Thursday (1/3) in a WQXR Blog post, Brian Wise and Kim Kowacki report, “Driven by a desire to modernize the image—and functionality—of orchestra garments, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra began a pilot partnership with Parsons The New School for Design last fall, aimed at studying new models for concert attire. Marin Alsop, the music director of the Baltimore Symphony, first approached the school with the idea in 2009. … Alsop’s challenge was taken up by an interdisciplinary class in the Parsons Design and Technology program, taught by Sabine Seymour. In September, the professor and her 16 students took a field trip to Baltimore’s Meyerhoff Symphony Hall where they observed musicians and studied their movements. … Several prototypes soon emerged. They included a deconstructed orchestra tailcoat, designed by Isabella Scott and Yumi Chon, both Bachelor of Fine Arts candidates. The goal, the students said, was to increase the musicians’ comfort and range of motion by using absorbent fibers, breathable mesh and other sportswear materials. At a midterm presentation for Alsop and faculty members, Scott and Chon revealed a mockup of a unisex jacket that did away with the traditional tails, which tend to bunch up during a performance.”
Posted January 4, 2013
