By Hilary Saunders, New World Symphony

In late December, the New World Symphony brought a MTA train to Miami Beach. Sounds of train doors opening and clanking closed, winter boots thudding along the metal grates, and buskers performing underground flew through the 167 individually customizable speakers in the Miami Beach SoundScape. So, at least it sounded like there was a subway train in Miami.

The sounds enveloping the audience in the park were a part of the world premiere of Making Ends, a work by Brooklyn-based composer Mitchell McCarthy, which also featured a live string quartet of NWS Fellows whose sounds were amplified and manipulated in real-time. Third-year Cello Fellow Carl Baron, who hosted the evening and performed in Making Ends’ debut, commissioned the work by McCarthy for his innovative program, Inside the Music (Outside): An Exploration of Amplified Music.

Watch an interview with McCarthy about Making Ends above.

The event also allowed New World Symphony Fellows to utilize their skill sets in new ways. Not only did Baron create performances and narrations in numerous locations throughout the park, but other Fellows worked together to make this event possible as well. Second-year Audio Engineering Fellow Brandon Johnson collaborated with Baron and McCarthy to sound-mix the entire event, which also included more traditional works by Bach and Schubert, as well as achieve just the right sonic effects for Making Ends.

Johnson, whose fellowship duties differ from those of the 85 instrumentalists, explains, “We experimented with a unique process called space mapping, which allowed us to create the effect of moving elements within the park along a predetermined path (this was used to produce the effect of a train heard moving from the front of the park to the lefts side).” He continues, “Using the immense routing capabilities within the park sound system, we sought to achieve a realistic representation of how the various sounds that occurred during the performance would’ve actually been heard, if encountered at their actual location.”

Inside the Music (Outside) is just one way that NWS Fellows have been “exploring the digital age in classical music,” taking the tagline for the Knight New Media Center to heart. “With the opening of our new facility and with it the possibility to extend how Fellows engage with audiences, we’ve made a conscious effort to redefine the kind of programming offered throughout Inside the Music events,” said Robert H. Smith Jr., Director of Community Engagement. “We are challenging Fellows to create more imaginative and substantive projects offered for adult audiences attending this educational series of events.”

Coming up, the New World Symphony is excited to debut even more Fellow-driven initiatives that integrate technology into classical music. The free Musicians’ Forum: AIGA Centennial Celebration of Music and Design on January 27, 2014 will feature new visual illustrations created by artists selected by a juried call-for-entries process; the illustrations will be projected in the concert hall during musical works selected by the New World Symphony Fellows. And keep checking for more updates about future collaborations with the Miami City Ballet in March and Network Performing Arts Production Workshop in April.