Starlite Productions Lights up the Philadelphia Orchestra

	The Philadelphia Orchestra welcomes Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

For only the eighth time in its storied 112-year history, the Philadelphia Orchestra welcomed a new music director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The Canadian-born maestro took to the stage in Philadelphia's magnificent Kimmel Center on October 18, 2012 and wielded his baton with great vibrancy as if to paint on a canvas the very reaches of Brahms' massive 4th Symphony.

The undulating walls of the immense concert hall were awash in brilliant color as though something magical was happening. And indeed it was.

"Yannick Blue is what we called it," said Steve Kosiba, one of Starlite Productions' lighting designers. "During much of the evening we lit the hall with the new conductor's favorite color. It was on posters all over Philadelphia for weeks prior to the show -- it was a sort of branding, if you will, and gave the audience a sense of his artistic vision."

All three levels of the walls behind the stage were brilliantly illuminated by a staggering 124 Phillips Color Kinetic Color Blast 12s. The CB12's high-intensity LEDs cast a constant wash of rich color against the walls and completely change the dynamics of the room especially a room as dynamic as the Kimmel Center's grand Verizon Hall.

30 Martin MAC101s were employed to provide backlight to a short upstage scrim. These eight pound wonders are bright, versatile, and energy efficient enough that all 30 fixtures were powered by only two 20A circuits.

Six Phillips Vari-Lite VL3500 Spots make a statement, the company says, with a six-position color wheel, two gobo/effects wheels, and separate dimmer and ultra-fast strobe mechanisms. Starlite Productions' senior project manager Jason Danowitz chose the 3500s for their highly advanced framing shutters, which allowed the fixtures to exclusively light a giant Yannick sign and not spill any light onto unwanted areas.

Controlling these more than 150 lighting fixtures was MA Lighting's Grand MA full size rig. This board offers the lighting designer fast and unparalleled control over conventional, moving, and LED lighting fixtures.

From the earliest years of the 20th century, the Philadelphia Orchestra has led the way in technology including radio, television, and electrical recordings. Yannick's joining the ranks of musical innovation giants Stokowski and Ormandy is cause for great fanfare and cultural pride for the city of brotherly love. Starlite Productions added to the celebration with the latest in lighting technology, the company noted, a magnificent eye for the spectacular and a deft feel for the texture inspired light creates.