Lilac Atassi is a musician, educator, and computer music researcher. She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Music from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), an M.F.A. in Composition, and a B.F.A. in Piano Performance from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).

As a researcher, Lilac has published  and presented her work in conferences such as NIME (New Interfaces for Musical Expression), SMC (Sound and Music Computing), and Leonardo Music Journal. She was also the sole student researcher on a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) project at UCSD.

As an educator, Lilac designed and taught a Music Media and Technology course during the summer session at UCSD. She also served as a teaching assistant at both UCSD and CalArts, covering subjects such as music technology, music theory, and world music. At CalArts, she developed and taught two original, two-week winter courses, one focusing on the musical work of Edgard Varèse and the other on Iannis Xenakis. In addition, she tutored students in both tonal and non-tonal theory and provided private piano lessons through independent study.

As a composer, Lilac has a diverse portfolio, including avant-garde and experimental music, multimedia composition, and electroacoustic works. She has written music for both large and small ensembles, solo instruments, live electronics, installations, and algorithmic music. Lilac has also studied at the New Music on the Point (NMOP) festival and contributed works to workshops such as Blackhouse.

As a pianist, Lilac has attended music festivals internationally, including the Académie de Fourvière in Lyon, France, where she studied under Alain Jacquon for two summers, and the Harpa Music Academy in Reykjavik, Iceland. She has performed in masterclasses with Jerome Lowenthal, Mario Feininger, Dr. Philip Young, Dr. Steven Niles, and Steven Vanhauwaert. Lilac has performed in major concert halls such as Kaldón Hall at the Harpa Concert Hall, Salle Debussy at Le Conservatoire de Lyon, Palais Saint-Jean in Lyon, Harbeson Hall at Pasadena City College, Roy O. Disney Hall, the Wild Beast Hall at CalArts, and other venues across the USA. Her primary piano teachers have included Kevin Fitz-Gerald and Dr. Jackie Petitto. She won the Pasadena City College Scholarship Competition in 2008 and was a two-time winner of the Old Town Music Competition in 2009.

During her Ph.D. studies, Lilac worked with Shahrokh Yadegari, Miller Puckette, and Thomas Erbe on topics related to machine learning for music generation, ranging from generating a few measures of notes to generating two-and-a-half-minute pieces with musical form, as well as on interface design.

During her M.F.A. in Composition at CalArts, she studied with Dr. Robert Wannamaker, Dr. Nicholas Deyoe, Michael Pisaro, Ulrich Krieger, Daniel Corral, and Wolfgang von Schweinitz.

In addition to her Ph.D. and M.F.A., Lilac holds a B.F.A. in Piano Performance from CalArts, where she studied with Dr. Ming Tsu.

Outside of her professional work, Lilac enjoys learning, traveling, sports, and spending time with her daughter and husband.