By day Rich (AZooNY) Rinehart is a manager of Computational Sciences and Emerging Technologies for Banner Quality Management (BQMI) at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. His passion is working within the Glenn Graphics and Visualization Lab (GVIS), a leading-edge scientifically focused visualization group. By night he spends his time as a singer/songwriter, composer, producer, and multimedia specialist.
Musically, he has composed three symphonies, numerous soundtracks for video, and has released two Alternative Rock CD’s of original music, the most recent being Nuts under his artist name “AZooNY.”
His most current effort is a new symphony called Las Ranas or “The Frogs” in English. It asks for audience participation in the form of rain forest sounds of frogs and crickets. “I’m intending to create an inclusive surround rain forest sound effect”. It’s yet to be performed but this digital orchestra rendering of it was done in surround sound to better simulate the effect.
He also continues on his Mars Opera project where he inserts new technology into the show production, and focuses on outer-space – elements sure to capture tech-savvy and young audiences. “I want to keep the technology demands on the production staff to a minimal, but it does require a few high-tech elements not usually found in traditional theater”.
Rich is also President of the GRAMMY award winning Cleveland Chamber Symphony (and GM for NEOSonicFest, a Northeast Ohio New Music Festival) and on the Board of Cleveland’s Verb Ballets, Cleveland’s leading contemporary dance company.
A love for science and the arts combined with a good dosing of comical wit has guided the creation of his Mars Opera. “It’s got it all: dance, science, social media, symphonic and rock-n-roll music, space aliens, and in a light-hearted and wacky comical presentation. “It’s not an opera but a musical or technically classified as a play with music.” And a wacky presentation it is, somewhat in the Loony Tunes, British-wit comical style. “To be clear though, I’m not doing this for pure entertainment. I have a motive. I wish to have folks think more and come together. Laughter is the secret sauce, science and fantasy the hook, and drama and music the emotional glue.”