CSO's LUMENOCITY to Return This Summer

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has announced that its wildly popular concert and community festival, LUMENOCITY, will return for the third year in a row, August 5-9, 2015 at Washington Park in Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. An all-new artistic program will again feature 3-D image projection mapping, again designed by creative partner Brave Berlin, on the façade of historic Music Hall choreographed to music performed by the CSO under the leadership of Music Director Louis Langrée. The first half of the performance (sans image mapping) will feature the Orchestra performing popular favorites from film and Broadway, along with Americana standards, under the baton of Cincinnati Pops Conductor John Morris Russell.

The festival will also include the return of LUMENOCITY Village at the south end of the park. The Village is free and open to the public, featuring pre-concert performances by community ensembles in the park's bandstand, along with booths featuring the work of local artisans and crafters and local food and beverage for purchase.

In consultation with police and fire representatives, capacity for LUMENOCITY 2015 was established calculating the square footage in the park available for viewing the event, while also ensuring that all sidewalks, ingress and egress areas are kept clear and passable for patrons as well as safety and emergency personnel. As a result of increased safety measures and to create a more comfortable experience for all attendees, the event site capacity is being further reduced to 6,000 per night (30,000 total over four performances plus the dress rehearsal). The CSO has added an additional LUMENOCITY performance to ensure the best possible access. Fans wishing to attend may register for the opportunity to purchase tickets at lumenocity2015.com. See ticketing details below.

LUMENOCITY schedule

The dress rehearsal will take place Wednesday, August 5 ($15 admission) and will be ticketed at full capacity. Since it is a working dress rehearsal, there may be some starting and stopping, but it is an interesting opportunity to see how the program comes together. Performances will take place Thursday, August 6 ($18 admission), Friday, August 7 ($20 admission), Saturday, August 8 ($20 admission) and Sunday, August 9 ($18 admission). The CSO and Ticketmaster are waiving any service charge fees, so the amount posted is the amount paid. The gates to the ticketed area, as well as LUMENOCITY Village (which remains free and open to the public), will open at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. All performances (and the dress rehearsal) will begin at 8:30 p.m. with the Cincinnati Pops. After a short intermission, the CSO will perform during live projection mapping on the façade of Music Hall starting at approximately 9:40 p.m.

Ticket details

The CSO faced a dilemma this year to either not present LUMENOCITY or charge attendees a small fee. The estimated cost to produce LUMENOCITY this year is approximately $1.4 million. All special projects of the Orchestra, including LUMENOCITY, must be fully funded per a policy set by the Orchestra's Board of Directors. While LUMENOCITY relies primarily on philanthropic support, which continues to be extraordinary and deeply appreciated, this support was not sufficient to fund the event in full this year. Rather than cancel this extraordinary community-building event, the CSO chose to charge a nominal fee for tickets in order to produce LUMENOCITY. Like last year, the Orchestra will distribute 10 percent of the tickets for each of the five nights through human service organizations free of charge so the families and individuals these agencies serve throughout the region can attend at no charge, thanks to The Johnson Foundation.

Similar to other high-demand ticketed events, a registration will take place for the general public for the opportunity to purchase tickets (up to four per household) via Ticketmaster. CSO and Pops subscribers (2015-16 season) and donors ($250 and above, September 1, 2014 or later) will have guaranteed access to a pre-sale, and will receive codes to purchase tickets (up to four per household) via U.S. Mail prior to the general drawing.

Those fans wishing to be guaranteed access to tickets may subscribe or donate by May 1 in order to have access to the pre-sale. Subscriptions start at just $60 and offer the opportunity to experience the Orchestra throughout the year. Visit cincinnatisymphony.org/subscribe for more information or to purchase subscriptions.

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