Virtual Reality
In today’s high-tech world of digital sampling and music streaming, the symphony orchestra is a wonderful if curious anachronism, with many of its instruments and much of its repertoire dating back centuries. Even for regular attendees of symphony concerts, the alchemy of how 80 to 100 or more diverse musicians come together under a conductor to produce one coordinated body of sound remains something of a mystery.
With the technology surrounding it getting less and less expensive, virtual reality is quickly becoming the new trend for musicians and artists looking to create unique experiences both in their concerts and music videos.
If you’ve never experienced VR before, you can get a sense of what the experience is like by taking a look at the 360 degree videos available online on YouTube. A number of 2017 Ravinia Artists have created VR experiences and the 360 feature on YouTube allows you to click and drag the video to pan around in 360 degrees which simulates the VR experience. See how your favorite Ravinia artists are using this new medium: