On March 20th, the 2nd YouTube Symphony Orchestra performed the grand finale of a week-long celebration of music in Australia at Sydney's singular Opera House. The performance was streamed live online and the orchestra featured 101 musicians from 33 countries. It was accompanied by incredible visuals controlled live by a light artist and projected on the 'sails' of the opera house. Behold:
Assembly of the orchestra began last fall with a video posted on the YTSO's YouTube page calling for auditions. Musicians from around the world auditioned by submitting videos of themselves playing music from the symphony on their instruments, many of which might not be found in a traditional orchestra. Also on the YTSO's YouTube page, there are brief videos introducing many of the players.
It is impressive that the organizers and members of the orchestra collaborated on the realization of their shared vision despite the thousands of miles between them and pulled it off spectacularly. The success of YTSO demonstrates that the democratizing influence of the internet extends even to the staid realm of classical music. BP