Wednesday, April 15, 2009

YouTube Symphony Orchestra

Tonight at Carnegie Hall:

The YouTube Symphony Orchestra's show features soloists, chamber groups, chamber orchestra, large orchestra, electronica and multi-media, and samples diverse periods and styles of classical music, including works by Gabrieli, Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Villa-Lobos, John Cage and Tan Dun’s Internet Symphony No. 1 “Eroica.”
from the Carnegie Hall website

Michael Tilson Thomas conducts the first collaborative online orchestra, and can be heard talking about the project here at NPR's All Things Considered. From that article:

From fiddlers to French-horn players to percussionists, musicians in more than 40 countries submitted their auditions via YouTube. They were required to post two videos: one specifically highlighting their instrumental talent and another performing a piece by composer Tan Dun, written specifically for the project.
Ninety musicians from more than three thousand that auditioned were chosen and flown to NYC for a three-day workshop, culminating in tonight's performance.

Thanks to LB for the breaking news alert! I had heard about the project last December, but hadn't thought about it again since then. LB has a great YouTube video of the orchestra posted at her blog. Keep your eyes peeled for the trumpet-playing Clone Trooper!

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