Deep Blue gives orchestras a new edge
- 5th October 2008
Deep Blue orchestra.
IMAGINE an orchestra with no conductor, no music stands and no stifling, outdated rules.
Imagine cameras, giant screens, dynamic lighting, strings and electronics.
Combine all this and you will get an orchestra with real attitude.
Deep Blue may look like an orchestra, but they act like a band and their performance feels like a movie.
All 15 band members truly engage with their audience. They smile, dance, and move around the stage.
The atmosphere is lively and the audience is encouraged to not only watch the show but interact at the same time.
In a quirky initiative, this exciting band, which play at the Caloundra Events Centre on Thursday, even adjusts its play list according to SMS suggestions sent by the audience during the show.
The combination of visual effects, the huge sound of an orchestra and the performer interaction has given Deep Blue the ability to engage the younger generation and appeal to a broader age group.
The repertoire ranges from the depths of Mahler, to evocative film music, to rock and pop classics such as The Beatles and the Stones.
Contemporary composers from all around the world have written specifically for Deep Blue.
It won't only be audience members who benefit from Deep Blue. The band has recently been working alongside two local schools, Caloundra Primary and Chancellor Park Primary.Thirty-three young and local string players from each school will experience first hand the Deep Blue approach to performance by participating in the initiative Young Blue.
During the Deep Blue performance, the students will take to the stage to perform a five-minute piece which they have been rehearsing alongside a Deep Blue performer.
"Young Blue has proven to be an inspiring and entertaining experience for not only the students but also their families," Young Blue initiative coordinator Alice Buckingham said.
"All involved thoroughly enjoy the experience of playing with 'real musicians' in a public concert. The reaction from the crowd was great and the students say they feel like rock stars."
Deep Blue has been developed by Darren Clark of Creative Media Warehouse, Andy Arthurs of the Queensland University of Technology, as well as the performers themselves, and is a constantly evolving, audience-driven production.
Darren, now a Sunshine Coast resident, relocated four years ago, believing the Coast would bring a new and fresh approach to the Deep Blue initiative.
Deep Blue is an evolution in contemporary music-making that creates an orchestra which is accessible to everyone.
It immerses its audience in powerful music, superb sound and artistic visual projections, combining the atmosphere of a club with the rich sound of an orchestra with the stage presence of a rock band.
WHAT: Deep Blue
WHERE: The Events Centre, Caloundra
WHEN: Thursday
TICKETS: $36/$32/$19
INFO: 5491 4240 or etixdirect.com.au
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