In July 2026, Cybel’Art presented a Virtual Hall® experience at the Verbier Festival that invites audiences to leave the concert seat behind and move closer to the orchestra. In keeping with the work of an Agency for amplified opportunities, the installation uses technology to offer another perspective on a real musical performance.
The public experience in Verbier should not be confused with the date of the source concert: it was captured on 29 November 2025 at Schloss Elmau. Le Nouvelliste reported on the experience on 27 July 2026, while the source Substack article was published on 29 July 2026.
One stage, six listening positions
Through a headset, visitors enter an immersive environment built around the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra. They can select from six positions, including among the violins, beside the timpani, or in front of the conductor. A scrolling score and interface overlays help orient the viewer, while spatial sound changes with head orientation.
This is more than a 360-degree video: the installation allows listeners to compare several listening positions within the same performance. Its operational form is specific — a headset experience with defined viewpoints — without presenting the proposition as an equivalent to attending a concert in the hall. Virtual Hall® is a brand of the Fondation de l’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande; Cybel’Art is credited for the 360° capture and immersive experience presented in Verbier. The original article also names Real Illusions as a technology partner.
Humanizing digital without digitizing the human
Cybel’Art’s signature, “We Humanize Digital.”, has a direct expression here. The project is based on a real performance by musicians filmed in 360°; it does not stage avatars as though they were the performers. That observation is not a claim about every technical stage of processing.
The icologram® protocol follows the same approach: extending an encounter with artists and their gesture rather than substituting for them. The stated ambition is to offer a complementary way into music, including a view of a work that is usually reserved for the stage. It makes no promise of universal access or of replacing live listening.
A complementary perspective on music
Virtual Hall® therefore separates a present use — revisiting a captured performance from several positions — from a broader vision: exploring new connections among art, place, and audiences. This research sits alongside the projects shown in Cybel’Art’s work. It keeps the live interpretation at the centre while opening a digital space for discovery.
Editorial adaptation of the article by Pierluigi Christophe Orunesu, originally published on Substack on 29 July 2026. Read the original article on Substack