Music Experience in 3D Reality Dome Theater ShowS

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Ladies and Gentlemen’s, we are glad to announce that Sound Reproduction is no longer only a complimentary part of music expression but can be its main creative element where timbres of electronic instruments can be used to perform the real classical masterpiece in the new orchestration of the composition and in confirmation of that please enjoy Gustav Mahler Symphony No.9 - Music Experience in 3-Dimensional Sound Reality Virtual Synthesis.

Modern recording techniques have come alarmingly far in just a few short years. However, as often as pop, rock and even Broadway cast recordings were 'assembled' in the halcyon days of the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's, even after the advent of hard drive recording, you could count on one genre to preserve at least a semblance of the 'live' ensemble experience, and that was of course classical music. Not anymore. Choral composers like Eric Whitacre have pioneered the idea of a 'virtual choir' where people separated by continents are able to 'join together' to sing via such media as YouTube. And now we are introduced to an 'assembled' synthesized orchestra under the 'virtual baton' of Alexander Jero accompanied by surrealistic Fulldome video imagery. Jero recording instruments separately then brings them by sections, and records them. He then assembles the final presentation in the mixing room in 3D surround sound. It's an unusual approach for a genre as hopefully organic as classical music, and listeners' reactions may be colored by the knowledge that high tech wizardry has at least helped to craft the architecture of any given performance.

This is a presentation of a conceptual work that encompasses nearly 10 years of research in music, sound and technology. The goal was to develop a new view on how music can be presented in Surround Sound. What you will experience is an experimental project that takes orchestration into new dimensions of sound. In producing these classic masterpieces, we have taken a revolutionary approach to showcasing music orchestration with the position of each instrument or group of instruments around the listener. Original orchestral partitures were transcribed in a virtual domain using midi, sampled instruments and synthesis to achieve real separation of the instruments, and also to balance them together in the surround mix. This creates the perception that each individual sound has its unique location in 3-Dimensional Space. Looking to the future of sound and music technology, there is a need for new development to showcase new artist and producers in a revolutionary way.  

After completing the music part of the project in Detroit area studios, Jero went to the New Detroit Science Center to complete the visual portion of his presentation. The 50-foot-wide, three-story-high planetarium, he felt, was the perfect environment in which to showcase the visual perception of the surround music experience. In 2003, Real Detroit Weekly wrote of the show, 'Music has always been something you could only hear and never touch or see, but this exciting exhibit at the New Detroit Science Center let you get closer to sound than you ever have before. Inside the Digital Dome Planetarium, 13,000 watts of amplification and 5.1 Surround Sound will help to create a sonic experience that explodes into a visual installment in the 50-foot-wide/ three-story-high planetarium.'  

In February of 2003, United Entertainment Media and Surround Professional magazine chose Jero for the 'Best New Surround Composition' award. --ProSoundNews (April 4, 2006)