Zoe Lin
Zoe (Yi-Cheng) Lin · a.k.a. Sebastian Nagretshei
Synesthetic Sound Painter & Composer
Her works, called "Synesthetic Compositions," employ precise spatial and technological approaches to sound placement, creating immersive, multi-sensory musical experiences that expand the boundaries of human perception.
Zoe Lin's work explores immersive sound, spatial perception, technology, and ecological imagination. Her practice moves between acoustic instruments, electronics, spatial audio, and audiovisual media, with particular attention to how sound can shape the perception of space, presence, memory, and dream.
About
Zoe (Yi-Cheng) Lin is a composer and software engineer specializing in digital music and related composition. She holds a doctoral degree in composition from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is currently a full-time composer and adjunct assistant professor at National Taiwan Normal University.
Her creative practice focuses on visual-auditory synesthetic electronic music, 3D immersive electronic music composition and mixing, and the practical use of Ambisonic multichannel sound projection. Her work explores sound as an active medium of spatial perception, using technology to expand musical possibilities and to investigate relationships between sound, image, space, memory, nature, and imagination.
Her electronic music has been exhibited in 21 countries across Europe, Asia, North and South America, and Australia, with presentations at 48 international music festivals and events. Recent and selected presentations include ICMC (2026–2024, 2022), La Semaine du Son, Paysages Composés Festival 2025 (Grenoble, France), SICMF 2025 (Seoul, Korea), NYCEMF 2025–2023, JINLAC 2025, SEAMUS 2025 (West Lafayette, Indiana, USA), REF Resilience Festival 2024 (Foggia, Italy), Ars Electronica 2024 (Linz, Austria), IRCAM Forum 2024 (Paris, France), ACMC 2024 (Sydney and Melbourne, Australia), MediSouP 2024 (Cyprus), SiMN 2023 (Brazil), MUSLAB 2023 (Ecuador), MiRNArte 2023 (Venice, Italy), SICMF 2023 (Seoul, South Korea), NIME 2023 Mixed Realities Workshop (Mexico), Spatial Audio Conference 2023 (United Kingdom), NoiseFloor 2023 (United Kingdom), Earth Day Art Model 2023 (Indiana University, USA), MOXsonic Festival 2023, Atemporánea Festival 2022 (Argentina), and IRCAM Forum 2022 (New York), among others.
Her music has been featured on releases from EMPIRICA RECORD (Italy), SiMN 2023, and the MUSLAB 2023 phonographic production PLANETA COMPLEJO project through Cero Records. Her work was also selected for the Anthropocene Project 2024, curated by Wilfried Agricola de Cologne and produced by The New Museum of Networked Art. In 2024, she was selected for EMPIRICA RECORD, an initiative by EMPIRICA in partnership with MID SIDE APS dedicated to experimental classical, contemporary, and electronic music.
Education
- D.M.A. in Composition — University of Wisconsin–Madison
Selected Works
Taroko: A Lullaby of Coastal
A work inspired by Taroko and its coastal landscape, approaching place through the intimate perspective of a lullaby. The music reflects on landscape, memory, and listening, exploring how a sense of place can be transformed into musical sound and imagination.
Dream Voyager: A Pilgrim of the Infinite
For solo flute and electronics. The work portrays a journey of consciousness through a lucid dream, moving between states of sleep, heightened awareness, and an imagined departure from the body. Sound and space become a canvas through which the listener travels, while the accompanying visual version extends the work into an audiovisual meditation on the blurred boundaries between reality, illusion, AI-generated imagery, and dreams.
Bodies of Work
- Spatial & Immersive Works — A continuing body of work exploring Ambisonics, three-dimensional sound, spatial perception, and the use of space as a compositional parameter. These works investigate how listeners experience movement, distance, orientation, immersion, and presence through sound.
- Audiovisual & Technology-based Works — Projects incorporating electronics, video, AI-generated imagery, and other technologies as compositional materials. Technology functions as part of the musical language, opening new possibilities for interaction between sound, image, and perception.
Artistic Practice
- Immersive Sound — Working with spatial audio and Ambisonics to compose musical experiences in which sound occupies and transforms three-dimensional space.
- Spatial Perception — Exploring how movement, distance, direction, resonance, and perspective influence musical perception and listening.
- Technology — Using electronic and emerging technologies as creative tools within composition, rather than as independent technological demonstrations.
- Ecological Imagination — Considering sound as a way of imagining relationships between human perception, natural environments, materiality, and more-than-human worlds.
