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EYE OF MNEMOSYNE
ROCHESTER PHILHARMONIC

“A multimedia orchestral work on memory, innovation, and culture as refracted through the lens of photography.” – Nonesuch Records

An orchestra performing on stage in a concert hall, with a large projection of a full moon and starburst pattern on the ceiling behind them.
An orchestra performing on stage with a digital firework display in the background, inside a concert hall with a wooden stage and ornate wall details.
An orchestra performing on stage in a concert hall with large geometric light projections on the wall behind them.
Orchestra performing on stage in a concert hall with projected images on the backdrop.
An orchestra performing on stage in a concert hall, with window projections above and orchestra members seated with musical instruments, and a conductor in front.
An orchestra performing on stage in a concert hall with a projection behind them that reads 'Let Kodak keep the story' and has butterfly graphics.
An orchestra performing on stage in a concert hall, with a large screen behind displaying light effects, and musicians with their instruments seated in front of a conductor.
An orchestra performing on stage with a backdrop of sky views and clouds.
An orchestra performing on stage in a concert hall, with four large abstract paintings projected above them.
Orchestra performing on stage in concert hall with abstract light projection on backdrop.

Description

EYE OF MNEMOSYNE is a 23-minute, seven-movement multimedia orchestral work commissioned by the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra for its centennial season. Reimagining George Eastman through the lens of the Greek goddess of memory, the work explores photography, nostalgia, and the women whose labor helped shape Kodak's legacy.


In this narrative, composer Sarah Kirkland Snider and I reimagine George Eastman as a vessel of the Greek Goddess of Memory, Mnemosyne, and focus on the essential role that women -- the Kodak Girls -- played in Kodak's success in advertising and film processing. Here the Kodak Girls are presented as descendants of Mnemosyne, muses who influenced and inspired how Americans began to arrange, capture, and experience their lives’ recollections using the instrument of the camera and the power of the snapshot.

The projections were mapped to the architecture of the Eastman Theatre — paying further homage to its founder and legacy. 

Production Credits

Composer:
Sarah Kirkland Snider

Creative Direction + Visual Design + Libretto:
Deborah Johnson

TouchDesigner Programming:
Louise Lessel

Commissioned by:
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra