The Score | Louisiana Philharmonic on the Water

Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans was the site for one of this season’s more unusual events: the Louisiana Philharmonic’s world premiere of Yotam Haber’s New Water Music near the Seabrook Boat Launch. For the piece, inspired in part by Handel’s Water Music, the orchestra boarded shrimp boats—which are familiar sights in the area—and the composer conducted from a tower. The free performance was a collaboration with the artists’ collective New Orleans Airlift, which assembled a fleet for the LPO’s musicians and other performers. As you might expect for New Orleans, the festivities included amateur musicians, costumes, picnickers, drum lines, and spirituals such as “Deep River” and “The Ship of Zion.” Stay tuned: the proceedings were documented with an eye to replicating the piece in other cities.