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Elegant video and production for live music

We specialize in multimedia productions for the concert stage that are as vibrant as they are meaningful. Audiences come away with a deeper feeling of connection with music they know and love, and a fresh perspective on what live performances can be.

ELEGANT video and production for live music

We specialize in multimedia productions for the concert stage that are as vibrant as they are meaningful. Audiences come away with a deeper feeling of connection with music they know and love, and a fresh perspective on what live performances can be.

Aesthetics

Our visual and dramatic approaches are rooted in each piece of music’s origins yet still offer surprising new perspectives.

 

Ensembles and musicians of all stripes are embracing the use of screens in their performances. We love this trend – our own eggs are in this basket! – believing as we do that a successful future for live concerts lies in creativity of presentation and a heightened attention to stagecraft and production value. The emerging challenge for many performing arts organizations is developing high quality concert content that enhances live performances.

That’s why we created The New Live. Our projects bring the focus back to the music and its meaning and do so in an informed, contemporary way. All of our content is designed to deepen listeners’ understanding of the history and milieu of classic works while unearthing new threads of connection between those works and the cultures around them and us. Our careful study of the combination of music with visuals, lighting, and other theatrical elements has led us to a sophisticated sense of pacing and stagecraft which underscores and elevates music rather than overwhelms it.

 

Technology

You have to see it to believe it: our proprietary cueing system, designed to allow visual and other theatrical elements to follow the music rather than the other way around.

 

Who likes click tracks, anyway? Performers and their interpretations are at the center of a cueing system which frees musicians from having to follow markers or yoke their playing to on-screen action. Instead, our cueing makes use of industry-leading QLab software to control video and lighting elements from a booth or hall position. Even hard cues are delivered with precision while artists onstage focus on giving their best, most personal performances.

This synchronicity with each ensemble’s interpretations is made possible by the presence of our technical director Jacob Meade at The New Live presentations. In addition to handling video playback and cueing, Jacob also works directly with venue staff on lighting and screen setup for every show we book. Our technology allows a true plug-and-play experience for presenters: a single HDMI-capable projector is all we need in order to present a project. We have extensive experience working with technical staff and communicate our protocol clearly and efficiently with back of house well before we arrive on-site.

 

Extra Services

In addition to sophisticated aesthetics and tech, The New Live offers a special blend of expertise including conducting, screen set-up and lighting, stage management, and marketing support.

 

All of our productions are designed to work seamlessly with any organization’s performers and technical and administrative staff. However, we recognize that not all institutions have expertise in the gamut of production options available for live performances today. Customized assistance can help transform a standard live concert into a magical experience for performers and audiences alike. 

 

,Our expertise in both front of house and back of house enables us to flow our presentations seamlessly into processes at organizations of all sizes. We love to work in all kinds of venues, and several of our productions are perfect for non-traditional spaces. Our founder Jason Weinberger, with his performance experience in our repertoire and his expertise across a wide array of musical genres, is available as a guest conductor for any The New Live production. 

 

We are also able to consult with orchestras and presenters who lack on-site projection or lighting resources and we can source equipment on behalf of organizations who require that service. The New Live’s standard  marketing package includes vivid artistic imagery and custom fonts and we can also work seamlessly with your administrative staff on marketing materials and social media plans that go beyond the basics.

 

Finally, let us help you connect meaningfully with your audiences or partners in your community by hosting our artists for special presentations, pre- and post-concert activities, and gallery showings. Gary Kelley is available for in-person activities and has extensive experience sharing his expertise and point of view with everyone from students to symphony audiences. All extra services and related fees are established at the time of booking based on direct consultation with your organization.

Press

Critics and audiences have been wowed by our productions, noting their “explosion of creativity” and hailing them as “original,” “brilliant,” and “riveting.”
Nachtmusik: “Kelley based his drawings on the original novel, Dracula, by Bram Stoker, and on the first Dracula film, Nosferatu. [His film] used written words on the screen for explanations and what dialogue was needed, thus giving the event somewhat of a silent film feel (though with a very good pit orchestra!). Kelley’s skill was in full display here, transfixing audiences in a riveting display of artistry. I was particularly drawn to his expert depiction of architecture and the period costuming, and to his stunningly evocative echoing of the unsettling Nosferatu images. The combination of Kelley and Mahler worked for me, and for others with whom I talked.”
A New Nutcracker: “Kelley did a series of illustrations of the Ellington Nutcracker that tell a story, as does Tchaikovsky’s, of a little girl who receives a nutcracker for Christmas. Kelley’s little girl lives in Harlem and the evolving series of illustrations have a distinctly African-American take. These images weren’t static – they moved across the screen, were of differing sizes, and included a completed-in-front-of-your-eyes line drawing. The audience was greatly enthusiastic for this new mixed-media creation. The work, with Kelley’s unmistakable artistry, has every chance of becoming a Christmas fixture across the country. Called up on stage for bows were Kelley and Jacob Meade, the technical wizard who put Kelley’s creations successfully and artistically onscreen.”
The Planets, Reimagined: “The idea of pulling these artistic forces together was brilliant and was, I am sure, the result of close collaboration between Kelley and Weinberger. The complicated uniting of several art forms worked beautifully. [In this presentation] the personalities of each planet are, of course, imagined ones, loosely related to the astrological significance of the planet. The total experience was a kind of powerful philosophical journey of music and metaphysics. The program inspired one of the grandest ovations – the audience was simply frenzied.”

To The New World: “The project was highly successful and emotionally moving … Kelley followed Dvorak and his family on the transatlantic voyage, through his explorations of New York City, and on his journey by train and by cart to Spillville. All of this was accompanied by the music of Dvorak, divided into stand-alone movements, some quite unfamiliar. The production of the artwork was astonishing — the images moved on screen in various directions, and through differing super-impositions. Technical director Jacob Meade deserves wholehearted praise for superlative creativity.”

EXPERIENCE THE NEW LIVE

Ready to bring our stunning presentations to your stage? Contact us about booking our productions and services.

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