Alexander Sigman is a composer, researcher, educator, and software engineer whose work lives at the intersection of music, cognition, and technology. With academic roots in music and cognitive science from Rice University and a doctorate in composition from Stanford, Sigman’s path blends deep theoretical expertise with experimental creativity. He has held faculty positions in Japan and the U.S., most notably at Yamanashi Gakuin University’s iCLA and NYU Steinhardt.
As Artistic Co-Director of MAACM and Managing Director of Ensemble Modelo62, Sigman has championed innovative performance practices and contemporary music. His compositions, featured on labels like Carrier and New Focus, reflect a fascination with media hybridity, auditory perception, and machine learning. Now based in Luxembourg, he serves as a Research and Development Engineer at AIVA Technologies, helping shape the future of AI-generated music.
His projects have crossed international borders and disciplinary boundaries, earning him recognition as a forward-thinking voice in both artistic and scientific communities.
Early Life and Education
Alexander Sigman’s early life reflects a unique blend of intellectual rigor and artistic curiosity. From the outset, he displayed a rare aptitude for both the sciences and the arts, a duality that would come to define his academic and creative journey. His decision to pursue undergraduate studies at Rice University was shaped by a desire to explore the intricate connections between music, human cognition, and technological systems. There, he majored in Music and Cognitive Science, laying the conceptual groundwork for his later explorations into how sound is processed, perceived, and structured in both biological and digital contexts.
Following his time at Rice, Sigman deepened his engagement with the avant-garde and experimental music traditions by enrolling in the Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition program at Stanford University. At Stanford, he was immersed in a cutting-edge research environment that encouraged interdisciplinary thinking and boundary-pushing artistic practice. His doctoral work focused on integrating multimedia, algorithmic processes, and conceptual frameworks drawn from cognitive science into music composition.
Eager to expand his understanding of electronic sound and computer music, Sigman continued his studies at the prestigious Institute of Sonology at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. The one-year program provided a specialized foundation in digital signal processing, sound synthesis, and algorithmic composition. Skills that have since become integral to his artistic and academic practice.
Recognizing the increasing convergence of data, computation, and creativity in the 21st century, Sigman pursued further training through a Data Science Fellowship at the NYC Data Science Academy. This experience equipped him with programming and machine learning expertise, tools that have empowered him to blur the lines between composer and technologist in his work with intelligent music systems, auditory design, and interdisciplinary research.
This rich and multifaceted educational path did more than equip Sigman with degrees. It enabled him to cultivate a perspective that embraces complexity, innovation, and cross-domain fluency. His academic background continues to inform not only his compositions and performances but also his teaching, research, and technological development projects. Whether guiding students, developing auditory interfaces, or collaborating on AI-generated music, Sigman draws upon this formative period of deep study and exploration.
Age
Alexander Sigman was born in 1980 in Ringoes, New Jersey, USA. As of 2025, that makes him approximately 45 years old. His career spans over two decades, during which he has established himself as a composer, educator, and researcher working at the intersection of music, technology, and cognitive science.
Career
Alexander Sigman’s career is defined by a relentless drive to fuse musical expression with technological innovation. Since emerging as a force in contemporary composition, Sigman has carved a path that bridges experimental music, computer science, multimedia design, and education. His career reflects a deep engagement with the evolving role of the composer in the digital age.
He first gained recognition as a composer and performer, with a distinctive voice shaped by his interdisciplinary academic background. Sigman’s music is known for its complex structures and integration of electronics, video, and algorithmic processes. His compositions have been performed internationally and are featured on respected contemporary music labels such as Carrier Records and New Focus Recordings, often showcasing his command of extended techniques, spatialized sound, and multimedia integration.
In parallel with his creative work, Sigman has maintained a dynamic role as an educator and program leader. He was a founding faculty member and Music Program Director at the International College of Liberal Arts (iCLA) at Yamanashi Gakuin University in Japan. There, he helped design and implement a curriculum that merged Western classical traditions with new media and global perspectives. His pedagogical approach reflects his belief in holistic, interdisciplinary learning, where theory, performance, and technology coexist fluidly. He later taught as Adjunct Faculty at NYU Steinhardt, contributing to one of the United States’ leading programs in music technology and composition.
In addition to academia, Sigman has engaged in artistic leadership roles. He served as Artistic Co-Director of the Menlo-Atherton Academy of Contemporary Music (MAACM) in California, an initiative that nurtures experimental music and media art. He also worked as Managing Director of Ensemble Modelo62, a contemporary music collective based in The Hague, Netherlands, dedicated to performing new and challenging repertoire. Under his guidance, both organizations emphasized collaboration, risk-taking, and boundary-pushing projects that reflect Sigman’s own artistic sensibilities.
His interests naturally led him to work at the intersection of music and artificial intelligence. In recent years, he has focused increasingly on sound design, auditory display, and machine listening. This shift culminated in his current position as a Research and Development Engineer at AIVA Technologies, an AI music company based in Luxembourg. At AIVA, Sigman plays a pivotal role in shaping how artificial intelligence can serve expressive and functional roles in music creation. He contributes to developing intelligent systems for composing, orchestrating, and analyzing music—bringing his compositional intuition into dialogue with statistical modeling and deep learning frameworks.
Beyond the confines of institutions, Sigman’s work has consistently crossed cultural and disciplinary borders. He has participated in residencies and conferences across Europe, Asia, and North America, presenting research and performances that interrogate the relationship between human perception, machine behavior, and artistic expression. His writings and lectures often dwell on the implications of AI, cognitive science, and experimental performance techniques, positioning him as a thought leader in emergent fields.
Throughout his multifaceted career, one constant remains: a dedication to pushing beyond traditional boundaries. Whether composing a robot opera, teaching emerging musicians, or building neural networks for sonic analysis, Alexander Sigman exemplifies the modern composer-technologist—one who navigates music’s past while scripting its future.