MONA will host a feast for the senses with Synaesthesia+.

Classical music in a concert hall?

Forget it.

Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art has something far more exciting in store.

Collaborating with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and bringing in a plethora of award winning musicians, MONA has put together a feast for the senses with Synaesthesia+ – an extravagant two-day event exploring the idea behind this human phenomenon through sound and light.

So what do we know about synaesthesia? For starters, not too many are capable of experiencing it. Synaesthesia is a very rare joining of the senses, and is most commonly associated with the idea that music, taste, or words may trigger a specific colour within the mind. For composers such as Olivier Messiaen and Rimsky-Korsakov who experienced synaesthesia, the condition was integral to the composition process. The latter composer was convinced the E major in his Scheherazade was blue, while Messiaen too saw colours upon hearing specific chords.

According to Synaesthesia+ Artistic Director Brian Ritchie, who claims to have experienced subtle synaesthesia in his childhood, “it is impossible to be objective about synaesthesia because even the people who have synaesthesia don’t agree upon certain points.”

“Somebody might say the note C is orange, and the next might see it as purple, so it’s impossible to define objectively what a synaesthetic experience would be like – all we can do is suggest it.”

An impression of synaesthesia will be induced in audience members through the fusion of music with visual effects and lighting. Both contemporary and classical music will sound through museum spaces including the library, the Barrel Room, the Organ Room, the Nolan Gallery, and underground in the Void – where a bar will be in close proximity to further stimulate the senses as desired.

“This way the people can come into the museum and stroll around and encounter musical and visual events in their own way. We thought it was a good way of showcasing the talent of the TSO and guest musicians in a very unusual format – and it also takes us on an insane journey,” Ritchie said.

Along with players from the TSO under the artistic direction of Marko Letonja, the weekend will feature performances by renowned artists such as award winning soprano Allison Bell, pianist Michael Kieran Harvey, and cellist Michael Goldschlanger.

Scottish-born pianist Steven Osborne will perform the work that brought him international fame while honouring the theme of the event with Messiaen’s Vignt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jesus. Tasmanian jazz pianist Tom Vincent and his Trio will pay further tribute to synaesthesia through his interpretation of Thelonious Monk – another known synaesthete.

The Australian Chamber Orchestra’s Richard Tognetti on violin will collaborate with Robin Fox to create a Bach-fuelled laser show.

“Richard is going to play Bach and feed his sound into Robin’s apparatus, which is going to create a light show in the Nolan gallery where you’ll be able to see the relationship between the sounds and images Robin is creating,” Ritchie explains.

“We also have Genevieve Lacey, who is one of the most interesting people in the contemporary music world in Australia specialising in recorder. We all start out on the recorder as little kids, but she does mind bending things with it and she’s putting together a solo programme as well as performing the TSO.”

Aside from the musical and visual feast, Synaesthesia+ will also feature a range of innovative dishes prepared by MONA chef Vince Trim, who has come up with a special menu “which incorporates bizarre colours and shapes and the kind of food where it doesn’t taste how it looks.”

“The event is going to quite luxurious – you’re hearing some really refined, beautiful music and having great food and drink – so it’s an immersive experience.”

You certainly don’t have to be a synaesthete to enjoy the show – but you may well find that you are by the time you emerge from the all-encompassing two-day event.

“The more open the people are to being stimulated by the sounds and the music and the light and the flashing, the more likely they are to have a synthetic synaesthesia event.”

Synaesthesia+ will be held in various locations at the Museum of Old and New Art in Tasmania between August 16 and 17.