"They bring their ideas; they engage the other students; and then we use all of these wonderful technological merging tools to create something that sounds new, fresh and original," Deal said. "They get to work their creative chops in putting the music together." 

Telematic gained new members this semester, and they are using their time to master music-composition programs like Logic Pro X and equipment like the Native Instruments Maschine drum machine and Ableton Pushes. This device is a sequencer, piano, sampler and effects modulator all in one console about the size of a textbook.

And speaking of those antiquated things made of paper, textbooks don't tell these tech-savvy musicians how to make an original instrumental work that could earn a live audience's interest. Experimentation, improvisation and practice fuel the tunes. 

"The possibilities are endless," Chaubey said. "This technology is my instrument."

Chaubey and Berty manned laptop keyboards and the more traditional keyboards in a musical setting. Berty said he'd been playing piano for several years and was happy to contribute to the ensemble. Each player brings a different expertise, making Telematic an always evolving and changing entity. Berty's background will help construct technological feats yet to be explored in the group. Other Telematic members -- currently 10 students -- have had video experience, which helped improve the visual side of the collective.

"We look at this more as a working group," Deal said. "It's multidisciplinary."

Students work on pieces for months before they are debuted live. The works are usually several minutes long, allowing for live musicians and online artists to add their own flourishes.

"I came here specifically to learn these tools and to incorporate technology into my skill set," said Paugh, who studied classical music and vocal performance at the University of Nebraska before coming to IUPUI. "This is more collaborative in nature. Everyone contributes their piece. There's a give-and-take."

While putting on a good show is important, making sure these students get jobs is crucial. Like his students' varied backgrounds, Deal said, the degree in music and arts technology can start an array of different career paths. Most students go into the recording industry, including sales and performance. Some have tried their skills at electronic instrument design. Other students have gotten positions with lucrative companies, both music related and not. 

"We had a student get a job at Spotify in San Francisco doing their programming," Deal said. "One student got a job at Boeing doing audio things. He said his job is classified and he couldn't tell me what exactly he was doing, but it does have to do with audio."