Tune In
As production costs fall and delivery mechanisms improve for digital media, orchestras are increasingly looking to online video as a way to draw audiences in. For the Los Angeles Philharmonic, this has meant teaming up with a radio personality from classical station KUSC. “We have a new series launching in the 2014-15 season called ‘Inside the Music with Brian Lauritzen’ that is designed to be a guided journey through specific programs,” says Seidenwurm. “The experience will be multi-layered. First, ticketholders will receive a link to a video hosted by Brian that sets the thematic tone for the program. Then, there will be preand post-concert discussions with Brian and the artists. Finally, there will be ways to engage online for further discussion about the music.” americanorchestras.org
Cat Szalkowski
level of interactivity that is unimaginable using a brochure, order form, or customer service line. “One of our new initiatives this year is Concert Master, a fun online tool that helps classical newbies choose a concert,” said Amy Seidenwurm, director of digital initiatives at the LA Phil. “Our research tells us that what keeps potential customers from coming to an LA Phil concert is the process of choosing a concert—it can be intimidating if knowledge of classical music is limited. Our Concert Master Beta matches a person’s availability and cultural preferences to a few concerts.” A website might once have been the only thing an orchestra did on the internet. Today, it forms just part of a much broader digital strategy, as the New York Philharmonic’s Ford points out: “We reach approximately five million people online each year across our website, social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube), and our key partner platforms (Spotify, iTunes, Medici.TV, radio broadcast streams). For reference, that’s more than the total number of people who purchased a ticket in the past ten years.” The Philharmonic’s online presence includes its extensive Digital Archives, a blog focusing on the orchestra’s musical and community activities, a customer-community panel that provides ongoing feedback from customer groups, and KidZone, its long-running games-andeducation site for kids. “We also have a new media platform under the Watch and Listen section of our site,” says Ford.
The Kansas City Symphony shared the musicians’ perspective in January when violinist Heidi Han, double bassist Evan Halloin, and horn player Elizabeth Schellhase Gray wore Google Glasses during a rehearsal of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Google Glass is a wearable computer that displays information in a hands-free format and allows users to record and post high-definition video.
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra creates “Broadcasts in many forms are essential online videos featuring Music Director Jaap to the future of our industry,” the New York van Zweden. Director of Communications Philharmonic’s Ford asserts. “The opportuDenise McGovern says that the medium nity for classical music broadcasts on TV is provides the opportunity to create a level incredibly limited. There were fewer than of intimacy that’s simply impossible while ten across the U.S. last year. The televisionspeaking from the podium. “This season broadcast medium has contracted about as we started a new series of videos featurquickly as digital has expanded. There are a ing our music director, Jaap van Zweden. lot of layers to make webcasts successful and He was filmed by a producer he knew, and practical: production costs, media licensing the results were fantastic. The series, called fees, and to a lesser extent limited distribu‘The Maestro’s Choice,’ shows him in a cation. But the challenges are similar to what sual setting speaking about books, radio, and television A website pieces that he performed this faced when those technoloseason. Our audiences re- might once have been gies originally emerged.” ally responded to the personal The Berlin Philharmonic’s the only thing an stories and anecdotes that he Digital Concert Hall is perorchestra shared about the works— haps the best-known example did on the internet. such as the fact that Mahler of a concert streaming projToday, it forms 4 was the first piece he played ect, but U.S. orchestras are just part of a much also exploring this capability. as a concertmaster at ninebroader digital teen,” which McGovern says The Detroit Symphony Or“help us to build a real trust chestra’s series with Detroit strategy. and community with our auPublic TV, “Live from Ordience. They get to know him better, and chestra Hall,” attracts thousands of viewers. feel like he’s sharing these stories directly In February, the Detroit Symphony, Detroit with them. We play the videos in our lobPublic Television, and PBS launched “DSO by during the concerts, we share them on on Demand,” a multiplatform series of free, email, and we even premiered one with our on-demand HD webcasts of “Live From local NPR station on their arts website. The Orchestra Hall” shows through PBS.org, content has so many uses and speaks to so the PBS mobile app, and the PBS apps for many people.” Apple TV, Roku, and Xbox. Last year, the Digital video can certainly help deliver Chicago Symphony Orchestra presented a background about a concert, but orchestras free live webcast of Riccardo Muti conductare increasingly looking at ways to use the ing the Verdi Requiem, which is still availinternet to deliver the concerts themselves. able at their website.
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