Immersive Orchestra

Plymphony No. 1 in Sea at Plymouth Art Weekender, as part of Shannon Leigh Watson’s Immersive Orchestra

As part of the Plymouth Art Weekender and The Atlantic Project, Imperfect Orchestra undertook their largest project yet, in collaboration with Shannon Leah Watson.

Immersive Orchestra was a live performance between 100 wild swimmers and 100 musicians.

Immersive Orchestra saw 100 participants enter Plymouth Sound to swim at their leisure whilst being soundtracked by the Imperfect Orchestra's participatory ensemble of 100 guitars. The wild swimmers 'conducted' the performance of the Guitar Orchestra as their strokes in the water informed the pace of the music.

Plymphony No. 1 was a live score, composed by Imperfect Orchestra, and played by a 'Guitar Orchestra' of 100 guitars (and a few other stringed instruments) players. The piece was a minimalist composition taking inspiration from wild swimming. It relied on rhythm, repetition, ebbs and flows, swells and calms, and open C tuning.