Creating and installing The Light art installation for Salisbury Cathedral was a brilliant challenge for 6 young volunteers in Poole.
Travers, Toby, Erween, Elliott, Zach & Sam are Conical Sphere Music volunteers who have worked alongside artist Richard McLester to create the art installation THE LIGHT. Last year saw them install their creation in Salisbury Cathedral where it was suspended from November 2018 to January 2019.
THE LIGHT is a 4m illuminating globe which has the ability to produce a display of light and film across it’s surface. Inside the globe are 80 strips of LEDs and 4 projectors all of which can be controlled wirelessly from up to 50 metres away.
The volunteers worked with artist Richard McLester to create the entire installation from scratch.
“I have learnt so many new skills on this project” says Toby. “Everything from engineering to Agile project management!”
“It was amazing to think how many thousands of people saw our work” says Sam. “Creating something for such an important building was very rewarding.”
Zach is only 16 years old, but last year saw his transformation to a creative professional, through an internship with Conical Sphere.
Last year Zach broke up for his summer holidays and decided to take up the opportunity of joining our team as a creative intern. He had previously volunteered with us as a chorister, singing alongside Richard McLester for songs such as The Lowly Candle Flame. This time he decided to get stuck in and try his hand at some new skills.
“…I’ve had a fantastic experience” says Zach. “I’ve learnt a ridiculous amount of new skills, including most importantly the day to day management of bringing a project to life! I’ve learnt how to use software tools that Google & Barclays use, as well as discovering a new passion for photography. I’m very excited for my future – having a taste of so many different disciplines has really given me a sense of what’s possible and I’ve added tons of new skills to my CV…”
Zach began the summer creating a virtual lighting desk that would be used in our live concert at Salisbury Cathedral later that year. He then moved on to the camera, capturing content for the marketing department and helping us film interviews of choral director Kate Edgar. He finished the year as a vital member of our team, helping to organise the stewarding for our live concert and installing THE LIGHT art installation.