music China we had a great panel and participation by several of the winners and finalists. Here is the promotional video we created to promote the event at Music China.

MIDI Innovation Awards and Chinese Users Choice Awards

Finalists in the 2024 MIDI Innovation Awards were also entered into the Chinese Users Choice Awards where Music China promoted the products in China and users were able to vote for their favorites.

Audio Modeling won both the MIDI Innovation Awards in the non commercial software category and the Chinese Users Choice Awards. We covered this in our article The MIDI Association At Music China 2024

This picture shows the ranking of the Chinese Users Choice Award winners.

The Chinese User Choice Awards winners

There were a lot of MIDI Innovation Award finalists and winners at Music China including Audio Modeling, Arcana Strum, Party Maker and Flex Accordion.

A group of people on stage present an award in front of a large screen displaying photos of musicians and MIDI software information, as an audience watches and takes photos at Music China.
Audio Modeling explains the UniMIDI Hub at Music China
Haim Kairy holds the Arcana Strum
Haim Kairy holds up the Arcana Strum at the Music Accessibility panel at Music China 2024
A seated audience watches a presentation on stage about Particle Shrine at Music China, with colorful visuals displayed on a screen and speakers standing to the side. The stage is decorated with large music and LAB signs.
Particle Shrine Video at Music China
Flex Accordion and Party Maker performance
Party Maker and Flex Accordian
Party Maker and Flex Accordion
Party Maker
MusicX Stage Music Innovation Awards Presentation

Music Accessibility Presentation

Six panelists are seated on stage discussing The Future of Music Accessibility at the Music China event. Behind them, a large screen displays event details and the session schedule in English and Chinese.

Above is the promotional video we created to promote the event at Music China.

The Music Accessibility presentation at the X Stage featured two 2024 MIDI Innovation Award winners. Arcana Instruments won in the Commercial Hardware category for the Arcana Strum and Audio Modelingwon in the non-commercial software category for UniMIDIHub.

In addition to the MIDI Innovation Award winners, we invited two of brand ambassadors and a special guest, Liang Ge from Kong Audio . He showed up several minutes before the start of the presentation because he was interested in music accessibility. His company develops virtual instruments covering modern and ancient Chinese instruments as well as western orchestral instruments.

His English is great so we roped him into being the translator for the Music Accessibility presentation at the very last minute. Thanks to Kong Audio for their support.

A smiling man in a black shirt sits in front of a dark, illuminated background with the words “music CHINA” partially visible in the lower right corner.
Liang Ge from Kong Audio
A smiling man holds a large, uniquely shaped white controller with various buttons and knobs on stage at an event. The background features a screen and the music CHINA logo is visible in the corner.
Haim Kairy with Arcana Strum

MIDI In Music Education Presentation

With all the support we got last year from Xinghai Conservatory of Music and this year from Shanghai Conservatory of Music, we know that MIDI In Music Education is going to be an important topic in China in the future.

Zhao Yitian and Athan Billias from the MIDI Association executive board gave visitors to Music China an update on our plans to release a MIDI curriculum created by SAE Mexico and encouraged Chinese universities to translate our documents into Chinese.

MusicX stage MIDI in Music Education Music China 2024

In our next article, we’ll cover the 4 hour MIDI Forum that Music China arranged for Saturday, October 12, 2024.