Sympho Orchestra at the Church of the Ascension The Austrian composer Georg Friedrich Haas has written several works to be performed in pitch darkness, including "In Vain," his hourlong masterpiece for chamber orchestra. With artificial light everywhere, "we do not have any night in our modern life," he said in an interview in 2011. But I think our body and our souls desire night, and I give this in my art. The American conductor Paul Haas (they are not related) aimed to use darkness to offer listeners a dreamlike experience at the Church of the Ascension. The lights were turned down low for "Ascending Darkness," the title of the program he led with the Sympho Orchestra on Wednesday evening. Mr. Haas creates innovative concerts that place music in varying contexts. He often links works of disparate eras and styles in multimedia events in unusual locations. For "Ascending Darkness," Mr. Haas chose operatic excerpts by Rameau, opening with the "Scène Funèbre" from "Castor et Pollux." Other Rameau selections were woven alongside pieces by Arvo Pärt, Grieg, Messiaen and Mr. Haas's own music. Mr. Haas hoped to use the darkness, in his words, "to transport the audience into an altered state of awareness." He added that "the result should be a one-of-a-kind evening of glorious music." The music was indeed enjoyable, played with polish and spirit by the ensemble. Mr. Haas was visible only as a silhouette. Most of the music was performed by the ensemble at the front of the church. Although a lighting designer was mentioned in the program notes, there were minimal lighting effects. More creative use of lighting would have added to the dramatic arc and flow of the evening. For me, it merely felt like music performed with the lights dimmed low, instead of the "quest for heightened consciousness and revelation" sought by Mr. Haas. But while the experiment didn't quite work in terms of transporting a listener to altered states, it certainly offered an alternate means of listening to music in a concert setting. The Sympho Orchestra performs on June 12 at the Rubin Museum of Art, 150 West 17th Street, Chelsea; (212) 620-5000, rmanyc.org.