ARTS & CULTURE
‘Journey BOREALIS’ Pyramid Hill’s multimedia attraction features Chamber Orchestra, Boychoir and BLINK’s Brave Berlin By Shauna Steigerwald
H
ow far is it from Hamilton to the North Pole? This holiday season, it’s only a 2.5-mile drive. At least, the organizations collaborating on “Journey BOREALIS” hope it will feel that way. “Journey BOREALIS” is the latest incarnation of Holiday Lights on the Hill at Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park & Museum. A blend of contemporary lighting effects and traditional string lights – more than a million LED bulbs – the 2020 edition will light up the park Nov. 20-Jan. 3. It’s the 21st year for the Holiday Lights event, which is traditionally holiday lights strung throughout the park. This year, Pyramid Hill is collaborating with multiple artists and organizations – notably Brave Berlin (of Lumenocity and BLINK fame), the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and Cincinnati Boychoir – to bring a whole new experience to light at a time when a drivethrough event has the added appeal of social distancing during COVID-19. “As you turn into Pyramid Hill to experience ‘Journey BOREALIS,’ I like to say that you are leaving Ohio,” said Sean FitzGibbons, Pyramid Hill’s executive director. “At the end of it, you will be at the North Pole.” (Borealis, of course, refers to the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights.) Visitors will be “surrounded by wonder” as they travel through five different “fantasy zones” of art installations by Brave Berlin and local artists, said Steve McGowan, co-owner of Brave Berlin. “Think of it as a gameboard or storyboard that magically comes to life through light, sculpture and projection,” he said. The soundtrack, an original arrangement by composer Daniel Nail, is also a big part of the experience. “It’s got a really fun, magical, mysterious holiday vibe to it,” McGowan said. And thanks to geolocation, it will sync with the story: Visitors will download a free
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Movers & Makers
app, and a GPS will trigger the music as they drive through the different zones. The soundtrack combines existing music from the Chamber Orchestra’s archives and vocals from the Boychoir. “While it’s all pulled from the archives, it’s going to feel unique to ‘Journey BOREALIS,’” FitzGibbons said of the music. “It’s a very high conceptual arrangement.”
“We are teaching the boys to not just be choral singers but also session musicians,” he said. “They’re learning to be their own teachers, because I’m not at their house when they’re recording this music.” The boys are also lending their faces to Brave Berlin, who will create video portraits that will be used throughout the park, McGowan said.
Expanding musical outreach
Coming together
LeAnne Anklan, executive director of the Chamber Orchestra, said they worked with composer Nail to comb their recordings for pieces that would work in “BOREALIS.” Their music will be used between zones, while the Boychoir will be heard at each installation, she said. “We’re kind of the glue holding each of the sections together – the musical glue,” she said. “This is beautiful music that people can really engage with,” she added. “It really opens up a big audience for us in what would have been a quiet winter.” Jason Alexander Holmes, Cincinnati Boychoir’s artistic director, expressed a similar sentiment. “It really expands our artistry and our reach into the community,” he said. He’d normally be preparing the boys for a holiday performance at the Aronoff Center. With COVID-19 taking that off the table, the opportunity to participate in “Journey BOREALIS” was welcome. Holmes has been using virtual rehearsals to teach the boys the music. Each of the 56 boys, who range in age from third through 12th grades, then records his voice individually. “That part has been really cool for me because I’ve been able to hear all of the singers individually and give individual feedback,” he said. It’s also helping the boys build new skills.
What brought all of these organizations together? Brave Berlin got involved with the Holiday Lights back in 2018, when they created a projection on the facade of the park’s open-air pavilion. It was a hit, and Brave Berlin returned in 2019, creating a projection-mapped sculpture inside the pavilion. Attendance to the event grew with their participation: 30,000 attendees went through last year, FitzGibbons said.
From top: Sean FitzGibbons, Steve McGowan, LeAnne Anklan, Jason Alexander Holmes, (next page) Katie MacDonald
‘Journey BOREALIS’ Where: Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park & Museum, 1763 Hamilton Cleves Road, Hamilton, Ohio, 45013 When: Open daily Nov. 20-Jan. 3. 6-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 6-10 pm. Friday-Sunday Cost: Members: $15 per car at any time. Nonmembers: $20 per car for Monday-Thursday; $25 on Friday-Sunday. Pyramid Hill is partnering with the City of Hamilton’s 17 Strong to offer free admission to Hamilton residents every Tuesday. Proof of residency (such as driver’s licenses or utility bills from October or November 2020) is required to qualify. www.journeyborealis.com
