Multidimensional concert uses VR to challenge the traditional role of audience participation.
Earlier this month, an old church in Downtown LA filled for a full chorale production, with renditions of Bach, Motown and Cyndi Lauper…along with a live Tilt Brush performance—highlighting the beauty of blending the traditional and the modern.
Approximately a thousand people on both June 3 and 4 participated in Interactive, an imaginative and multidimensional concert, hosted by the Angel City Chorale (ACC). In an attempt to break the traditional format of choir concerts that ask the audience to sit and watch, Interactive broke down barriers and even dimensions.
VR artist Gary Villareal accompanied the choir for six songs, and painted in virtual reality during the performance, for the audience to see the music move as they heard it.
“It was an honor to perform along side such incredible talent,” Villarreal said. “…So much love and energy was put into the event.”
In addition to Villarreal’s performance, the ACC introduced the new mobile app YourchestraApp, designed by Andrew Cheeseman. The app allowed phones to be “played” live from the stage, using the phone’s speakers for sounds, and the screen for images to merge the audience’s experience with the one on stage.
“I’d read about a big survey that showed that audiences for live choral music want one thing more than anything else: interaction,” Cheeseman said in a statement. “In a live music setting, this might mean singing along, dancing, or perhaps bringing up audience members to the stage. When the choral group set the theme of the upcoming live show to be “Interactive” I started brainstorming even more.”
The app was a test pilot during the performance, but this certainly isn’t the last of virtual reality performances. Live Nation is working to broadcast concerts in VR and artists and continuing to push the boundaries of introducing augmented reality into performances.
A video of Villarreal and the choir’s performance can be found here via Jacki Morie.
Image Credit: Smitty Imaging Ltd.
