The Philadelphia Orchestra:
Experiential Learning and Audience Engagement
through Theatre Art and Orchestral Production
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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
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Global Concert Series – What is it?
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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
VIDEO
Mission
The Philadelphia Orchestra is committed to:
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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:
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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 Interactivity
Create 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
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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 novices
Production:
 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
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Odyssey
May 3, 2008 – Mahler’s Symphony No. 8
(“Symphony of a Thousand”)
 May 16, 2008 – All-Schubert program
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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 Landry
215.893.1994
glandry@philorch.org
www.philorch.org/internet2
VIDEO
Thank you for joining us.
Don’t forget your copy of
The Philadelphia Orchestra’s
recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4!