Inside the 'once-in-a-lifetime' prep for the Louisville Orchestra, Yo-Yo Ma concert at Mammoth Cave

Louisville Orchestra Music Director Teddy Abrams admits he isn't 100% certain what the acoustics will be like when the orchestra performs with special guest Yo-Yo Ma deep underground at Mammoth Cave on April 29.

Abrams told the Courier Journal he's visited the cave several times over the past year — immersing himself in the cave’s geology and human history to gain inspiration from the sights and sounds of the park — but there is no way to know for sure what a packed house will experience until the day of the event.

"I have been down in the space many many times," Abrams said. "I've taken musical instruments into the cave. I have been there in solitude. I have tried playing instruments from behind rocks and I've been accompanied by the park guides and we've shouted to each other across the cave, but the truth is, we are guessing what the acoustics will be like when you have hundreds of people down there. It changes things dramatically."

The musical performances will take place at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. CST, inside Mammoth Cave in a large open room known as Rafinesque Hall. The concerts will feature world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, members of the Louisville Orchestra, and the Louisville Chamber Choir.

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If you are lucky enough to have snagged a ticket, you better wear your walking shoes as this music event will not be like your normal concert performance. Music will begin as the audience descends the staircase into the cave and attendees will be asked to participate and move around the performance space at various points during the piece.

"There is a sense that this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and we are inventing something that has no particular design or pattern or guidelines," Abrams told the Courier Journal. "We're also creating this as a singular experience that will happen only once. It's important that it feels very organic and natural, but still accounting for all the things that can happen down in the cave and it's a hard thing to do."

The music performed during this special event is being created especially by Abrams, who said Mammoth Cave is truly the star of this unique performance. The world's longest known cave located about 85 miles south of Louisville, Kentucky is many millions of years old and is still forming today as water moves downward through large and small passages to reach the water table.

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"We are honoring the cave with this performance," he said. "It's very different than a typical performance in a concert hall. Those halls are designed to facilitate the performers but in this case, we are facilitating people's experience with nature and giving them a sense of the power of this place."

Abrams composed his work for the Mammoth Cave concert with featured performer Yo-Yo Ma in mind. The superstar cellist has been performing "pop-up" concerts in the National Park System as part of a multi-year project dubbed "Our Common Nature." Ma's initiative, with the goal of building communities and connecting with nature while making music, has taken him to the Grand Canyon and Acadia National Park, the Great Smoky Mountains, Hawaii, New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia, and now, Kentucky's Mammoth Cave National Park.

"He is the most generous spirit and has been the most wonderful collaborator on this project," Abrams said. "When you send a piece of music you wrote to Yo-Yo Ma and you get his feedback, I don't know that there is a better feeling for a composer."

For those who were unable to get tickets, there is good news. The performance and the build-up to the concert are being documented. Ultimately Abrams hopes telling the story of the Mammoth Cave concert will introduce the national park to a worldwide audience while highlighting Kentucky's natural wonder.

"Outside of Kentucky, not everyone understands how important Mammoth Cave is," Abrams said. "It has been my goal to keep lifting up this state and to tell our state's story because I believe we have some of the most incredible assets and Mammoth Cave is one of the most amazing places in the whole world. People should be flocking there."

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Here's what else to know about the upcoming sold-out concerts:

When are the Louisville Orchestra and Yo-Yo Ma concerts at Mammoth Cave?

There will only be two concerts inside Mammoth Cave. They will be held on April 29 at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. CST.

The performances will take place in Rafinesque Hall, a large open area inside Mammoth Cave, which also hosts the park's annual Cave Sing in December. The park service says audience members will be encouraged to move around the space during the interactive performance.

What can you expect when you attend the Mammoth Cave concert?

The standing surface in Rafinesque Hall is smooth but uneven. The cave is a natural environment, with low lighting and a temperature of around 54 degrees. There are no seating options, and the performance time is estimated 45 minutes to one hour.

Audience members must walk three-fourths of a mile, round trip, to reach the performance area. The trail includes a steep outdoor hillside to and from the cave’s natural entrance and a total of 130 stairs. Inside the cave, the trail travels along broad walkways in some of the largest rooms inside Mammoth Cave. The trail is mostly level, but some hilly and uneven areas exist.

Can you get tickets for the April 29 concert at Mammoth Cave?

Event tickets were distributed via a lottery system through Recreation.gov to provide an equitable opportunity for interested visitors to attend this limited, yet high-demand event. It is sold out and there will be no tickets available at the park on the day of the event.

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Where will you park for the performance?

Parking for the event will be located at the Mammoth Cave National Park Visitor Center. Ticket holders must present their tickets to access the parking lot. Due to the limited availability of parking spaces, all ticket holders are encouraged to arrive early and carpool to the park on the day of the event.

What items are prohibited during the performance at Rafinesque Hall?

Cell phones, cameras, video recording equipment, flashlights, and headlamps are prohibited during the cave performances. Lights from these devices detract from the ambiance of the natural dark cave environment and may cause distractions to the performers and other audience members.

No containers of any kind, including bags, backpacks or purses will be allowed inside the cave during the performance. Please leave them at home or locked in the trunk of your vehicle. A limited number of lockers are available for rent near the visitor center.

Reach Features Reporter Kirby Adams at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: What to know: Louisville Orchestra, Yo-Yo Ma concert at Mammoth Cave