Research Interests
Music and generative AI; cultural infrastructures; algorithmic composition; educational technology and accessible music learning; inclusion and disability studies; ethics, rights and authorship in digital culture; music communities and well-being.
Current Research Position
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2025 – 2027
Western Postdoctoral Fellow — Don Wright Faculty of Music, Western University, London, Canada
Research project: Generative AI & Disability-Led Design for Inclusive Music Learning
Previous Research Positions
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2020 – 2023
Research Assistant — Computational Acoustic Modeling Lab, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
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2022
Research Assistant — Hearing Health Project, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
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2020
Research Scientific Consultant — Reliability and Risk Engineering Lab, ETH Zürich, Switzerland
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2018 – 2019
Research Intern — Reliability and Risk Engineering Lab and Separation Processes Lab, ETH Zürich, Switzerland
Publications
Refereed Journal Articles
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Evangelista, G., & Acquilino, A. (2026). Estimation of transient characteristics in nonpercussive acoustic instruments. Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, 74(10), 750–761. DOI
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Acquilino, A., & Scavone, G. (2022). Current state and future directions of technologies for music instrument pedagogy. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 835609. DOI
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Becattini, V., Gabrielli, P., Antonini, C., Campos, J., Acquilino, A., Sansavini, G., & Mazzotti, M. (2022). Carbon dioxide capture, transport and storage value chains: Optimal economic and environmental performance of infrastructure rollout. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 117, Article 103635. DOI
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Gabrielli, P., Acquilino, A., Siri, S., Bracco, S., Sansavini, G., & Mazzotti, M. (2020). Optimization of low-carbon multi-energy systems with seasonal geothermal energy storage: The Anergy Grid of ETH Zurich. Energy Conversion and Management: X, 8, Article 100052. DOI
Refereed Conference Papers
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Evangelista, G., & Acquilino, A. (2025). An adaptive wavelet-based algorithm for assessing the quality of the attack transients in non-percussive instruments. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Digital Audio Effects (DAFx25). Proceedings
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Acquilino, A., Puranik, N., Fujinaga, I., & Scavone, G. (2023). A dataset and baseline for automated assessment of timbre quality in trumpet sound. In Proceedings of the 24th International Society of Music Information Retrieval Conference (pp. 684–691). Proceedings
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Acquilino, A., Puranik, N., Fujinaga, I., & Scavone, G. (2023). Detecting efficiency in trumpet sound production: Proposed methodology and pedagogical implications. In Proceedings of the 5th Stockholm Music Acoustic Conference. Proceedings
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Becattini, V., Gabrielli, P., Acquilino, A., Antonini, C., Mazzotti, M., & Sansavini, G. (2021). Design and multi-objective optimization of CO2 value chains for waste to energy sector: A Swiss case study. In Proceedings of the 15th Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies Conference. DOI
Theses
Watch a short lay presentation of my PhD research:
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A Acquilino, supervised by Gary Scavone (2025). “Real-time computational feedback systems for enriched music pedagogy”. PhD Thesis, McGill University. PDF
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A Acquilino, supervised by G Sansavini, S Bracco, S Siri, F Delfino, C Ménézo, P Gabrielli, R Wu (2019). “Analysis and optimization for decarbonizing a multi-energy system with geothermal storage: application to the Hönggerberg ETH Campus in Zurich”. MSc Thesis, ETH Zurich, University of Genoa, Université Savoie Mont Blanc. PDF
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A Acquilino, supervised by L Bruzzone (2016). “Mechanical characterization of friction in an electrical test bench with inertial load”. BSc Thesis, University of Genoa.
Presentations
Invited Presentations
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2025
Tomlinson Talks — McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Real-Time Computational Feedback Systems for Enriched Music Training
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2025
OICRM — Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada
Systèmes de Rétroaction Computationnelle en Temps Réel pour l’Enrichissement de l’Enseignement Musical
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2024
Mentor Summit — Google Summer of Code, Sunnyvale, California, US
HarmonyHub: A Web-Based Platform for Learning Variable-Pitch Musical Instruments
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2024
Italian Institute of Culture — Montreal, Canada
AI and Music: Technologies for Music Education
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2024
Groupe de Recherche en Acoustique — ÉTS, Montreal, Canada
Real-Time Computational Feedback Systems for Enriched Classical Music Education
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2023 – 2024
Four40 Series — Global Leaders Institute, online
The Musician as Innovator
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2023
Brass Pedagogic Seminar — Blekinge International Brass Academy, Sweden
Technologies for Musical Instrument Pedagogy: Potential and Limitations
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2023
Tomlinson Talks — McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Technology Enhanced Music Education
Conference Presentations
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2026
International Society for Music Education — World Conference
HarmonyHub: Generative AI for Adaptive Music Education
MEI-Trumpet: User Experiences with an Open-Source Music Education App for Trumpet Fingering -
2023
CIRMMT-OICRM-BRAMS Student Symposium 2023
Assistive Technology for Trumpet Pedagogy
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2023
5th Stockholm Music Acoustic Conference — Sweden
Detecting Efficiency in Trumpet Sound Production: Proposed Methodology and Pedagogical Implications
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2023
International Society of Music Information Retrieval Conference — Milan, Italy
A Dataset and Baseline for Automated Assessment of Timbre Quality in Trumpet Sound
Workshops
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2025
Generative Audio for Music-Making workshop — CIRMMT, Montreal, Canada
Using Generative AI for Adaptive Learning in Music
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2022
Lunigiana International Music Festival
Current State and Future Directions of Technologies for Music Pedagogy
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2022
Lerici Music Festival
Current State and Future Directions of Technologies for Music Pedagogy
Poster Presentations
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2025
CIRMMT-OICRM-BRAMS Student Symposium 2025
Perceptual Dimensions of Trumpet Efficiency
Selected Grants and Fellowships
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2026
ResonatorTube Contributor Funding Award — CIRMMT
Co-recipient.
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2026
SSHRC Partnership Grant, Stage 1 — Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
Co-applicant. Project: Building Access in Music Making.
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2026
Agile Seed Funding — CIRMMT
Principal investigator. Project: Towards Inclusive Music Education: Design & Validation of Open-Sourced 3D-Printed One-Handed Recorder.
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2026
Research Platforms and Portals Allocation — Digital Research Alliance of Canada
Co-applicant with Adam Bell.
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2026
Faculty-Student Research Bridge Award — McGill Computational and Data Systems Institute (CDSI)
Co-applicant with Ichiro Fujinaga.
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2025 – 2027
Western Postdoctoral Fellowship — Western University
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2023 – 2025
Doctoral Research Fellowship — Fonds de Recherche du Québec
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2020 – 2023
Richard H. Tomlinson Doctoral Fellowship — McGill University