A musical and visual experience… 20 years in the making
For its 2004-2005 season, the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera took on several special projects designed to build audience and awareness for its 20th anniversary. Among these special projects were two concerts in which it offered visual components to complement regular subscription series concerts.
Pictures at an Exhibition
Early in the season, Chattanooga programmed Pictures at an Exhibition. Local high school students in a printmaking class were asked to artistically represent the music. Twenty-eight works were selected, and with the help of an advertising agent, the works were compiled on computer and displayed above the stage during the concert. The works were also available for viewing in the lobby. The success of this program birthed ideas which later came to maturity in the performance of Holst’s The Planets.
The Planets
Holst’s The Planets was programmed with John Corigliano’s Voyage and Chattanooga resident composer Mario Abril’s Innerspace. The original intention was that pictures from NASA would enhance the performance of Holst’s suite, but computer programmers began experimenting with Macromedia Flash Director instead of still photography. This allowed for three-dimensional computer modeling of space, including a virtual solar system arranged with rough distance calculations. The NASA photographs were embedded into the virtual space exploration. Audiences had the uncanny illusion of piloting a space ship while listening to the music - in fact, during “Neptune,” the ship actually left the system, glanced at Voyager, and came to rest at the final image: Hubble's Ultra Deep Field (the effect of the orchestral and choral morendo with this image was particularly moving). The "navigator" for the performances was retired NASA Commander Dr. Norman B. Thagard. His narration (between movements) included the history of the planet’s discovery, subsequent visits by satellites, and other dynamic facts or mythological information associated with the planet.
Attendance was higher than a normal subscription concert (although specific figures are not yet available), mainly due to a family-oriented marketing approach that offered free tickets to children under 12. Chattanooga performs doubles, and the concerts contained a large presence of families as well as the standard patron demographic.
The CSO successfully brought their community together, not only through the families and children present at the concerts, but through the educational opportunities the concerts provided. Although his stay in Chattanooga was primarily focused on the concerts, Dr. Norman Thagard was able to spend inspirational time with school children. Additionally, through the contacts established at the Challenger Learning Center – which was originally responsible for bringing Dr. Thagard to Chattanooga – the CSO is working to provide an interactive kiosk in Challenger Centers across the United States, representative of the concerts.
Meetings are also underway with the NAXOS record label to provide a representation of these concerts in a variety of media and formats. Stay tuned for future developments.
For Further info contact:
www.chattanoogaamericanorchestras.org
John Wehrle, executive director, 423-267-8583