The City of Edinburgh Council spends £2.3m on the Edinburgh International Festival and there are many council-owned buildings which are used during the month long cultural event.
The Edinburgh Reporter spoke to Culture & Sport Convener and Festivals Champion, Councillor Richard Lewis about this year’s programme and why the council remains committed to the arts event.
This year the Harmonium Project will use the outside of the Usher Hall which is owned and run by the council for an event on 7 August 2015 at 10.30pm.
This will be a free public event and we are promised a huge sound and light spectacular created by 59 Productions combining art and technology to stunning effect.
A recording of John Adams’ choral work Harmonium made by the RSNO and Edinburgh Festival Chorus conducted by Peter Oundjian will be played out on speakers across Festival Square. Animated graphics will be shown on the outside of the hall gifted to the city by the Usher family 101 years ago.
The visualisation will be produced by University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics and Edinburgh College of Art working alongside the Edinburgh Festival Chorus. They will combine data and design showing what happens when people and music interact. The data will be drawn from EEG machines measuring brain activity.
The Edinburgh Festival Chorus celebrates its 50th anniversary this year a fact that was obvious from the footwear worn by their Chorus Master, Christopher Bell at today’s launch! He is a brand new Twitter user tweeting under the name @bellman143 Go on tell him you like his shoes…..
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