Collaborative Research Advancement Grant Program (Pilots Program) is part of the Office of Research’s initiative to seed interdisciplinary collaborative research and provide vital support for high-potential team research and creative activities. In theory and practice, these grants help research teams further their ideas, create proof of concept, and ultimately enhance their competitiveness for major external awards and funding opportunities to grow projects into programs of research.

"Piano OpenLab is a patent-pending system that consists of a series of original scripts coordinated by a computer application created by Dr. Graniti," Emerita Professor Michelle Conda (pictured right) explained. "It automates processes and runs services on a Linux system and creates a digital piano lab virtual infrastructure for group piano instruction."

With the support of the OoR Pilot Grant and Schott’s donation, the CCM Piano Lab has addressed the latency issues that plagued musicians during the pandemic. The lab now features zero-latency connections between pianos, each equipped with a touchscreen for real-time interaction and enhanced collaborative learning. This upgrade brings the lab closer to realizing its vision of global, real-time musical collaboration. The CCM Piano Lab is now poised to redefine piano pedagogy and elevate the standard for music education worldwide.

CCM’s Advanced Piano Lab, an innovative idea and project that was selected for Pilot funding to deploy a new technology developed by the team and develop a proof of concept. The Office of Research Pilot funds were soon after supplemented by a generous donation from L. Ried Schott, which enabled the team to achieve even more and, in less time, than otherwise could have been possible.