Your guide: New surprises in Lumenocity

You can anticipate some big changes in this year’s Lumenocity, Wednesday-Sunday in Washington Park, Over-the-Rhine.

There will be changes for park visitors and ticket holders. The main attraction – Lumenocity – a choreography of spectacular designs beamed onto the façade of Music Hall and synched live to music performed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra – will have a few surprises, too.

For the first time in the 3-year-old event, there is a charge for tickets for the viewing area in the lawn oval.

Audience capacity of the paid ticketed area has been cut by more than half – to 6,000 each night. Last year, 12,500 viewers each night crammed their blankets, strollers and chairs into the same area, prompting safety concerns, and making it hard to find a spot to sit. You still may want to get there a bit early, but it should be easier to stake your claim.

To make up for the reduced capacity, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, which presents Lumenocity, has added an extra show. There is a ticketed dress rehearsal on Wednesday, followed by four performances, through next Sunday.

Be sure to read the new rules about what is allowed in the park, and what is not. Our guide tells you the “dos and don’ts.” And this year, you’ll have to plan ahead for parking. There are no parking shuttles, and be aware of street closures.

The show’s theme, “Masters and Dreamers,” will shine a light on the musicians who make the music. “Masters” is also a nod to Cincinnati’s master chefs, architects, writers, business people and many other creatives. And it will celebrate all things Cincinnati and the people who live here, the “Dreamers.”

The evening’s first half, conducted by John Morris Russell at 8:30 p.m., will be a concert of favorites of symphonic pops. (See Russell’s listening tips in this guide).

When the sun goes down, a unique visual story will accompany each of five pieces of music led by music director Louis Langrée in a 40-minute show. To accomplish that, the designers of the Over-the-Rhine firm Brave Berlin are using a technique called 3-D projection image mapping.

A bank of eight high-powered projectors, mounted onto a stack of two boxcars on Race Street, will beam 320,000 lumens of light across Washington Park’s lawn and onto the front of Music Hall.

New this year: Motion tracking technology

Last year, the designers filmed ballet dancers, and projected their images within the animations. This year, there will again be something new in the magical display. For the first time, the designers will be using motion tracking technology. The cutting-edge technology captures movement and creates animation from it, said Dan Reynolds, a creative director and owner-partner with Steve McGowan of Brave Berlin, the firm that is designing the visuals.

“We track the movements of the musicians and also Louis as he conducts. We’ll use their movement to create motion graphics that complement the show,” Reynolds said.

For weeks, they have been filming Cincinnati Symphony musicians performing on their instruments.

“We videotaped about 15 musicians, from all the different sections – woodwinds, strings, percussion, horns,” Reynolds said. “We brought them into our studio and filmed them on multiple angles, with both a regular and an infrared camera that sees in three dimensions.”

The animations of the players will be sprinkled throughout Berlioz’s “Dream of Witches’ Sabbath” from “Symphonie fantastique.”

Maestro Langrée was filmed using the same technology for his closeup – conducting 15 feet up in the air, and 40 feet tall. His animation will appear in the piece, “Iron Foundry.”

“His movements of his arms conducting will be throwing sparks and fire around the scene, covering the entire building,” Reynolds said.

Even if you didn’t manage to get tickets, there are still ways to experience Lumenocity. Every afternoon, Lumenocity Village will be open and free to all for family-friendly music, activities, food and artisan vendors. Before the show, take a free tour of Music Hall (including a ghost tour), see Mark D. Clark’s amazing LEGO model of the historic hall, and visit other exhibits in Music Hall.

You’ll be able to watch from many places outside the ticketed area. And, you can take your lawn chair to Fountain Square on Saturday night for a live simulcast of Lumenocity.

Or, curl up at home and watch a free webcast or television broadcast. Last year, about 50,000 TV households tuned into the local broadcast on Saturday night.

Lumenocity 2015

When: 8:30 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, Aug. 5-9

Where: Washington Park, 1230 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine.

Lumenocity Village: Opens 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (no tickets necessary)

Tickets to lawn viewing area: On Monday, Aug. 3, purchasers will be able to print their tickets (up to 4 per order) through their personal Ticketmaster account. Concertgoers had to register online by May 16 for the chance to purchase tickets. The orchestra sold 27,000 tickets, and another 3,000 were donated to human service organizations. The event is sold out.

Information line: lumenocity2015.com; info line: 513-744-3372 or email us at lumenocity@cincinnatisymphony.org

Hashtags and social media: #lumenocity, @cincysymphony, @janellesnotes, @carolemotsinger, @beingpolly, @shaunaincincy

What you can bring

• Lawn chairs
• Strollers: Only small umbrella strollers are permitted (children riding in these strollers must have a ticket).
• Purses and backpacks, but please keep to a minimum
• Reasonably-sized picnic baskets
• Rain ponchos

What you can’t bring

• Alcoholic beverages. Under Ohio State law, no alcohol may be brought into the park. It will be available for purchase.
• No large “travel system” strollers
• No blankets or tarps
• No coolers and large picnic set-ups
• No oversized chairs
• No umbrellas
• No dogs. Service animals are the exception. Dogs are welcome in Lumenocity Village, which includes a dog park.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I experience Lumenocity even if I don’t have a ticket?

Lumenocity Village will be free and open to the public during the entire event. It will open at 4 p.m. daily Wednesday through Friday, and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The visual display of light on the facade of Music Hall, starting at 9:30 p.m., will be visible from many areas outside of the ticketed viewing area.

Or, you can experience the aural and visual spectacle on television, radio and on the Web.

