Celestial Sounds: VR with SCMR at Strasenburgh Planetarium

Our third virtual concert of the season is going to be quite different from anything we have done before. The ability to record this season’s concerts in unusual locations coupled with our desire to offer something unique to make the virtual viewing experience more enjoyable has led us to choose RMSC’s Strasenburgh Planetarium for our upcoming performance.

We feature the wonderful Salaff Quartet, whose members are all part of the RPO and have performed on our series both individually and as SCMR’s ambassadors at many outreach concerts over the last few years. They will lead you on a galactic journey through the music of Palestrina, Arvo Pärt, Beethoven, Philip Glass, Adolphus Hailstork, Satie and Borodin. The director of RMSC’s Strasenburgh Planetarium, Steve Fentress, has curated a stunning show that will accompany the music.

We will also be filming and broadcasting this concert with a special camera, the Titan 11K Cinematic Camera, that films in Virtual Reality. You can change the 360-degree view on your device to see any angle you want and change your view at any time. We hope this brings you closer to the real experience of being at the concert as you will *be* in the middle of the musicians with the ability to change your focus as you like. This effect can be seen in this video of the LA Phil, grab and move your cursor on the screen or push the arrows on the toggle button at the top left of the video.

This free concert has been made possible through the generous financial support of SCMR’s board members and contributors. Our thanks to them and everyone who is doing their part to keep us all safe and ready to resume beautiful concerts as soon as possible!

Warmly,
Erik and Juliana