westwaterarts.com

Westwater Arts is a multimedia performance company that creates symphonic photochoreography — a performance art form that blends evocative panoramic photography with live classical music. If you are an orchestra programmer, presenter, or festival organizer looking for a visual concert element that is cued live to your musicians, this is the relevant offering. The company is led by photographer and multimedia artist Nicholas Bardonnay, who serves as Creative Director and CEO.

What symphonic photochoreography actually is

The work pairs large-scale panoramic imagery with a live orchestra on stage. The visuals are not a static slideshow: the company describes the pieces as "cued live to your orchestra's performance," meaning the image sequence follows the music in real time during the concert.

The format has been programmed for masterworks, pops, chamber, and festival concerts by more than 200 orchestras of all sizes, according to the site. That range matters if you are weighing whether the format fits a full symphony program versus a lighter pops evening.

The four-step engagement process

Westwater Arts lays out a clear sequence for orchestras considering a booking:

1. Peruse — Explore the online repertoire of concert pieces. Many pieces have multiple music options, and all have hundreds of images.
2. Plan — Contact the company to discuss programming ideas, ask questions, get a quote, and reserve concert dates.
3. Program — Once collaboration is agreed, Westwater Arts sends marketing materials and reviews production details.
4. Perform — The team travels to your city, sets up equipment with your stage crew, and cues the concert pieces live to your orchestra.

The practical takeaway: pricing is quote-based and arranged through direct contact, so budget conversations happen at the planning stage rather than from a published rate card.

Featured concert pieces

The repertoire spans distinct themes, each with composer options:

Because many pieces offer multiple music options, a single visual program can be matched to different orchestral repertoire — useful when your season planning is already partly fixed.

Who is behind it

Nicholas Bardonnay is a photographer, multimedia artist, and the Creative Director and CEO at Westwater Arts. His photography has been exhibited in galleries in London, Los Angeles, Portland, and Hong Kong. Since joining the company in 2009, he has worked on more than 140 concerts with orchestras across the U.S. as well as in Scotland, England, Singapore, Canada, Poland, and Germany.

Is it a fit for your orchestra?

Consider Westwater Arts if you want a ready-made visual concert program with live cueing, existing marketing support, and a repertoire that can be paired with standard orchestral works. The touring model — the team travels and sets up with your stage crew — means the production burden on your venue is shared rather than entirely yours. The main unknowns to resolve early are cost and date availability, both handled through the planning contact step.

Nicholas Bardonnay is a photographer, multimedia artist, and the Creative Director & CEO of Westwater Arts, the company behind "symphonic photochoreography"—live performances that pair panoramic photography with orchestral music. He has led the creative side of the practice since joining Westwater Arts in 2009, and his photography has been exhibited in galleries in London, Los Angeles, Portland, and Hong Kong, among others.

His Role at Westwater Arts

Bardonnay holds two titles at the company: Creative Director and CEO. In practice, that means he sits at the intersection of the artistic and organizational sides of the work—shaping the visual content of each concert piece while also running the company that produces them.

The concert format itself depends on his dual role. Symphonic photochoreography blends evocative panoramic photography with live classical music, and the images are cued live to an orchestra's performance rather than played back on a fixed timeline. That live cueing is part of what distinguishes the format from a simple film-with-orchestra presentation.

Performing Experience

Since joining Westwater Arts in 2009, Bardonnay has worked on more than 140 concerts with orchestras in cities across the United States, as well as in Scotland, England, Singapore, Canada, Poland, and Germany. That touring footprint matters for orchestras considering the program: the production model involves Westwater Arts traveling to the host city, setting up equipment with the local stage crew, and cueing the concert pieces live to that orchestra's performance.

The company reports that its programs have been presented by over 200 orchestras of all sizes, across masterworks, pops, chamber, and festival concerts.

Current Creative Projects

Bardonnay's latest projects as creative lead are four concert pieces, each built around a distinct subject:

Each piece is described as having multiple music options and hundreds of images, which is relevant if an orchestra wants to fit a program to a particular conductor's repertoire preferences rather than accepting a fixed score.

Why His Background Matters to Programmers

For an orchestra or presenter evaluating a Westwater Arts concert, Bardonnay's profile answers a practical question: who is responsible for the visual content and how experienced is that person in live orchestral settings? The gallery exhibition history speaks to the photographic side; the 140-plus concerts across multiple countries speak to the live production side. Both are relevant because the format requires images that hold up on a large screen and a creative director who can adapt them to a specific orchestra's timing and interpretation.

