“Music is life”. These words come from Denmark’s probably most famous composer, Carl Nielsen, who was marked on his 150th birthday with an international traveling exhibition of the same title. It was Odense City Museums that was behind the exhibition, which was designed and produced by Kvorning Design & Kommunikation with Stouenborg on the sidelines as an advisor and subcontractor on the development of several of the technical solutions.

The exhibition aimed to tell the world about the composer's life and music in a striking way, and at the same time, it had to be able to be moved from place to place without any problems, which placed special demands on the technology. Odense City Museums wanted not only to be able to tell the composer's life in pictures and text, but also to play fragments of Carl Nielsen's works and show videos. In order to create the best audience experience and avoid noise pollution, the seven modules that the exhibition consisted of were therefore made interactive. The music thus only started playing when the audience stepped in front of a module, which also helped to actively involve the audience.

Since the modules had to withstand transport, it was important that all the technology was securely and safely connected and could withstand vibrations and the changing surroundings and weather conditions it would encounter on its journey worldwide. For this reason, subwoofers from Meyer Sound were used, which both deliver good sound quality and are built for transport. To avoid breakdowns and make the exhibition operationally reliable, the cabling of all the technology was thoroughly tested and quality assured before shipment.

From the birth of the idea to the finished project ready to begin its world tour, it took just two months. The project was to be part of the American venture "The Nielsen Project," which was a tribute to the composer. Here, the exhibition was launched together with a concert series of Carl Nielsen's works performed by the New York Philharmonics at Avery Fisher Hall.

Photos: Odense City Museums, Kvorning design & communication and Stouenborg