Welcome to my experimental journey into the world of orchestral storytelling and musical sound design, inspired by an enchanting, age-old folktale: The Sorcerer's Apprentice

While one of the earliest written versions of this tale dates back to the 1797 poem by Goethe, The Sorcerer's Apprentice is an age-old warning of caution, wisdom and respect when wielding great power, a theme found through out mythology, fairy-tales and fiction (Midas, The Golem, The Magic Pot, Frankenstein etc.)

Disney's Fantasia is the version most known to modern audiences, where the 1897 symphonic poem by composer Paul Dukas was brought to life with cutting edge animation of the late 1930s.

This project grew from between the cracks of client work, as a series of digital orchestral sketches and sound experiments at my home studio. With very little experience writing for traditional classical orchestras, I wanted to explore a way of translating my background in electronica to the orchestra as a way of learning about the orchestration process.

The musical tone spans frantic, cartoon-ish whimsy to intense, horror-inspired sound design, merged with time-stretching techniques and tempo fluctuations  to create a sense of instability – everything feels just a little too fast when the Apprentice is in control of things.

Conceptualized for a projection-based immersive show, featuring two live actors/dancers, all elements of the musical soundtrack are visually represented in a synesthesia-like display with which the performers interact. Projected visuals are optimized to take place in small-scale dome theaters and designed to be generated in part from the movements and interactions of the performers.

Audio samples…

FERRARI WORLD: ESPORTS ARENA

State-of-the-art F1 Simulator at Ferrari World’s Esports Arena in Abu Dhabi

Score Produced by Jon Baker

SEAWORLD: YAS ISLAND

The Armillary – Atmospheric projection dome experience navigating various scenes from the Antarctic and Arctic circles.

Score Produced by Jon Baker