West Coast debut of 'Synaesthesia Playground' orchestrated by UCLA's Herb Alpert School of Music
The innovative classical music concert, Synaesthesia Playground, is set to captivate audiences with an immersive, multisensory experience that bridges art, technology, and perception. This groundbreaking event, which will have its West Coast premiere on March 2, 2023, at UCLA's Schoenberg Hall, promises to redefine the way we engage with classical music.
Inspired by synaesthesia — a condition where people perceive music in vivid colours, shapes, and physical sensations — Synaesthesia Playground aims to blur the lines between auditory and visual elements, allowing the audience to experience music in a way that mirrors how synaesthetes do.
The concert's team includes a diverse group of artists and technologists, such as boundary-pushing artist Cécile DeLaurentis, who is known for her cinematic, electronic, and classical music compositions, as well as her synaesthesia-inspired visual art. Cécile's work often incorporates AI tools and technology to create immersive experiences where sound translates into vibrant colours, shapes, and patterns, hinting at a similar technological approach being used in Synaesthesia Playground.
At the heart of Synaesthesia Playground is cutting-edge technology designed to translate classical music into visual and possibly physical sensations, based on synaesthesia. AI tools are employed to generate or enhance visual patterns and immersive environments in sync with the music, while interactive elements enable the audience to participate or influence the performance through their responses or inputs.
One of the key design elements of the composition is the contrast between the external nature of the sound of the piano and the visceral, biodynamic responses relayed by the performer playing it. The visual effects of Synaesthesia Playground include bio-responsive optical fibers built into the performer's attire, which pulsate and change colour in tandem with their heartbeat, breathing, and movements.
Synaesthesia Playground boasts an internationally renowned team of musicians, computer scientists, visual artists, and fashion designers, including composers Daniel Weymouth, Sidney Boquiren, Andrew Batt-Rawden, and Anne Sophie Andersen, software engineers Drew and Al Petersen, Pierre Depaz, and Ben Hinchley, multimedia artists Celeste Oram and Takafumi Ide, and fashion designers Hul and Arnold.
The artistic collaboration results in a mesmerizing, one-of-a-kind experience, featuring six newly commissioned multimedia works for piano. After the performance, a post-concert talk with Jocelyn Ho, the production's conceptualiser, and Nina Eidsheim, UCLA professor of musicology, will immediately follow.
Tickets for the March 2, 7:30 p.m. performance at Schoenberg Hall cost $15 for general admission and $10 for UCLA faculty, staff, and students with valid ID. Tickets can be purchased at the door, by calling the UCLA Central Ticket Office, or online. The performance is proudly sponsored by the office of the vice president for research at Stony Brook University.
Synaesthesia Playground is a testament to the interdisciplinary outlook of its creator, Jocelyn Ho, who said, "Synaesthesia Playground is a testament to the interdisciplinary outlook I bring to the school."
For those seeking a unique and engaging classical music experience, Synaesthesia Playground promises to be an unforgettable journey into the world of synaesthesia. Don't miss this opportunity to immerse yourself in a mesmerising, multisensory concert event.
Technology is employed to generate visual patterns and immersive environments in sync with the music at Synaesthesia Playground, creating a multisensory experience that mirrors synaesthesia. The concert's team, featuring artists and technologists like Cécile DeLaurentis, also incorporates entertainment elements, such as AI tools and interactive elements, to allow audience participation.