Research & Teaching
Alongside composition, Zoe (Yi-Cheng) Lin teaches and researches music, technology, and contemporary approaches to listening. Her interests include spatial audio, electronic music, immersive media, computer-assisted composition, and the relationship between artistic practice and technological development.
Academic Service & Engagements
Co-Author, "EME33: A Dataset of Classical Piano Performances Guided by Expressive Markings with Application in Music Rendering"
Research collaboration with the Acoustics and Hearing Group, Department of Electrical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, led by Professor Yi-Wen Liu. Co-authored with pianist Kit Armstrong, also a member of the lab.
Author, "AIM人工智慧音樂別冊（創作×音樂×人工智慧）"
A specialized textbook supplement on artificial intelligence music for high school students, covering creation, music, and AI.
Author, "The Charms of Generative Music AI"
Published in the 147th issue of Cultural Heritage Magazine. The National Center for Traditional Arts is a tertiary affiliate of the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan; Cultural Heritage is its quarterly promoting cultural and artistic information.
Member, Journal Review Committee
Reviewed and provided suggestions for music technology–related articles.
Participant, NSTC 2022 TechGiCS Women in STEM Second-Term Workshop
Nominated through the recommendation of Professor Yujie Lee, Deputy Executive Secretary of the National Science and Technology Council. Aligned with the "2022 Women in STEM" initiative, the workshop advances the technological competencies of women entering STEM careers and amplifies women's participation in Taiwan's STEM sector.
Research Participant, Acoustics and Hearing Group
Participates in research activities led by Professor Yi-Wen Liu, alongside collaborators including pianist Kit Armstrong, resulting in the co-authored EME33 dataset paper (IEEE BigData 2024).
Member, Advisory Expert Committee
Provides suggestions on music education for Taiwan's music experimental education system.
Instructor / Textbook Content Provider, /PLUS – Programming Learning for University Students
A national initiative designing programming education for university students. Designed and authored the music-related programming courses of the textbook, including sole authorship (2020) of Chapter 11, "玩聲音，數位音訊的無限可能：MIDI 訊號處理" (Playing with Sound: Endless Possibilities of Digital Audio — MIDI Signal Processing), in Python 程式設計與資料分析應用.
Invited Talks & Lectures
Guest Lecturer, "學程式玩音樂！" (Programming Music!)
A lecture exploring music-making with AI and programming, understanding generative AI mechanics, and the collaboration between human creativity and AI generation.
Guest Lecturer, "當音樂遇見科技：一段持續中的對話" (When Music Meets Technology: An Ongoing Dialogue)
114-2 Music Arts Special Topics Lecture Series, Room 308.
Guest Instructor, "Coffee Corner 特別活動｜用 AI 做音樂！" (Making Music with AI)
A hands-on session exploring how technology and creativity blend to compose original music with AI. No musical background required.
Guest Lecturer, "霧裡看花->知己知彼：音樂生成式 AI 原理初探"
Invited talk on the principles of generative music AI, given to the composition department (mandatory attendance for TNUA composition majors) in Room M301, Music Building 1.
Speaker, "繆斯女神的新挑戰：AI音樂創作專題演講" (Muse's New Challenge: AI Music Creation Seminar Series)
Part of the TSMC Art Season (台積心築藝術季), a full-day seminar with eight speakers exploring AI's collaboration with music composition, hosted by the Center for the Arts, National Tsing Hua University.
Presenter, 2020 Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robot Show
Presented "Viewing the Relation of Music and Human in AI Industry."
Lecturer, In-Depth Techniques of VR Music Game Project Production
Shared insights into the development of a personal VR music game project.
Panelist, 2019 AI Music Forum
Invited as one of three panel speakers to share trends in AI music development.
Instructor, Higher Education VR Practical and Applied Course for Musicians
A 4-week practical application course on VR.
Other Experience
- Former Chief Music Officer, AI music company
- Peer reviewer for ICMC, SEAMUS, NIME, and other academic conferences
AI Development
- Four four-part harmony generators
- Two 16th-century-style counterpoint generators (Palestrina style)
- "Little Pi" — a contemporary classical music generation system
Cross-Disciplinary Highlights
- XR film Diving into Siraya
- VR app Journey into the World of Dimensions
- Light-sound installation Luminous Path
CV
For a complete list of education, performances, commissions, festivals, presentations, and other professional activities, please contact Zoe for the current CV.