A chance to conduct yourself

Those interested in music and performing arts were in for a treat at the Open Day Festival of the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing on Dec 22, which offered diverse cultural experiences, some innovative and interactive, and others that were nourishing for the mind.

One of the highlights was the Art Reinvented — NCPA Digital Artworks exhibition, which opened at the festival and will run until Nov 30 this year, offering an overview of the center's efforts in integrating art and technology.

There, visitors can indulge their musical fantasies like being a master conductor at an interactive video installation. It features a giant curved screen displaying a virtual orchestra and creating an immersive onstage experience, where participants can ascend a podium and pick up the baton.

After completing a brief tutorial session under a staff member's guidance, they can then wave the baton in sync with directional arrows on the screen and lead the virtual orchestra to perform excerpts of two classical pieces, the Chinese symphony piece Ode to the Red Flag or Beethoven's Symphony No 9.

"Many children were so eager to participate that even though some couldn't meet the height requirement, they were lifted up by their parents so they could take part," says He Meiling, a curator of the NCPA.

"While many participants were unfamiliar with conducting, they could gradually get a feel for it during the experience and begin to naturally wave the baton. Some even started moving their bodies along with the music."

Launched by the NCPA this year, the installation integrates motion-sensing technology and sound mapping. The virtual orchestra is not simply video footage — each member is a motion capture of a real musician, including detailed body gestures, facial expressions and the mouth movements of the choir singers.

Recordings of the two music pieces are provided by the music label NCPA Classics, which were captured during live performances at the NCPA concert hall. The installation adopts surround sound to re-create the rich timbre and spatial depth of the concert hall, providing the participants with an authentic experience.

"This reflects one of our initial intentions when planning this project — to allow people with no prior knowledge to easily experience the charm of conducting," she says.

"We all know that the conductor plays a pivotal role in a choir or an orchestra, guiding the dynamics, tempo, and the nuances of a piece. We've worked to incorporate all these different gestures into the installation."