College of Arts and Sciences Newsroom

By Eileen Carr

The 21st century has seen many innovations, and thanks to COVID-19, many challenges. For musicians and their audiences, both difficulties and technological advances have combined to create “virtual performances.”

For patrons of the University of Dayton’s ArtsLIVE performance series, three concerts will be shared virtually during the 2021 spring semester. The first is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14. The YouTube premiere of Bewitched, an early music program featuring Les Delices, with soprano Hannah DePriest, will be the first ArtsLIVE program to be offered virtually in the program’s 60-year history. (Pictured above.)

Thanks to an endowment established by the family of Elana and Vincent Bolling, these Virtual Vanguard concerts will be available free online to the public. 

Scheduled for 3 p.m. Sundays, the Virtual Vanguard concerts run about one hour and will be followed by a live question-and-answer session with the musicians. Following the Sunday premieres, each program will remain available on YouTube for just 48 hours.

The romance featured in the Valentine’s Day Bewitched performance is fiery and intense. The program includes works by several 17th century French composers who took their inspiration from the dramatic, classical tales of Circe and Medea, who pursued love and revenge through supernatural means.

While the first Virtual Vanguard performance transports audiences back in time, the second concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 7, by the Tesla Quartet promises a taste of international travel — Viaggio in Italia uses “augmented reality” (AR) technology. Italy is the destination, and the quartet’s performances will make it appear as if the musicians are in a variety of notable venues.

Tesla Quartet’s use of AR is made possible by new technology supported by Hoverlay. While the performance can be viewed on a computer in the traditional way, to enjoy the more immersive experience patrons will need to download the Hoverlay app on a phone or tablet and connect using the link provided on the ArtsLIVE website. Those viewing via the Hoverlay app will be able to virtually move and look around the site as Tesla performs.

The final concert, at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 11, Bach to Brazil, features classically trained harpist Bridget Kibbey. Kibbey draws a line from Bach and his rigorous Old World variations on a theme to folk musicians and later composers from such New World countries as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba and Puerto Rico. She is joined by two esteemed musicians for this project: percussionist Samuel Torres from Bogotá, Colombia, and clarinetist Louis Arques, a native of France.

For more information about the programs, visit go.udayton.edu/artslive or contact ArtsLIVE Coordinator Eileen Carr at ecarr1@udayton.edu.