The Internet, which connects people every millisecond in one way or another, has generated an entire orchestra from a cyber pool of strangers - aspiring players from 70 countries on six continents who uploaded more than 3,000 audition videos.
The YouTube Symphony Orchestra, which bows April 15 in New York's famed Carnegie Hall with a concert led by esteemed conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, began online in December with an open invitation to players of all levels to try out for the ensemble. The new orchestra is a joint initiative by YouTube, Carnegie Hall, the London Symphony and others.
Tilson Thomas and professionals from some of the world's leading orchestras evaluated the videos, while people from around the globe voted for their favorites. There have been more than 13 million views on YouTube, which Academy Award-winning composer Tan Dun calls "the biggest stage on earth."
About 200 finalists, ranging in age from 15 to 55, were chosen Feb. 14. Yesterday, the names of the 90 audition-winning musicians, representing 30 countries, were announced. The list includes Rachel Hsieh, a Michigan-born cellist who moved to Baltimore in 2007 to earn her master's degree at the Peabody Conservatory.
"I was really scared to be out of my little, enclosed student world and have my videos on YouTube for everyone to see," Hsieh says. The 24-year-old musician, a student of Alan Stepansky, says she didn't trumpet her involvement in the project. "I was a little embarrassed to say I was auditioning."
But folks at Peabody don't sound embarrassed that Hsieh took the online plunge. "I'm impressed that a Peabody student was one of the winners," says Mellasenah Morris, dean and deputy director of the conservatory. "And I'm amazed that this kind of opportunity is there."
Hsieh heard about the YouTube Symphony from the teacher of a class about copyrights at Peabody. "I had lobbied my parents for a new laptop, and I figured this was one way I could show them I was using it," the cellist says.
Prospective players went to the symphony site for a list of pieces they could audition with; they could also download their parts for a new work written for the cyber-spawned orchestra by Tan Dun (musicians could practice using video of the composer conducting the work). Seasoned pros offered advice on additional videos.
