MSG Sphere further expands content team

The Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) has appointed award-winning creator Keri Elmsly to the newly created role of senior vice-president, immersive development and production, in the latest addition to its content team.

Elmsly will be tasked with the development of multi-sensory and immersive elements for the MSG Sphere entertainment venues planned for Las Vegas and London. With programmable LED exteriors, the Sphere venues aim to create immersive experiences both externally and internally.

The first MSG Sphere, in Las Vegas, is expected to be completed in 2021, with its London sister venue following a year later. MSG submitted its plans for the London sphere in March, revealing it will sit on a 4.7-acre former coach park located on the site of the 2012 Olympic games, and have a seated/standing capacity up to 21,500.

Elmsly joins Disney alumni Jennifer Vogt, president of creative content and productions, and Kristina Reed, senior vice-president of creative development and strategy on the MSG Sphere content team.

“MSG Sphere represents a truly unique convergence of art and technology that will create a powerful platform for immersive storytelling”

Prior to MSG, Elmsly served as chief creative officer at Second Story, a network of experience design studios. Previously, she produced the world’s first live drone orchestra – a narrative performance with Velvet Underground founder John Cale and Liam Young – as part of London’s Barbican Centre. As an executive producer at United Visual Artists, Elmsly led projects including the kinetic installation ‘Chorus’ and the stage design for Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 tour.

“Throughout her career, Keri’s work has lived at the intersection of technology, art and immersive experiences pushing the boundaries of technology in the name of creative storytelling,” comments Vogt.

“She perfectly complements our multi-faceted team whose collective expertise spans all areas of entertainment – from live action film to animation, Broadway and more – we are creating a team of talented revolutionaries for MSG Sphere.”

“MSG Sphere represents a truly unique convergence of art and technology that will create a powerful platform for immersive storytelling,” says Elmsly. “I’m thrilled to take on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform how we interact with audiences – creating new types of experiences that encourage them to step outside of their everyday reality.”

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