An artistic drone light show is soaring into Philadelphia later this month.
Drones have a bit of a mixed reputation. They fly around, sometimes invading our airspace or delivering our packages. But they can also deliver beauty, capturing breathtaking wilderness scenes — we’re looking at you, PBS Nature. And now, they are headed to Fairmount Park, to dance in the sky to classical music.
The performance, from the entertainment company Fever — also responsible for “experiences” like the Immersive Van Gogh and candlelight concerts — is headed to the city August 29 and 30.
“This show is a perfect night out for couples, for friends, for families — a very relaxing evening,” said Sofia Altuna, Fever’s team lead for the DroneArt Show.
In addition to over 500 drones, the musicians and audience members will be surrounded by 7,000 to 8,000 battery-powered candles. Throughout the night, a string quartet will perform a classical set centered on nature-themed pieces.
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons takes center stage, alongside works by Mussorgsky and Tchaikovsky. The final number is an original composition, Brezza, from composer Enrico Fallea, which draws inspiration from the Spring movement of Vivaldi’s famous work.
While the music plays, drones arrange themselves into shapes resembling animals and natural elements that complement the music. Each formation will last about 15 to 20 seconds long.
“There’s one image in the Four Seasons of a bee pollinating a flower,” said Ricky Schweitzer, the lead music curator for the show. “When it comes up, every time I’ve seen the show, and I’ve seen it in many cities around the world, the audience just kind of gasps, because it’s just so evocative and beautiful.”
Schweitzer noted that the songs in the show were chosen first, and the light show then was designed around the music.
“This isn’t meant to be kind of a film sync, where you know there’s a specific musical note that’s hit with a specific musical cue,” he explained. “It’s more about capturing the feel and the imagination that stirs from the music.”
Drone art has been gaining in popularity over the last decade. They can be found hovering above performers at music festivals, and there is momentum for them as a quieter, more dog-friendly alternative to fireworks.
While most drone art lasts only five to 15 minutes due to charging issues, Fever’s drones will be in the air for 45 minutes, thanks to a collaboration with Nova Sky Stories.
“We’re definitely the longest drone show that exists out there,” Altuna said. “And it’s truly not just a component of the experience, but it is equally part of the experience as the music and the musicians are.”
Whether you’re into drone shows or not, there is something fascinating about a performance centered around new technology, masquerading as nature, set to centuries-old music.
“It’s this incredible nexus of modern technology and this music, this art form that’s been around since the 1600s,” Schweitzer said. “So I hope that, among other things, [viewers] get this feeling of completion of the human experience, but also seeing how far we’ve come and how much these sorts of art forms have been around forever.”
Fever’s DroneArt Show is currently touring around the world.
“We did our first pilot in November, in LA,” Altuna explained. “Since June, we’ve been expanding. We’ve already done 30 cities, and we’re going to be doing 30 more for the rest of the year … Right now, we are very much present in Europe, the U.S. and Australia, and in every market, actually, it’s been, it’s been performing incredibly well.”
Altuna calls the atmosphere at the show a “picnic vibe.” Bring food, chairs and blankets. This show might not be for art savants or classical experts, but if you are someone who finds the Kimmel Center intimidating, this event is a good place to start.
“A lot of people in our audience are going to have never seen any piece of classical music performed live before, and even if they have, it might have been in a totally different context,” Schweitzer said. “Then they might discover from this, like, ‘Wow, actually, this is really beautiful. I might go home and look up these artists, or listen to Vivaldi.’ ”
“We just kind of want to not necessarily fully educate people on the history of classical music,” he added, “but to awaken the possibility for an expansion of their musical vocabulary.”
The performance is 65 minutes and begins at 8:30 p.m. in West Fairmount Park at the Sweetbriar Softball Fields. Tickets are currently on sale.
“People can come out and bring their picnics, and they’re going to be listening to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with a beautiful quartet set to incredible candlelight and perfectly synchronized to a dance of drones that’s happening in the sky throughout the entire show,” Altuna said. “It’s really inspirational throughout.”
