The YouTube Symphony Summit: A View from the Viola Section
order to determine winners. The prize: an expenses-‐paid trip to New York City for three days of rehearsals, master classes, and ultimately a performance in Carnegie Hall.
By Kathryn Steely and Dawson White “ All the world's a stage”, according to Jacques in Shakespeare’s As you like it, yet on April 15, 2009 in a turn of that famous phrase, the world gathered onstage in Carnegie Hall for the first ever YouTube Symphony. Brainchild of Michael Tilson Thomas, the YouTube Symphony Summit brought together musicians from around the globe in celebration of classical music. The hall was transformed by flying images and special effects in this effort to strengthen a classical music presence on YouTube. With ninety-‐six winning performers representing thirty countries, the viola section included several Americans. Dawson White, junior viola performance major at Baylor University was one of those American violists in this experimental and creative effort focused on bringing 21st century technology into the concert hall. The YouTube Symphony project was announced late last year and attracted more than 3,000 applicants worldwide. A panel of musicians from professional orchestras including the London and San Francisco symphonies and the Berlin, Hong Kong and New York philharmonic orchestras picked 200 finalistsi. YouTube viewers were then able to vote for their favorites along with evaluation by Michael Tilson Thomas in
The concert itself consisted of a potpourri of fifteen movements by Gabrielli, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Dvorak, Cage, Harrison, and Batesiiamong others. Guest soloists ranged from Joshua Roman and Yuja Wang, to Gil Shaham and Measha Brueggerosman. The centerpiece of the concert was a work specially written for the YouTube Summit by composer Tan Dun, The Internet Symphony Eroica. A mash-‐up performance of the Tan Dun work, including many of the 3,000 entrants can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/symphony KS: Being a part of the YouTube Symphony was a unique and energizing experience. I know that you have an interest in the use of the internet as a tool to spread awareness and to build interest in classical music. How did you discover this opportunity in the first place? DW: I discovered this opportunity the day it was released online on December 1, 2008. I believe there was an article about the event posted on ArtsJournal.com, which I read daily. I was a little skeptical at first because of the unconventional audition process but soon found that Michael Tilson Thomas and Tan Dun were involved and the orchestra would be playing in Carnegie Hall. I began to look into it more closely and decided it was something I would really like to participate in. This also provided another great opportunity to learn and audition on orchestral repertoire, something I am always trying to improve upon. With regard to the internet, it is developing as an important tool for classical music because it provides a much more accessible format. YouTube already has a venue for classical music where one can find old videos of famous instrumentalists and conductors as well as videos posted by many other amateur players. As an amateur, it can be very helpful to put