Telecom 99

I have always preferred to work within sonic environments that contain significantly greater numbers of discrete speaker locations than traditionally used in order to maximize the feeling of immersion for the audience. Bianchi and Smith's largest effort was in collaboration with Lucent Technologies and for a gala concert at Telecom 99. We designed, assembled, programmed, and oversaw installation of a virtual orchestra system that used 321 speakers to provide an experience of gliding through a symphony orchestra during a performance. A Lucent-developed experimental gesture recognition system analyzed Mr. Barry's baton in real time and delivered beat predictions to the virtual orchestra.