Emerging from COVID-19 lockdowns, being able to attend performing arts performances in person has felt like a sensory treat. Feeling the energy of the collective audience, the soft whispering and rustling in seats, the sounds of footsteps as performers take the stage, the low hum of stage lights - being present with art as it is performed heightens the senses in a way that its virtual counterpart simply cannot, in spite of numerous advances in the digital landscape over the last two and a half years.

Enter the Neumann KU 100, or “Michel” as Kevin Noe, Artistic Director of Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble (PNME), affectionately calls the humanoid microphone that sits at the center of ensemble’s 2022 season finale show, literally and figuratively. The microphone is a feat in binaural audio, engineered to replicate how sound travels through the human ear. When heard through headphones, it’s as if the listener’s head is placed right where the microphone is placed. For PNME’s performance, this meant that the audience’s ears were placed on stage between a cello and clarinet, surrounded by an ensemble of musicians.