Water Orchestra

Channel your inner maestro by “conducting” music and water during this interactive installation at Dilworth Park.

Center City District and The Philadelphia Orchestra have partnered to bring you Water Orchestra, which reimagines Dilworth Park's fountain as a playful, responsive musical instrument, activated in real-time by the gestures of anyone who steps onto the conductor’s podium. To celebrate its upcoming 125th anniversary, The Philadelphia Orchestra recorded a specially curated soundtrack for the installation.

Opening Performance: September 5, 11 a.m.
Dates: September 5 - October 3, 2025  
Times: Daily, 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.*
Location: Dilworth Park, 1 S 15th St (West Side of City Hall) 
*Please note that conducting times are limited to 2-minute intervals.

Water Orchestra debuts on September 5 at 11 a.m. with a special opening performance and continues through October 3. Additional special programming to be announced. The following week, at 2 p.m. on September 11, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, music and artistic director of The Philadelphia Orchestra, will step up to the Water Orchestra podium and will be joined by a group of Philadelphia Orchestra musicians for a one-time-only performance. More information will be announced soon, including details on a guest conductor series, pop-up performances from youth and community orchestral ensembles, and other programming.

Water Orchestra allows your movement and gestures to affect the sequence of music, rhythm, and flow of the water. Wide, expressive movements will result in bursts of sound and energetic jets; slower, smaller motions result in gentle melodies and soft pops of water. Experience the thrill of creation, the delight of movement, and the chance to make something extraordinary and individual within Dilworth Park, one of Philadelphia’s most celebrated gathering places. 

Water Orchestra was conceived by Ottomata and Atomic3, produced by Ottomata, and distributed by Wireframe, all based in Montréal. The creators drew inspiration in part from the iconic “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” segment of Walt Disney’s beloved 1940 film Fantasia where Mickey Mouse conducts the movement of shooting stars, swirling clouds, and an ever-expanding band of bucket-carrying brooms.