Where to Learn More

The Westwater Arts site includes a full biography for Bardonnay alongside the repertoire of concert pieces. Orchestras interested in programming typically start by browsing the repertoire online, then contact the company to discuss programming ideas, ask questions, request a quote, and reserve dates. Marketing materials and production details follow once a collaboration is confirmed.

Symphonic photochoreography is a live performance art that pairs evocative panoramic photography with an orchestra playing classical music in the same hall at the same time. Westwater Arts, led by photographer and multimedia artist Nicholas Bardonnay, creates and tours these "visual concertos": the images are cued live to the orchestra's performance rather than run as a fixed film or slideshow. It is built for concert programming — masterworks, pops, chamber and festival concerts — and the company says its pieces have been programmed by over 200 orchestras of all sizes.

What the audience actually sees and hears

The orchestra is the soundtrack and the anchor. Large-scale panoramic imagery is projected in sync with the music, and the cueing happens live during the performance. That distinction matters: a pre-timed video would drift from the conductor's tempo, while live cueing lets the visuals follow the orchestra's pacing and the conductor's choices.

The photography is the other half of the form. Bardonnay's images are described as evocative panoramas, and his work has been exhibited in galleries in London, Los Angeles, Portland and Hong Kong, among others. Since joining Westwater Arts in 2009, he has worked on more than 140 concerts with orchestras in U.S. cities as well as Scotland, England, Singapore, Canada, Poland and Germany.

How a Westwater Arts concert comes together

The company describes a four-stage process:

1. Peruse — explore the online repertoire of concert pieces. Many pieces offer multiple music options, and all contain hundreds of images.
2. Plan — contact Westwater Arts to discuss programming ideas, ask questions, get a quote and reserve concert dates.
3. Program — once collaboration is agreed, the company sends marketing materials and goes over production details.
4. Perform — the Westwater Arts team travels to the city, sets up equipment with the venue's stage crew, and cues the concert pieces live to the orchestra.

For an orchestra or presenter, the practical takeaway is that this is a booked, traveling production with its own equipment and operator, not a media file you run yourself.

The repertoire: music and imagery already paired

Each concert piece bundles a theme, a set of images and one or more composer options. A few examples from the featured repertoire:

The multiple music options are what make the format flexible for different orchestra types: the same visual program can be set to different scores depending on the concert's needs.

What it is not

• Not a standalone film. There is no self-contained narrative movie; the music leads and the images respond.
• Not a slideshow. Cueing is live and tied to the orchestra's performance, not advanced on a timer.
• Not a recording project. The form exists for live concerts with an orchestra in the hall.

Who it suits

Symphonic photochoreography fits presenters looking to add a visual dimension to orchestral programming — pops series, festival concerts, family or thematic programs — without commissioning new media themselves. Because the repertoire already pairs images with composer options, the main decisions are which piece matches the audience and which music option fits the orchestra. Pricing, availability and licensing terms are not published on the site; those come through the planning conversation and quote.

Westwater Arts offers a repertoire of symphonic photochoreography concert pieces, each pairing panoramic photography with live orchestral music. The featured pieces are Mágico, National Park Suite, Visions, Mother Road, and Sagaland. Most pieces list multiple music options, and according to the site, all have hundreds of images. The right choice depends on the theme you want to build a concert around and the composers your orchestra and audience will respond to.

Featured Concert Pieces at a Glance

The site notes that many pieces have multiple music options, so the composer list above reflects the options shown for each piece rather than a single fixed program. Check each piece's "see music options" link for the full set before committing to a program.

How to Choose a Piece

Use the theme as the first filter, then confirm the music fits your orchestra and occasion:

• Audience-building or family/pops concerts: Mágico and Mother Road lean toward accessible, place-based storytelling — modern Mexico and Route 66 respectively.
• Patriotic or civic occasions: National Park Suite ties directly to the National Park Service legacy and American landscapes.
• Historical or educational programming: Visions centers on Edward Curtis's photographs of America's First Peoples, a strong fit for documentary-style or heritage-themed concerts.
• Mixed or unfamiliar repertoire: Sagaland's theme and full composer list aren't captured in the available page excerpt, so request details directly rather than assuming.

Because the imagery is integral to each piece, the visual theme usually matters as much as the score. If your orchestra has a specific audience segment in mind, start there.

What the Format Involves

Symphonic photochoreography blends evocative panoramic photography with live classical music. Westwater Arts states the work has been programmed for masterworks, pops, chamber, and festival concerts by over 200 orchestras of all sizes — useful context if you're weighing whether the format suits a chamber series versus a full symphonic program.

