UK concert hall’s VR tech puts visitors centre stage with the orchestra
Virtual-reality headsets are being used deliver the full force of performances by London’s Philharmonia Orchestra and could soon even allow you to play as one of the performers
London’s Royal Festival Hall is letting visitors go centre stage with one of the world’s top orchestras, using cutting-edge technology that has the potential to transform the arts and entertainment industries.
Virtual-reality (VR) headsets and a cylindrical bank of speakers are being used to deliver the full force of performances by the Philharmonia Orchestra.
During Mahler’s Third Symphony, visitors can turn their heads and focus on any musician, or toe-tapping members of the audience, from their vantage point in front of Finnish conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen.
A performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony moves in between each section of the orchestra, giving close-up views of musicians as the conductor brings them in.
The orchestra hopes the project will attract new audiences to classical music.
“It allows you to step inside the orchestra,” says Luke Ritchie, head of innovation at the Philharmonia. “[For] people who are new to orchestras, it totally changes their preconceptions. They are insanely loud and the dynamics are incredible.”
