Louisville Orchestra holds two free concerts in April. And you can participate. Here's how

The Louisville Orchestra is holding two free community concerts this spring that will feature 500 musicians — and you can be part of the performance, too.

Louisville Orchestra Creators Corps composer Lisa Bielawa's "Louisville Broadcast" is a new 45-minute musical piece for an "unlimited number of participants that celebrates two historic sites and the vitality of Louisville's many musical communities," according to a news release announcing the spring concerts.

The two shows will take place on April 23 at Waterfront Park's Big Four Bridge and at Shelby Park. Bielawa will create a composition specifically for these locations and listeners "will be able to walk around the space and enjoy the performance from different perspectives," according to the release.

A varied roster of over 500 professional, student and amateur musicians from throughout Jefferson County will join together for "Louisville Broadcast," including members of the Louisville Orchestra, the Louisville Academy of Music, the Louisville Civic Orchestra, VOICES of Kentuckiana choir, the Louisville Leopards, the Louisville Drumline Academy and ensembles from several JCPS schools, according to the release.

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"The goal of 'Louisville Broadcast' is to interpret and celebrate these important public spaces in Louisville, allowing listeners to draw their own meaning and experience from them," Bielawa said.

Here's what to know about the 'Louisville Broadcast' performance:

When, where will the 'Louisville Broadcast' performance take place?

The performances will take place on April 23 at Shelby Park, 600 East Oak St., between 11:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. and at Waterfront Park's Big Four Bridge, 1101 River Road, between 7 and 7:45 p.m.

How were the public spaces selected for the 'Louisville Broadcast' performance?

Bielawa picked Shelby Park and the Big Four Bridge as performance sites for their historical significance. Frederick Law Olmsted's firm designed Shelby Park in 1907, and it is the only park in Louisville with a Carnegie Library (now the Shelby Park Community Center). And the Big Four Bridge, which connects Louisville sand Southern Indiana, "was converted into a pedestrian bridge in 2013 and has since become an iconic landmark in the city, with 1.5 million pedestrians and cyclists crossing its span each year," according to the release.

What is the format of the 'Louisville Broadcast' performance?

Musicians will move through the space, going from the center to the outside based on Bielawa's score, coordinated by time and long-distance musical cues, according to the release. This will allow the audience to experience the performance from the angle they want. "Players will spread out in long chains, flanking the walkways and bridge. Audience members can choose how to hear the pieces, deciding where to move as the musicians disperse," the release said.

"Louisville is a very musical city, filled with singers, writers, instrumentalists and performers. It is therefore the perfect backdrop for Lisa’s participatory 'Louisville Broadcast,'" said Graham Parker, chief executive to the Louisville Orchestra. "We are so excited to see the enthusiasm to be involved as evidenced by the numbers who have signed up, and to partner with Shelby Park, and Waterfront Park to make use of the Big Four Bridge."

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How can I participate in the 'Louisville Broadcast' performance?

Louisville Orchestra is also looking for members of the community to join the piece as singers in The Town Criers, a community choir open to anybody. It does not matter if the person has musical experience and Bielwa will create a piece that will be easy to read for anybody without a musical background.

For those that do not want to sing, but want to be a part of the piece, Bielawa will be taking suggestions for texts to include in the composition. People can fill out this form for a chance to be part of the performance.

"By inviting anyone in the city to contribute their words to be sung by the participating choirs, I can multiply the diversity of Louisvillian voices that speak through the piece. It is the sound of a whole city — its history, people, neighborhoods, and communities," Bielawa said.

Who is Lisa Bielawa?

Bielawa is a member of the Louisville Orchestra Creator Corp, a program that employs and house multiple full-time composers, called "creators," to represent all musical genres. In return, the creators will regularly present new music for both the Louisville Orchestra and the community.

"Louisville Broadcast" is the latest in a series of inclusive works composed by Bielawa, starting with her large-scale piece "Airfield Broadcasts," a massive 60-minute work for hundreds of musicians that premiered on the tarmac of the former Tempelhof Airport in Berlin and Crissy Field in San Francisco, both in 2013.

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Reach Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez at abrinez@gannett.com; follow her on Twitter at @SoyAnaAlvarez.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville Orchestra to hold two free concerts in April. What to know