Composers Summit Prague tackles AI in music creation
Composers Summit Prague is rapidly becoming one of the leading global events for film and audiovisual music. It connects established Hollywood composers with emerging talent through concerts and workshops. This year, the summit also puts a strong focus on the role of artificial intelligence in music creation.
A global meeting point for film music
Prague is once again becoming a gathering place for some of the best-known names in contemporary audiovisual music. Composers Summit Prague, now in its fifth year, brings together established stars of film, television and gaming music with young composers, students and industry professionals from around the world. According to the organisers, this year’s edition welcomes participants from 42 countries, underlining the event’s increasingly international reach.
For Alexandr Smutný, the director, that international character is central to the whole idea of the event. In his words, the summit is not simply a showcase of prestigious names, but a place where experience is passed on and new talent is encouraged.
“Composer Summit Prague is probably one of the biggest events in Europe and also in the world, which is a gathering of great audiovisual composers from all around the world. Those composers meet in Prague, they play great concerts together, but most importantly, they share their experience for six days with young talents and future stars of musical composition.”
That combination of prestige and practical learning is what gives the summit its special atmosphere. Rather than separating famous guests from newcomers, it tries to bring them into direct contact through workshops, discussions, masterclasses and informal encounters. The broader ambition is clear: to strengthen Prague’s position as a place where international music professionals meet and where emerging talent can take a major step forward. That educational mission is also highlighted by the summit’s official partners and supporting institutions.
Hollywood names and unique performances
The biggest draw for many visitors is, of course, the guest list. The official summit lineup includes major names from Hollywood and the wider audiovisual industry, among them Gustavo Santaolalla, Diane Warren, Harry Gregson-Williams, Christopher Lennertz, Mychael Danna, Jeff Beal, Kyle Dixon, Michael Stein and Christophe Beck, as well as a number of music supervisors and industry figures.
Alexandr Smutný himself stresses the scale of the programme in the interview: “We have here participants from forty-two countries. I have to name two-time Oscar winner Gustavo Santaolalla, or Harry Gregson-Williams, Oscar composer Mychael Danna, or Christopher Lennertz, or Jeff Beal from House of Cards, and also Diane Warren. We have around forty guests like that, it’s a big program.”
But the summit is not built only around red-carpet appeal. Its public side is designed to offer experiences that ordinary concert programmes rarely provide. Official materials highlight four large concerts, a gala evening with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, and appearances in which composers introduce or even conduct music associated with some of their best-known work. The programme spans film, television and gaming music, which broadens the summit’s appeal far beyond a specialist audience.
“Regarding the concerts, we really focus on unique experiences. These are not normal concerts of audiovisual music. We are opening new concepts, new topics, we have world premieres and we are trying to offer people some experience they would normally never have.”
In other words, the summit wants to be more than a conference and more than a concert series. It aims to become a place where audiences can see internationally known composers presenting their music in person, sometimes in formats prepared especially for Prague.
Artificial intelligence as a central theme
Another reason this year’s edition stands out is its focus on artificial intelligence. That is hardly surprising: AI has become one of the defining issues across creative industries, and music is no exception. For composers, producers and rights holders alike, the questions are both practical and philosophical. Can AI become a useful creative tool? Where should the boundaries be set? And how can human originality be protected? Alexandr Smutný says the summit wants to tackle exactly these issues:
“Artificial intelligence is all around us and influencing quite a lot of things. It’s important to discuss its influence on music and music creation, to define its role and possibilities for the future, but also challenges like rights protection and sustaining human creativity.” That debate will not take place in a vacuum. The organisers want not only star composers but also industry representatives to weigh in, including professionals connected to major entertainment platforms. That suggests the summit is trying to treat AI not as a fashionable buzzword, but as a real and urgent issue for the future of screen music.
A rapidly growing event
The summit’s ambitions are matched by its recent growth. Official materials describe the 2026 edition as the fifth annual event and present it as a major European platform for audiovisual music, with more than 50 workshops, panels and masterclasses alongside the concerts. Alexandr Smutný sees that expansion as one of the clearest signs that the concept is working:
“The participation is growing. The first year was quite a small event, and this year it’s even thirty to forty percent more participants, with composers from forty-two countries. If you compare the lineup to other events in Europe and beyond, it already belongs to one of the biggest in the world.”
That is a bold claim, but there is no doubt that the summit has outgrown the image of a niche local initiative. With its combination of star power, educational focus, industry networking and timely debate about AI, Composers Summit Prague is clearly trying to position itself as an event with genuine international weight. And if the current trajectory continues, Prague may increasingly be seen not just as a beautiful host city, but as one of the places where the future of audiovisual music is being discussed, performed and shaped.
