AFRORACKTM is an audio arts organization operating in Chicago and London, with a goal of helping the community develop and thrive through technology resources. They are committed to providing children and young adults of color access to modular synthesizers and sound design tools.

Conversations around the gentrification of house and techno music have become more widely realized in recent years, recognizing the erasure of Black electronic music innovators, particularly in Detroit and Chicago. Yet, within performing arts technology programs in higher education, including the University of Michigan, underrepresentation of BIPOC students andfaculty persists. AFRORACK is a leader in emerging grassroots efforts
tomake music technology accessible to youth of color, supporting the next generation of Black creativity and innovation. This is an important opportunity to foster conversation about the history and appropriation of Black electronic music performance practices, equity and access to music technology education and resources, and strategies for creating change in localcommunities.

About the Speaker:
Aaron Guice is a rising social advocate whose work focuses on community wellness, STEM learning, and technology justice. Born and raised in Chicago, Guice earned a bachelor's degree in Audio Arts and Acoustics at Columbia College (Chicago). Early in his profession, he worked as an on-set recording engineer, later establishing himself as a prominent Los Angeles commercial sound designer. Following a 15 year career with cutting-edge directors and ground-breaking advertisingagencies, his return to Chicago has led to an expansion into the world of modular synthesis. Aaron's new vision for STEM education is a composite style that bridges the gap between communities of color and equity opportunities in the tech industry. Through this unique lens, modular becomes more than just sounds, more than just music, and more than just technology—it's literally a space for new ideas and dialogue, a platform where students can aim to reformat solutions for tomorrow's needs. His creative process is tailored to each project's content, community, or space to produce truly unique and advanced innovative experiences.

He has held masterclasses and frequently lectures on modular synthesis performance, technology, and their relationships to activism. The continuously evolving practice strives for civic empowerment and investment to increase access. Aaron not only provides talented young African American students with means of approaching modular synthesis, but also creates cultural products thatlink art with social, spatial, and sonic realms—shaping community narratives into a creative production.

Find the artist on Instagram: @afrorack and on the web: afrorack.org
This residency is presented by the Performing Arts Technology department and supported in part by the Eileen Weiser EXCEL Fund.