The Philadelphia Orchestra: Experiential Learning and Audience Engagement through Theatre Art and Orchestral Production

October 09, 2007, 8:45 AM - 10:00 AM Location: Grand Hall

The Players

Ed Cambron, vice president, marketing and public relations, The Philadelphia Orchestra

Tish Hurley, director of information technology, The Philadelphia Orchestra

Greg Landry, business development manager, The Philadelphia Orchestra

Greg Palmer, director, MAGPI, University of Pennsylvania

Global Concert Series – What is it? Live Philadelphia Orchestra concerts

transmitted via Internet2 Enhanced with live, interactive, and pre-

recorded content during pre-concert, intermission, and post-concert periods

Entertaining, informative, and unique content incorporating seven robotic HD cameras

Opportunities for universities – education, community development, revenue generation

Supported with technical assistance and publicity materials

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MissionThe Philadelphia Orchestra is committed to:

Bringing the world’s greatest music to diverse audiences around the world

Advancing the proud traditions of technical innovation and artistic excellence

Using electronic media, including Internet2, as a catalyst for creativity and collaboration across the organization

Being a leader in the creation and distribution of the highest quality classical music experiences using state of the art technologies

Raising the Invisible Curtain – an overarching program to remove any barriers between audiences and musicians and enhance the listeners’ engagement and understanding of music

Unique Opportunities

Internet2 offers The Philadelphia Orchestra: A high bandwidth network Ability to deliver interactive content Premium quality sight and sound capabilities

appealing to cultural audiences with high demands

Ability to reach organizations in need of, and interested in, cultural programming

Ability to reach potential audiences around the world

A distribution path in need of rich content An economical way to deliver valuable,

educational, and entertaining cultural content

Opportunities for Collaboration

MAGPI was essential in guiding and educating the Philadelphia Orchestra about how Internet2 could help fulfill our artistic, educational, and audience outreach initiatives.

MAGPI was also instrumental in enrolling early adopters: Montgomery County Community College (Pennsylvania) University of Copenhagen (Denmark) University of Delaware University of Pennsylvania University of Porto (Portugal) Eastman School of Music (New York)

Collaboration Grows

Test pilot participants have included or will include: Eastman School of Music Indiana State University Lehigh University New World Symphony Stony Brook University Texas A&M University University of Arizona University of Colorado (Atlas Institute) University of Delaware University of South Florida University of Southern California Wichita State University Enthusiastic response from K-12 schools

The Intrigue of InteractivityCreate a “live” communal audience

experience: Audience participation in live interviews

with Orchestra musicians and guest artists Live collaboration between select remote

sites and The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (the Orchestra’s home venue)

Potential for chat rooms/discussion forums following the performance

Integration of the Global Concert Series and possible master classes into curriculum

Managing the Challenges Technical: Managing in-house equipment and network

infrastructure to produce and transmit professional quality audio and video

Communicating with network, pc, and equipment configurations at various remote sites

Developing robust and reliable interactivity

Administrative: Identifying the right “champion” at each remote site Bringing together different people at the remote sites to

ensure a successful collaboration Creating internal processes and systems to build an

efficient program Balancing the financial expense against the benefits of

interactivity

Managing Expectations

The reputation of The Philadelphia Orchestra and the technical standards of Internet2 create high expectations

Musician and audience expectations vary

Maintain focus among a broad array of technological possibilities

Establish a realistic pace for growth

Lessons Learned…with

more to come Technical: Streaming technology choice is critical and

complicated. A formal testing plan is essential. Better communication is needed between the

remote site administrators and our technical team. An internal quality review board is needed. Administrative: Importance of allowing for long lead times to

account for venue scheduling and budgeting Importance of a venue that delivers an experience

with impact Almost 80% of audience members who were

admitted for free left the concert willing to pay for the experience ($10 – $15).

Lessons Learned…with

more to come Programming: Importance of interactivity and sense of

“liveness” Create programming that meets the needs of

experienced musicians and novicesProduction: Quality of concert host is invaluable Balancing lighting levels for concert hall

audience versus remote audiences Remote sites desire more variety of camera work Adjust audio levels throughout transmission to

achieve consistency

Upcoming Multicast Dates:

October 12, 2007 – Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5

January 25, 2008 – Bernstein Festival March 7, 2008 – Orff’s Carmina burana April 10, 2008 – 2001 – A Musical

Space Odyssey May 3, 2008 – Mahler’s Symphony No.

8 (“Symphony of a Thousand”) May 16, 2008 – All-Schubert program

How Can You Help?

As Internet2 enthusiasts, we ask you to forward this information to your

music department and venue administrators.

For more information contact:Greg Landry215.893.1994

glandry@philorch.org

www.philorch.org/internet2

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Thank you for joining us.

Don’t forget your copy of The Philadelphia Orchestra’s

recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4!