Lumenocity will be inside this year

Yes, Lumenocity is returning. But this time, you won’t need sunscreen, hats or rain gear. And you won’t need to get there hours before the show to find a spot on the lawn.

For the first time since it began in 2013, the high-tech symphonic light spectacle is moving indoors. That's because Music Hall, which has served as the outdoor canvas for the show for three years, is scheduled to be a construction zone. So this year's Lumenocity, which has drawn tens of thousands of people to Washington Park in the past, will be at the Taft Theatre, Downtown, Aug. 5 through 7.

Officials are promising “a fully immersive experience” unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. What they'll be going for is a kind of "indoor Lumenocity," said Trey Devey, president of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, which presents the event.

“Lumenocity has always been the marriage of extraordinary visual elements with great music and has always involved our performance. So this year, that’s at the Taft Theatre. It’s different, but it does involve music, visuals and the orchestra’s home,” Devey said. “It will be more of a 360-degree experience, completely immersive. Things will be happening in front of you, around you and behind you, versus something that is in front of you and one-dimensional."

Lumenocity 2016 will be the last time the orchestra presents the show, Devey said. That's because, in 2017, the organization will be preoccupied with moving back into a renovated Music Hall.

There will be eight performances over the three-day period, which officials estimate will draw 16,000 people to the theater – a little more than half of the 30,000 who bought tickets last year for the event at Washington Park.

A free Lumenocity Block Party on Fifth Street will replace Washington Park’s Lumenocity Village, featuring food, crafts and free entertainment in front of the Taft Theatre. The Block Party will include the city’s largest viewing party of the show on a giant LED screen.

Lightborne, a design studio and production company based in Over-the-Rhine, is creating the visual displays this year. Instead of a light show of images playing onto the façade of Music Hall, the new concept will consist of an immersive experience unique to every seat in the theater.

The designers, who are still in the concept process, say they'll draw ideas from their recent work as part of Super Bowl XLIX Halftime Show starring Katy Perry, seen by 115 million viewers and nominated for a 2015 Emmy. They have also worked with touring musicians as diverse as Andrea Bocelli, Kanye West, Fleetwood Mac and Taylor Swift.

"The front of Music Hall is cool and detailed, but it’s a flat canvas, and it’s been treated that way, sort of like a theater screen. We want to take it to the next level, so the architecture becomes part of the story," said Dan Bryant, executive producer of the project. "If you’re sitting on the main floor, it’s happening around you. The balcony will be a different experience. Every seat in the theater will be a different experience."

There will be nine ultra-high-definition projectors stationed around the auditorium. The designers say this year they aim to tie the animations as closely as possible to the actual music. They have already been working with CSO music director Louis Langrée and Pops conductor John Morris Russell to get ideas for imagery to match the music.

"The orchestra is what is driving the whole thing. Our goal is to connect the animation with the music, and make that a magical experience," Bryant said.

This year's theme, "Re-imagine," is a play on the orchestra's temporary home at the Taft, and perhaps also on a new concept for the show.

"It’s different, by necessity," said Lightborne creative director Ryan McAllister.  "Our hope is by upping the magic of the animation style, and really combining that with drawing your attention to the orchestra playing live, we hope to push the experience to several levels above what it’s been in the past."

Change each year and rising costs

The event has seen changes each year since it debuted in 2013. Then, it was planned a way to welcome Langrée, the orchestra’s incoming music director. Officials were floored when an estimated 35,000 people packed Washington Park over two days. The next year, a fenced-off viewing area was added for safety reasons, and visitors were required to reserve a free ticket to enter.

The budget was doubled, performances were expanded to three nights and a new "Lumenocity Village" of food and vendors was added. But the public response again surprised organizers when the free ticket vouchers were gone online within just 12 minutes and attempts were made to sell some of them on eBay for up to $100 each. In the end, more than 42,000 people turned out – 12,500 per night – for three shows and a dress rehearsal.

Last year, the first year of paid tickets, the total capacity was reduced to 6,000 ticketed viewers each night in the fenced-in area, totaling 30,000 over four performances and the rehearsal. In addition, many rules were established regarding lawn chairs, blankets and coolers to ensure that all walkways were kept clear and passable.

The estimated cost to produce Lumenocity 2016 is $1.5 million – slightly more than last year’s $1.4 million.

The reason for the uptick is because of more expenses associated with putting on eight shows, as well as a block party that promises to have "something even more spectacular" than last year, Devey said. Because the orchestra fell short in philanthropic support for the event, it is charging for tickets, as it did last year.

As before, the orchestra will distribute 10 percent of the tickets to human service organizations so that families and individuals served by those agencies can attend at no charge.

With a history of high demand in previous shows, officials say they are trying to provide as many performances as possible in the theater, which will seat 2,000 for each performance.

"We also intend to have some form of (free) simulcast outside in the block party," Devey said. "Frankly, for people who want to come to the performance, they can go to the block party and experience it once again in the simulcast outside."

