Sound waves: Charlotte Symphony Orchestra brings Become Ocean, a 360-degree immersive audio experience, to Blume Studios.
by Michael J. Solender
Charlotte Symphony Orchestra brings one of its boldest and most ambitious projects yet to Blume Studios on Feb. 28 and March 1. Become Ocean, a Pulitzer Prize-winning orchestral score composed by John Luther Adams, debuted in 2013, commissioned by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.
Adams called the slow-rolling symphonic work, “a meditation on the deep and mysterious tides of existence.” NPR called the work “gorgeous, darkly beautiful, and ultimately unsettling,” noting that it “ushers you in and swallows you up.”
“Washing the audience” with light and sound
With Become Ocean, 80 musicians will be assembled in three sections at Blume Studios Stage 1 among an audience of about 400. The 90-minute performance led by guest conductor Yaniv Dinur will take place in the shadow of the floating, 20-foot-wide GAIA globe sculpture and surrounded by projection scrims.
Ocean video shot by North Carolina native Art Howard will sync with the music. Howard has joined polar researchers on climate studies, spent years uncovering high seas stories, and worked with PBS to document global citizen science adventures.
“We’re interested in washing the audience with wave-like light and sound that moves back and forth, like the waves,” says Bree Stallings, director of artistic experiences at Blumenthal Arts. “We want to create a sensory environment in that space, because the piece is quite subtle. The visuals are meant to complement and not compete with the orchestra.”
courtesy Charlotte Symphony Orchestra
A creative collaboration
The creative collaboration between CSO and Blumenthal Arts is part of an innovative partnership that has blossomed over the last two years in the wake of a $210,000 grant from the Knight Foundation. The funding supports CSO’s expansion into immersive programming — performances that incorporate technology to create captivating experiences for the audience.
The two arts institutions worked together in 2024 on a series of immersive performances titled MERGE: Symphonic x Electronic. The multi-sensory experience combined classical music, electronic dance music, and visuals at Blumenthal Arts’ Black Box Theater.
Expansion into immersive programming is part of CSO’s strategy to attract new audiences, according to Frank Impelluso, vice president of marketing and audience development at CSO. The idea surfaced through an internal “CSO Innovation Hub” comprising musicians, staff, patrons and community members exploring how to grow their audience in the post-Covid era.
“One of the first things that we ask ourselves at every meeting is, what do we want out of this experience, and how do we make this an unusual but also compelling reason to come see an orchestral piece in a very different setting?” Impelluso says. “We’ve been talking about doing projection, video and sound and making sure that the experience is a 360-degree audio experience as opposed to just sitting in front of an orchestra and having the sound come at you.”
Want to go?
CSO presents Become Ocean on Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. and March 1 at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Blume Studios, 904 Post St. Tickets start at $35. Click here for more information.
