… and a very groovy time will be had by all

The upcoming Intimate and Immersive concert the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra is putting on at The Studio (at Hamilton Place) on Wednesday will live up to its billing.

In fact, it will be so intimate that audience members will have a difficult time not being fully immersed in the multimedia light show the HAVN (Hamilton Audio/Visual Node) art collective has planned.

Lights, shadows and visual images will bathe the entire room, as the HPO ensemble of about 30 musicians performs at floor level in the centre of The Studio with the audience seated around it.

If successful, the effect will be something akin to a psychedelic light show of the late ’60s — except to the music of Bela Bartok, Ernest MacMillan, Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams, instead of the Grateful Dead.

“It’s going to be a giant installation made out of light-transparent material that is going to be suspended over the orchestra,” explains Petra Matar, a member of HAVN.

“This transparent sculpture is going to be lit up by a very closely curated light and projection show.”

About 10 HAVN artists have been working on the installation in collaboration with HPO musical director and conductor Gemma New.

“The collaboration has been great, almost seamless,” says Matar. “Gemma was very excited about what we were doing, and that made us excited, as well.”