Saturday night in Miami Beach does not have to start with a ticket purchase. On October 10, New World Symphony will bring its concert outside for a free WALLCAST at SoundScape Park, with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on the program.

The outdoor presentation starts at 7:30 p.m. The concert takes place inside New World Center, while the park audience watches on the building’s approximately 7,000-square-foot projection wall. The WALLCAST is free and open to the public; it is a separate way to experience the performance from attending inside the hall.

That distinction keeps the plan simple. Choose the outdoor broadcast if you want the park setting, pack a blanket and make the evening a picnic. New World Symphony explicitly welcomes that approach on its WALLCAST page. You do not need to turn this into a formal night at the concert hall.

What’s on the program

Stéphane Denève leads the concert, which New World Symphony presents in memory of Michael Tilson Thomas. The program includes Notturno with flutist Demarre McGill, Mahler’s Adagietto and Beethoven’s Ninth. The last of those gives the evening its familiar centerpiece, but the concert is more than a single work.

There is also an indoor performance Sunday, October 11, at 2 p.m. Do not confuse that listing with Saturday’s free outdoor plan: Saturday’s outdoor broadcast is October 10. If you prefer a seat inside, use the concert’s own ticket information rather than assuming the park arrangement applies to both performances.

For the neighborhood, this is one of the useful ways New World Center works beyond its doors. A concert happening inside becomes an evening people can share in the surrounding public space. The attraction is the combination of the music and the setting, without an admission charge for the outdoor broadcast.

Plan the trip before you leave

There is one practical change to know about. A city construction advisory schedules a 17th Street closure between Washington Avenue and Convention Center Drive for October 7–10, with weather potentially extending it through October 11. New World Symphony says the center remains accessible via Lincoln Lane North. For the 17th Street Garage, the city directs drivers via southbound Convention Center Drive or eastbound 17th Street from Alton Road.

During WALLCAST evenings, the organizer identifies restrooms at the southeast corner of SoundScape Park and lists live captions as part of the outdoor experience. Those are useful details when choosing where to settle in before the music starts.

Saturday’s concert is part of a season of free outdoor performances. Secret Miami’s October 1 preview lists later WALLCAST dates on November 21 and December 12, giving you another couple of evenings to keep on the calendar if this weekend does not work.

For this weekend, the key details are short: Saturday, October 10, 7:30 p.m., SoundScape Park, free outdoors. The music is already planned. Your part is a comfortable place to sit and a route that accounts for the 17th Street closure.

SoundScape Park outside New World Center at night in 2011
SoundScape Park, April 2011; context. Source