Although synesthesia is an extreme case of experiencing one sense through another that most of us will never experience, most of us do have each sense influenced by our other senses to some degree. Taste, for instance, is a sense just as prone to interacting with our hearing as it does with our sense of smell, or with our sense of touch, or frankly, any combination thereof. The Vinifonies wine and music festival takes this a step further by inviting musicians, such as Ben Houge, to write music to be paired with wine for blind tasting events.
The west coast is growing its very own Tanglewood. Based more on the community and less on the training, it's called Synchromy and is based in Los Angeles. Playing off the regional attitude, Synchromy's slogan, "new music, locally grown," pretty much says it all. The organization offers local musicians and composers the chance to organize, find work, gain an audience, and hone their craft in a body of their peers.
Peter Brook and Marie-Hélène Estienne along with old hands William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe contribute works at the company's new Brooklyn home.
BitterSuite, a U.K. group that invites listeners to "experience classical music through every sense," presents concerts that appeal to the senses of sight, hearing, taste and smell. Sencity enhances pop music with expressive dancers, a SenseFloor, taste sensations, video projections, light effects and more.