People who subscribe to the CSO, Pops and May Festival or make a donation will have access to a pre-sale prior to the general sale. Fans wishing early access to tickets must subscribe or donate by June 1 in order to qualify. Tickets, ranging from $12 (partial view) to $20 (full view), will go on sale in an early offering June 13-17.

Tickets will go on sale to the public on July 5 at lumenocity2016.com. No pre-registration is needed this year.

There will also be, as in former years, live broadcasts and web streams. The CSO will partner with WGUC-FM (90.9) for a live radio broadcast of Lumenocity 2016 on Friday, Aug. 5.  There will be a live television broadcast on Saturday, Aug. 6, thanks to partnerships with CET (Channel 48) as well as WCPO (Channel 9). About 96,000 television viewers tuned in last year.

And a live web stream will be available on Lumenocity2016.com. Last year’s webcast was experienced by people in 10 different countries.

The Taft Theatre will be the CSO’s “home away from home” during the 2016-17 season, beginning in September, while Music Hall undergoes a long-planned, $135 million renovation. The orchestra, which manages the Taft Theatre through its subsidiary, Music Event and Management Inc., has invested more than $3 million in improvements to the Taft since 2011.

Being indoors will allow more families to attend as several matinee performances are planned, Devey said.

But this is the last one, at least for awhile.

"Every year, when we've finished Lumenocity, there’s been a question around the future of Lumenocity," Devey said. "In 2017, we’ll be wholly focused on coming back to Music Hall and in the midst of acoustic testing. The amount of focus that we will need in the return to Music Hall will be all-consuming. But our value of being a place of experimentation is essential. We will come back to Music Hall and we'll still experiment."

What’s new

• Lumenocity 2016 will be indoors at the Taft Theatre, Downtown.
• There will be eight performances over three days, Aug. 5-7.
• Rather than outdoor projections, the new symphonic light show will be an immersive experience unique to every seat in the theater.
• Each show will be 45 minutes long. CSO Music Director Louis Langrée and Pops Conductor John Morris Russell will share the podium in one program, featuring music by John Williams, Leonard Bernstein, Brahms and Shostakovich.
• This year, people will not need to pre-register for tickets, as was the case last year.
• There will be a free Lumenocity Block Party in front of the Taft (on Fifth, between Sycamore and Main) with live music, art installations, activities for kids, food and beverage services and a giant LED screen to show what’s happening inside. Hours and schedule of events will be announced at a later date. Lightborne has engaged the College of DAAP at the University of Cincinnati and the College of Informatics at Northern Kentucky University as partners in creating an outdoor interactive experience.

Performance times

• Aug. 5 (Friday): 2 shows at 8 p.m. and 9:40 p.m.
• Aug. 6 (Saturday): 4 shows, at 2 p.m., 3:40 p.m. 8 p.m. and 9:40 p.m.
• Aug. 7 (Sunday): 2 shows, at 2 p.m. and 3:40 p.m.

Tickets and ticketing timeline

• Tickets: $12 (partial view) to $20 (full view). Tickets go on sale to the general public 10 a.m. July 5 at Lumenocity2016.com (online only). 
• The CSO is waiving service fees. Assigned seating (not general admission). All attendees require a ticket except for lap children under age 2. 
• Now through June 1: Subscribe to the CSO, Pops or May Festival 2016-17 Taft Theatre season, or donate $250 or more to the orchestra’s annual fund to qualify to purchase tickets in a pre-sale. Visit cincinnatisymphony.org/subscribe for more information or to purchase subscriptions.
• June 13-17: Pre-sale of up to four tickets per household for CSO and Pops subscribers and donors
• July 5: General public tickets of up to four tickets per household go on sale at 10 a.m. on lumenocity2016.com. People will not need to register ahead of time.
• Website: Lumenocity2016.com. Tickets will not be sold at any box office, library or any other ticketing sites. The CSO discourages purchasing tickets from third-party sites and cannot honor invalid tickets.

Lumenocity 2016 Musical Program

Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra, Louis Langrée and John Morris Russell, conductors

John Williams: Planet Krypton 

John Williams: Olympic Fanfare 

Leonard Bernstein: Selections from the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

Bernstein: Overture to Candide 

Brahms: Symphony No. 3, Movement III 

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5, Movement IV 

Sponsors

Creative Partner and Sponsor: Lightborne

Lead Sponsors: Jackie and Roy Sweeney; Jacob G. Schmiddlapp Trusts at Fifth Third Bank, Trustee; P&G

Performance Sponsors: Scottish Rite Valley of Cincinnati; The Greater Cincinnati Foundation

Supporting Sponsors: Rosemary and Frank Bloom; CCI Design/Tom and Molly Garber; Sue Friedlander; Anne Heldman; Messer Construction; Rosemary and Mark Schlachter; Waddell Family Foundation 

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops Season Sponsors: ArtsWave, Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund of the Greenacres Foundation, Ohio Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, U.S. Bank, Paycor, Macy’s, PNC, Otto M. Budig Family Foundation, UDF/Homemade.