The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) has collaborated with digital media production company Mod Productions to create ACO VIRTUAL, a digital installation that allows music-lovers to interact with the orchestra via projections and streaming technology.
The installation will be at the Sydney Opera House Studio from 21-23 and 27-29 October, before moving on to various arts venues, galleries and museums throughout urban and regional Australia.
Supported by Founding Partner Commonwealth Bank, ACO VIRTUAL will project 13 ACO musicians in either 2D or 3D with their individual sound streaming from the same direction. Users can highlight one or more musicians to listen to via a touch screen ‘music stand’ and see, listen, engage with and learn from the professional players.
Bach, Grieg, Smalley and Piazzolla have been selected for the 30 minute playlist, with the musical score to be streamed via the touch screen.
According to ACO General Manager Timothy Calnin, ‘ACO VIRTUAL was conceived as a way to reach communities in remote parts of Australia which would not have access to live performances by the ACO, but it has gone much further than that. This world-first digital installation enables visitors to get inside the Orchestra and to play with the band. It is rich in educational content while simultaneously being immensely enjoyable as a musical event.’
In order to create this immersive experience, Mod Productions captured 3D images and audio of the featured ACO musicians with stereoscopic camera rigs and a green screen. This approach creates virtual musicians who can be individually controlled by audience members.
‘We’ve created an interactive experience that showcases these amazing players and captures the magic of their live performance,’ said Mod Productions’ Michela Ledwidge, the Director of ACO VIRTUAL.
A smartphone application with information about the music, musicians and their instruments has been developed to complement the installation. There is also an education kit available for teachers and students filled with relevant resources and activities.
This digitisation of the classic realm is not restricted to the ACO. The historical Melbourne Town Hall will be brought into the 21st century with the transformation of the Grand Pipe Organ, installed in 1929, into an electronically controlled instrument as part of the free event of Organ & … MIDI control, on 11 October.
Jazztronica band Virtual Proximity, known for their improvised, abstract and beat driven sound, will be creating improvised electronic music with the pipe organ via Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) control. Live instrumentation, digital loops and programmed drumming will be mixed in with the classic sound of the pipes.
As soon as James Annesley of Virtual Proximity discovered the pipe organ had MIDI capabilities he set about devising the project. ‘Obviously we can’t change the actual sound of the pipes themselves, but we can manipulate them in certain ways,’ said Annesley.
Using visual programmer Max in digital audio workstation and sequencer Ableton Live, a program has been developed that harnesses the pipe organ’s MIDI capabilities and allows the organ to be remotely controlled.
‘What we can do is open and close different stops to get different sounds. We also use MIDI effects, which can basically make the organ play how it couldn’t be played manually,’ said Annesley.
This may translate into impossibly fast and precise control of the 9592 pipes, in a performance that is sure to be drastically different from Virtual Proximity’s previous sets.
Annesley is enthusiastic about the event. ‘We (Virtual Proximity) like experimenting and trying different things, and we love the sound of the pipe organ and the whole atmosphere of Melbourne Town Hall,’ he said.
Organ & … MIDI control will also include Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) Sculpture Sound and Spatial Practice students, who will be incorporating the pipe organ into a series of short musical works.
With interactive projections mapped onto parts of the venue and experimentation reigning Organ & … MIDI control offers punters a rich and unpredictable audio-visual evening.
‘Hopefully it’ll be quite a dramatic experience,’ said Annesley.
For ACO VIRTUAL tour dates and venues visit www.aco.com.au/acovirtual.
For more information about Organ & … MIDI control visit www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/grandorgan.
Image: ACO VIRTUAL
