Monday, February 16, 2009

YouTube Symphony Orchestra

Symphony orchestras all run auditions in much the same way. We have rounds where we hear candidates, eliminate some, and then hear them again until we decide who the winner is. In early rounds a screen separates the audition committee from the candidates to eliminate any bias. In the final round the screen comes down and we are able to talk to the finalists and see their resumes.

YouTube is doing things differently. They are in the process of choosing musicians for the YouTube Symphony which will perform at Carnegie Hall on April 15th under the direction of San Fransisco Symphony's Michael Tilson Thomas. Over 3000 musicians from around the world have uploaded video auditions to be a part of the YouTube symphony. Judges reviewed the submissions and narrowed the entries. The videos of the finalists in all instrument categories are now up on the YouTube Symphony site and you can vote for your favorites through next Sunday. Thats right. It's a people's choice symphony.

If you'd like to browse the entries and vote for your favorites, here is a link to the YouTube Symphony Orchestra website.

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