New World Symphony WALLCAST concert | Photo by Rui Dias-Aidos
When multiple Emmy Award-winning conductor Michael Tilson Thomas lifts his baton on Saturday night, Oct. 12, on the podium of the New World Center, he will not only be kicking off the orchestral academy's 32nd season for those seated in the concert hall, but he will be marking the orchestral academy's 100th Wallcast.
The milestone event will mark eight years of presenting the free outdoor classical music concerts that have become a cherished tradition in the Miami area, says Howard Herring, president and chief executive officer of the New World Symphony (NWS).
Each Wallcast typically draw 2,000 people, who are invited to bring their own chairs or blankets on the lawn of the park, watching and hearing the same performance that is being simulcast from inside the New World Center, located just several feet away.
"When people come to a Wallcast, they are not only coming to a concert, but they are coming to be with their friends and enjoy the beautiful South Florida weather. It's an irresistible combination," says Herring.
Saturday's program will feature Tilson Thomas, the co-founder and artistic director of the NWS, joined by Emmy award-nominated and acclaimed Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov, in a performance of fellow Russian composer's Alexander Scriabin's "Piano Concerto."
New World Symphony WALLCAST concert at New World Center | Photo by World Red Eye
The program will also feature NWS Conducting Fellow Chad Goodman, who will conduct Ludwig van Beethoven's "Egmont Overture." Hector Berlioz's "Selections from Romeo and Juliet," will complete the program.
When the New World Center opened in 2011, the Wallcast featured the latest HD technology, but it has been upgraded and Saturday's event will be the first to use the facility's new 4K Ultra-High Definition technology, says Herring. As a result, the projection of the concert will be "brighter and more vivid" than ever before. "It's at the very front end of technology," adds Herring.
One of the aspects of the Wallcast are the quality of the concerts, which are the same as the ones that the ticket holders see. "The one I remember best was the very first one, which was held the night we opened the New World Center. No one had ever seen a projection wall like this," he says, noting that Tilson Thomas conducted, and that the audience included famous architect Frank Gehry, who designed the building.
"One of the selections was Copland's Third Symphony, which included ‘Fanfare for the Common Man,' and it was a wonderful evening in the very best sense of the word,'" Herring says.
Other notable Wallcasts have include Tilson Thomas conducting violinist Anne Sophie Mutter and the NWS in a program that they repeated on the following Monday in Carnegie Hall, and last winter's NWS Gala, which featured famed composer John Williams conducting many of his classics, including his Star Wars compositions. For that performance, the park was enlivened by the appearance of many costumed characters from the movie franchise, including Darth Vader, along with a contingent of Stormtroopers and Rebels.
Since the start of the Wallcasts eight years ago, it has not only proved wildly popular in the Miami area, but their success is being replicated around the country. Locations that have launched or will soon launch outdoor systems influenced in part by the Wallcasts include the Kennedy Center, along with centers in Oklahoma, Kentucky, Michigan, Anaheim, California, and Jacksonville. "They've all been here," says Herring.
The Wallcast concerts reflect the "pioneering vision" of Tilson Thomas, who insisted that the New World Center be constructed with the Wallcast in mind.
"The vision statement for the NWS is that we envision a strong, secure future for classical music and we will reimagine, reaffirm, express and share its traditions with as many people as possible. It's that last phrase that is the kicker. If that's your vision, then you make a move like the Wallcast," he says.
"Seventy percent of our audience has never purchased a ticket to the NWS so the Wallcast is our second audience and it fulfills our vision. We are happy if they purchase a ticket someday and come inside, but we are equally happy if their classical musical experience is only the Wallcast."
The NWS is mapping future plans to engage audiences and present Wallcasts even further afield than Soundscape Park, notes Herring.
"Even though we get 2,000 people on average for our concerts –sometimes up to 3,000 – we want to make them available to more people," he says.
WALLCASTS have featured famed composer John Williams conducting many of his classics, including his Star Wars compositions. For that performance, the park was enlivened by the appearance of many costumed characters from the movie franchise, including Darth Vader, along with a contingent of Stormtroopers and Rebels. (Photo: Charlotte Libov)
Right now, the Wallcast is broadcast on the north side of the building, but LED screens that will also display on park's south side are under consideration, as is taking mobile screens and sound systems outside of South Beach and creating portable Wallcasts in different parts of the Greater Miami area, he says.
The new 4D technology was purchased with funding from the City of Miami Beach but is only one example of their partnership with the NWS, notes City Commissioner Michael Gongora.
"I remember when this land was just two parking lots on Lincoln Road," says Gongora, noting that it was the city's decision to allow the NWS to build the New World Center on its land, and that the city owns the park.
"I consider the New World Symphony's Wallcasts to be one of Miami Beach's crown jewels. It's a really popular program. It closes down for the summer, and everyone is so excited when it returns," he adds.
(The Wallcast concerts mirror the NWS season, beginning each year in October and ending in May).
Another aspect of the Wallcast program is the boost it brings to the adjacent Lincoln Road restaurants, says Timothy Schmand, executive director of the Lincoln Road Business Improvement District.
The business district and the NWS have formed a partnership, and there will be short pop-up concerts by musicians that will be held on Lincoln Road on the Sundays of weeks that don't feature Wallcasts, to help promote the program. Says Schmand, "The Wallcast is another one of those things that are uniquely Miami Beach."
- Season Opener Wallcast, Saturday, Oct. 12, 7:30 p.m., New World Center, 400 17th St., Miami Beach, FL, 33139.
- Free.
- Audience is invited to bring own chairs and blankets. www.nws.edu.
