YouTube Symphony Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The YouTube Symphony Orchestra (YTSO) is an orchestra
assembled by open auditions hosted by YouTube
, the London Symphony Orchestra
and several other worldwide partners. Launched on December 1, 2008, it is the first-ever online collaborative orchestra.
, along with a second talent video of themselves playing a preset audition piece to YouTube. Musicians of all cultures were encouraged to audition, as even if a particular instrument was not specifically scored in the original score, a musician was allowed to simply play a part in the same pitch range as their native instrument. Judges selected finalists and alternates was from January 29 to February 13, 2009 and the finalists were voted on by the YouTube community from February 14 to February 22, 2009.
Winners were announced on March 2, and were invited to travel to New York in April 2009, to participate in the YouTube Symphony Orchestra summit, and play at Carnegie Hall
under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas
. As of the concert date, 15 million YouTube viewers had watched the audition tapes. The concert featured a series of short pieces that had been rehearsed for several days, as well as guest soloists Joshua Roman
, Gil Shaham
, Measha Brueggergosman
, Yuja Wang
, and classical / electronica composer Mason Bates
. Three children tutored for the event by pianist Lang Lang
played a piano six hands
arrangement of a Rachmaninoff
waltz.
The Tan Dun submissions were compiled into a mashup
video premiered at Carnegie Hall on April 15, then hosted on the "YouTube Symphony Channel" as of April 16.
on March 20, 2011. Thomas will again be directing, and has asked Bates to write a piece, entitled Mothership, in which performers will be invited to improvise with the orchestra, both live and via an uplink. A video of the LSO
performing Mothership was posted on YouTube on October 11, 2010.
The concert also featured a performance of Mozart's Caro bel idol Mio by Renee Flemming and the Sydney Children's Choir.
Like the previous year, contestants were required to record themselves performing the piece on their own instruments. However, since the piece features sections of improvisation, players are also invited to send in clips of themselves improvising. Applications closed on November 28, 2010.
The performance was broadcast live on "Sunday 20th March [of 2011] at 8pm Sydney time" with rebroadcasts being done throughout the day for each time zone. The completed performance was uploaded to YouTube at the end of March 20 and can now be viewed on the symphony channel. It was "the most-watched live music concert on the Internet", and "the most frequently viewed concert in the history of the video-sharing website".
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
assembled by open auditions hosted by YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, the London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
and several other worldwide partners. Launched on December 1, 2008, it is the first-ever online collaborative orchestra.
2009
The open call for entries was until January 28, 2009. Musicians wishing to audition had to post a video of themselves playing the "Internet Symphony No. 1 'Eroica'", by Tan DunTan Dun
Tan Dun is a Chinese contemporary classical composer, most widely known for his scores for the movies Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero.-Early life in China:...
, along with a second talent video of themselves playing a preset audition piece to YouTube. Musicians of all cultures were encouraged to audition, as even if a particular instrument was not specifically scored in the original score, a musician was allowed to simply play a part in the same pitch range as their native instrument. Judges selected finalists and alternates was from January 29 to February 13, 2009 and the finalists were voted on by the YouTube community from February 14 to February 22, 2009.
Winners were announced on March 2, and were invited to travel to New York in April 2009, to participate in the YouTube Symphony Orchestra summit, and play at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is currently music director of the San Francisco Symphony, and artistic director of the New World Symphony Orchestra.-Early years:...
. As of the concert date, 15 million YouTube viewers had watched the audition tapes. The concert featured a series of short pieces that had been rehearsed for several days, as well as guest soloists Joshua Roman
Joshua Roman
Joshua Roman was the principal cellist of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra from 2006 until 2008. Roman joined the orchestra at age 22, becoming the youngest principal player in Seattle Symphony history....
, Gil Shaham
Gil Shaham
-Biography:Gil Shaham was born in Urbana, Illinois, while his parents, Israeli scientists, were on an academic fellowship at the University of Illinois. His father Jacob was an astrophysicist, and his mother, Meira Diskin, was a cytogeneticist. His sister is the pianist Orli Shaham. He is a...
, Measha Brueggergosman
Measha Brueggergosman
Measha Brueggergosman is a Canadian soprano who performs both as an opera singer and concert artist. She has performed internationally and won numerous awards...
, Yuja Wang
Yuja Wang
Yuja Wang is a Chinese classical pianist. She was born in Beijing, began studying piano there at age six, and went on to study at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.-Early life:...
, and classical / electronica composer Mason Bates
Mason Bates
Mason Bates is an American composer of symphonic music. Distinguished by his innovations in orchestration and large-scale form, Bates is best known for his expansion of the orchestra to include electronics...
. Three children tutored for the event by pianist Lang Lang
Lang Lang (pianist)
Lang Lang , born June 14, 1982, in Shenyang, Liaoning, China, is a Chinese concert pianist, currently residing in New York, who has performed with leading orchestras in Europe, the United States and his native China. He is increasingly well known around the world for his concert performances,...
played a piano six hands
Piano six hands
Music described as piano six hands is for three pianists at one piano, as distinct from piano duet which is music for two pianists at one piano, and from piano trio which is music for piano, violin and cello...
arrangement of a Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
waltz.
The Tan Dun submissions were compiled into a mashup
Mashup (video)
A video mashup is the combination of multiple sources of video—which usually have no relation with each other—into a derivative work, often lampooning its component sources or another text. Many mashup videos are humorous movie trailer parodies, a later genre of mashups gaining much popularity...
video premiered at Carnegie Hall on April 15, then hosted on the "YouTube Symphony Channel" as of April 16.
2011
On October 12, 2010, a video posted on the YouTube Symphony channel announced that they would be doing a second symphony, this time performing at the Sydney Opera HouseSydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
on March 20, 2011. Thomas will again be directing, and has asked Bates to write a piece, entitled Mothership, in which performers will be invited to improvise with the orchestra, both live and via an uplink. A video of the LSO
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
performing Mothership was posted on YouTube on October 11, 2010.
The concert also featured a performance of Mozart's Caro bel idol Mio by Renee Flemming and the Sydney Children's Choir.
Like the previous year, contestants were required to record themselves performing the piece on their own instruments. However, since the piece features sections of improvisation, players are also invited to send in clips of themselves improvising. Applications closed on November 28, 2010.
The performance was broadcast live on "Sunday 20th March [of 2011] at 8pm Sydney time" with rebroadcasts being done throughout the day for each time zone. The completed performance was uploaded to YouTube at the end of March 20 and can now be viewed on the symphony channel. It was "the most-watched live music concert on the Internet", and "the most frequently viewed concert in the history of the video-sharing website".
Reception
As of March 20, 2011, the live feed of the concert was the 21st most viewed event in the Musicians Channel on YouTube.External links
- YouTube Symphony Orchestra, Official YouTube Channel
- Los Angeles Times, Music review: YouTube Symphony Orchestra's final concert, 2011
- An interview with one of the participants of YouTube Orchestra Gennady Krutikov
- A documentary being made about the YTSO
- "YouTube Orchestra Melds Music Live and Online" by Anthony TommasiniAnthony Tommasini-Early years:Tommasini was born in Brooklyn around 1948 and raised on Long Island. He was admitted to Oberlin College's Conservatory of Music, but chose to matriculate at Yale University in order to obtain a broader liberal arts education...
, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
(April 16, 2009)