• On radio: Listeners can tune into WGUC-FM (90.9) on Aug. 7 (Friday). Mark Perzel and Brian O’Donnell will bring you features, live interviews and all the music from the stage in Washington Park.
• On the web: The show will be streamed live Aug. 7 and 8 at lumenocity2015.com.
• On television: Lumenocity will be aired live starting at 9 p.m. Aug. 8 (Saturday night) on CET (Channel 48) and WCPO-TV (Channel 9).
• On Fountain Square: Lumenocity will be simulcast to Fountain Square on Saturday, Aug. 8.
• Spotlight Experience: Splurge for a gourmet dinner cooked by seven celebrity chefs, with your seat and parking thrown in. $275 per person, 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. (Tickets at lumenocity2015.com/spotlight)

Since there is no parking shuttle this year, where can we park?

The area has many parking options, including the 450-space Washington Park Garage (directly under the park), the Town Center Garage (under CET studios on Central Parkway), and the Mercer Commons Garage on Vine Street between 13th and 14th Streets.

Are there street closures?

Yes, from 10 a.m. Wednesday until 6 a.m. Monday, August 10, the closures are: 14th Street between Elm and Race Streets; Elm Street between 12th and 14th Streets, but there will be access to and from the west entrance of the Washington Park Garage; Race Street between 13th and 14th Streets. The eastern side of the Washington Park Garage can be accessed using 13th Street.

Will there be a new Lumenocity beer this year?

Yes, the CSO is collaborating for the first time with Rhinegeist Brewery to create Glow Lumenocity Pale Ale. The single hop Hüell Melon pale ale will be on tap in Lumenocity Village.

Lumenocity Village

No ticket is needed to enter Lumenocity Village, on the South side of Washington Park. It opens at 4 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, Aug. 5-7, and at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 8 and 9.

You’ll find local food (including food trucks), arts and crafts, Lumenocity merchandise and much more. There’s also a Beer Garden. The playground and Dog Park are open, but the fountain will be within the ticketed area. See the map for a full listing.

There will also be free performances in the Bandstand by local talent. Here’s the schedule:

Wednesday

• 4:30 p.m. Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra String Ensemble
• 5:30 p.m. New Horizons Ensemble
• 6:45 p.m. Comet Bluegrass All-Stars

Thursday

• 4:30 p.m. MyCincinnati/Price Hill Will
• 5:30 p.m. Cincinnati Young Artists Cello Ensemble
• 6:45 p.m. Honey and Houston

Friday

• 4:30 p.m. Cincinnati Baila Dance Academy
• 5:30 p.m. Melodic Connections
• 6:45 p.m. The Yugos
• 10:30 p.m. The Cincy Brass

Saturday

• 3:30 p.m. NKU String Project
• 4:30 p.m. Elementz
• 5:30 p.m. Exhale Dance Tribe
• 6:45 p.m. The Heavy Hinges
• 10:30 p.m. The Almighty Get Down

Sunday

• 3:30 p.m. Pones, Inc.
• 4:30 p.m. Cincinnati Young Artists Chamber Ensemble
• 5:30 p.m. McGing Irish Dancers
• 6:45 p.m. DAAP Girls

Music Hall Open House

Music Hall will have a free Open House: 4 p.m.-6 p.m. Aug. 5 through Aug. 7; and 3 p.m.-6 p.m. Aug. 8 and 9.

• Take free mini-tours by the Society for the Preservation of Music Hall (history-themed) and by Cincinnati Research & Paranormal Studies (ghost-themed).

• In the main foyer, visit the LEGO Music Hall model by Mason resident Mark Clark. He has augmented his original model to include the areas surrounding Music Hall, including Washington Park, Elm and Race Streets, streetcars, and a model of the Albee Theater.

“The Music Hall building alone in its original full form took 900 hours to build over 7-and-a-half months,” Clark says. “Washington park took a few months to build while the OTR brownstones have been sporadically built over the last year. I wouldn’t even venture a guess as to how many bricks are in it now!”

• The City of Cincinnati will have information about the streetcar project, which is slated to run along Elm Street in front of Music Hall (and along Race Street across Washington Park) in the near future.

• In Corbett Tower, see a display of the rare, art-carved decorative panels rescued from Music Hall’s historic Hook & Hastings pipe organ, accompanied by a documentary film about their restoration by local film maker Melissa Godoy.

• In the Ballroom, the “Mighty Wurlitzer” pipe organ from the old Albee Theater will be on display. This spectacular instrument has been fully restored to its original glory, and is at home along with other architectural artifacts rescued from the now-demolished Albee Theater. (The Ballroom will be closed on Saturday for a private event.)

Designers: 5 hints about this year’s show

Brave Berlin, an Over-the-Rhine creative design and production company, has developed the visuals that will beam across Washington Park from trailers set up on Race Street. Creative directors Dan Reynolds and Steve McGowan will oversee the 40-minute live concert from their control station in stacked boxcars.

The theme, “Masters and Dreamers,” will shine a light on the creative people – the masters and dreamers – who live, work and play in Cincinnati.

McGowan offered five things to look for in this year’s Lumenocity:

1. Some moments will be a surprise to the audience. In the opening number, when people hear the wall of sound that will be created by the May Festival Chorus in “O Fortuna” from “Carmina Burana,” mixed with the dramatic cinematic visuals, they will feel the emotion that is Lumenocity.

2. People will see things that they’ll recognize, including a few of our local “masters and dreamers,” and a nod to some of the iconic treasures of our city.

3. There will be interaction and engagement of the audience. Agar Agency, doing the activation,is our partner on this. That’s always our favorite, because people feel a part of the show.

4. We are bringing one story to life as a puppet theater, which is totally unique to any projection mapping we’ve ever seen. We think it will bring out the childlike wonder in all of us.

5. Our finale will be a celebration of Cincinnati like we’ve never done in Lumenocity. The music is Brahms, and it harkens back to the German heritage of Cincinnati.