ROANOKE, Va. – The Roanoke Baroque Orchestra and The Eye Planetarium at the Science Museum of Western Virginia teamed up this weekend to combine immersive visuals and baroque music during their “In Gardens & Palaces with the Sons of JS Bach & Handel” performance.
“This is a combination of the science of The Eye, the planetarium, and the concept to project virtually anything on its dome. and the music of the sons of Johan Sebastian Bach and a little bit of George Frideric Handel.”
Michael Shasberger, Artistic Director of Roanoke Baroque Orchestra
Crowds were treated to the sounds of a baroque orchestra, along with a visual performance where Bach and Handel played their music along with The Eye’s projections. It’s part of the reason they played at the eye, as it combined aspects of the orchestra and the museum to showcase each other’s strengths.
“It has an earthiness and so much emotion to it. When people really listen to the textures, it’s really intimate.”
Rick Dolan, Principal 2nd Violinist
After all, highlighting different aspects of Roanoke’s artistic culture is one of the goals of The Eye.
“I think it’s really important to use this space to highlight other members of the community as well. To be able to use the height of the visuals and the sonics, we were really able to highlight them tonight.”
Katie Brooks, Eye Planetarium director
