A dear old friend of mine introduced me at a production meeting as "That Famous Polish Lighting Designer" and we all chuckled. During the production the crew gave me a pen/desk set with the engraving TFPLD. As the internet came into popular culture i needed an email addy. I tried 4 different names and on my last chance i looked at my pen/desk set and said of course "TFPLD"

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

"Bolero" for Pittsburgh Symphony 2012

I was approached by the Pittsburgh Symphony in August of 2011.  They told me about a festival that was going to be happening in the spring of 2012 and they wanted to add the "element" of light to one of the concerts.  The piece that was picked was Ravel's "Bolero" and was I interested in this idea.  YES.  I was very excited and interested.  I was given approximately 2 weeks to come up with ideas.  I had 3 budget levels in mind knowing that the "rolls royce" was going to cost too much and the "ford pinto" would be boring.  I did a lot of research on Ravel and this piece and that got me going.  So i went back for a meeting and set out my ideas.  The gig was a GO.  Over the course of the year some refining happened and at the end of April we went into production.  I had 10 solo "chair" specials for the 1st 10 movements.  I had washes of varying shades and directions but primarily red.  There were 5 "viole" panels in the back that were individually rigged to fly in on my call during the piece.  Here is the end result.  A couple of the shots i played with in "photo-shop".  One picture was taken after the concert on a "bare" stage.




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1 comment:

  1. Emily ChiodoNovember 2, 2012 at 6:19 PM

    Hello - I was randomly Googling this particular PSO performance this evening as my memory of the concert was recently jogged by a general discussion about the PSO. I just wanted to tell you that this performance was BY FAR the most powerful, moving performance I have ever seen the PSO give. I have been going to Heinz Hall for about 30 years.

    My sister and I love Bolero and were happy just to go hear it played, but what we got to experience literally brought me to tears. The effect that you had on this performance with your lighting and panels and the precise timing was not only a refreshing addition to a symphony performance, but it also felt like it was completely organic, as if this is what Bolero would literally look like if music had visual form. Best. Performance. Ever. Thank you for your talents and your work. I hope the PSO uses your skills and talents for numerous performances. Kudos to you.

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