The collaboration follows four steps described on the site:

1. Peruse — explore the online repertoire; many pieces have multiple music options and all have hundreds of images.
2. Plan — contact Westwater Arts to discuss programming ideas, ask questions, get a quote, and reserve concert dates.
3. Program — once collaboration is confirmed, Westwater Arts sends marketing materials and reviews production details.
4. Perform — the team travels to your city, sets up equipment with your stage crew, and cues the concert pieces live to your orchestra's performance.

Pricing is not published on the site; a quote comes through direct contact, so plan for that step before finalizing a budget.

About the Artist

Nicholas Bardonnay is a photographer, multimedia artist, and the Creative Director & CEO at Westwater Arts. His photography has been exhibited in galleries in London, Los Angeles, Portland, and Hong Kong. Since joining Westwater Arts in 2009, he has worked on more than 140 concerts with orchestras across the U.S. as well as in Scotland, England, Singapore, Canada, Poland, and Germany. His recent projects include Mágico, National Park Suite, Visions, and Mother Road.

Next Step

Browse the repertoire pages for each piece, note the music options that fit your orchestra, then contact Westwater Arts with your preferred dates and programming ideas to get a quote and reserve them.

Booking a Westwater Arts concert follows a four-stage path the company lays out on its site: peruse the repertoire, plan by contacting Westwater Arts for programming ideas, a quote, and date reservations, program once the collaboration is confirmed (marketing materials and production details follow), and perform when the Westwater Arts team travels to your city, sets up equipment with your stage crew, and cues the pieces live to your orchestra. The model is built for orchestras of all sizes and has been used by more than 200 of them across masterworks, pops, chamber, and festival programs.

What the orchestra is actually booking

Symphonic photochoreography is a performance art that pairs evocative panoramic photography with live classical music. Westwater Arts supplies the visual side — hundreds of images per concert piece, many with multiple music options — and cues those visuals live to your orchestra's performance. Your orchestra supplies the music and the stage crew that works with the visiting team on setup.

Step 1: Peruse the repertoire

Start on the Westwater Arts site with the concert-piece catalogue. Each piece lists its composers, a short description, and a "see music options" link, which matters because many pieces can be set to more than one score. That flexibility is what lets a piece fit a masterworks series in one season and a pops night in another.

The featured pieces named on the site:

The page also names Nicholas Bardonnay's latest projects as Mágico, National Park Suite, Visions, and Mother Road. For any piece, open "read more" and "see music options" before shortlisting — the music options determine whether a given piece works with the program you're building.

Step 2: Plan — contact for ideas, a quote, and dates

The site directs orchestras to make contact to discuss programming ideas, ask questions, get a quote, and reserve concert dates. Two practical points follow from this:

• Pricing is quote-based. No prices, pricing pages, or payment details appear on the site, so budget figures have to come from that conversation rather than from published rates.
• Dates are reserved through the same contact. If your season planning has a fixed window, raise dates in the first conversation rather than after repertoire is settled.

Come to this step with your series type (masterworks, pops, chamber, festival), your preferred dates, and a shortlist from Step 1 — those are the inputs the programming discussion needs.

Step 3: Program — marketing materials and production details

Once both sides are ready to collaborate, Westwater Arts sends marketing materials and goes over production details. This is the stage where your marketing team gets assets for the announcement and your production team learns what the performance requires. Treat the production conversation as the moment to confirm what your venue and crew need to provide, since the performance stage depends on local stage crew working alongside the visiting team.

Step 4: Perform — travel, setup, and live cueing

On concert day(s), Westwater Arts travels to your city, sets up its equipment with your stage crew, and cues the concert pieces live to your orchestra's performance. The visuals are not a fixed playback synced to a recording — they are cued to what your orchestra plays, which is why the setup and cueing are handled by the Westwater Arts team on site.

Who is behind the visuals

Nicholas Bardonnay is a photographer, multimedia artist, and the Creative Director & CEO at Westwater Arts. His photography has been exhibited in galleries in London, Los Angeles, Portland, and Hong Kong, among other cities. Since joining Westwater Arts in 2009, he has worked on more than 140 concerts with orchestras in cities across the U.S. as well as in Scotland, England, Singapore, Canada, Poland, and Germany.

Quick checklist before you make contact

• Series type and slot identified (masterworks, pops, chamber, or festival)
• Two or three pieces shortlisted, with music options reviewed for each
• Target dates noted for the reservation conversation
• Quote requested in the same contact
• Marketing and production leads briefed to expect materials and a production walkthrough after confirmation