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Inaugural YouTube Symphony Orchestra Finalized

by Warren Riddle on March 3, 2009 at 06:19 PM



How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Post a video demonstrating your musical talents on YouTube, of course. In hopes of being named to the first YouTube Symphony Orchestra, amateur and professional musicians from over 70 countries submitted more than 3,000 videos to be judged by members of professional orchestras including the Berlin, New York and Hong Kong philharmonics. After the pros narrowed the field down to 200 finalists, YouTube viewers voted to ultimately decide the winning participants.

The orchestra, to be conducted by San Francisco Symphony music director Michael Tilson Thomas, consists of more than 90 musicians, ranging in age from 17 to 55, from approximately 30 countries. The group will spend three days in April attending master classes and rehearsals leading up to an April 15th performance at New York City's famed Carnegie Hall. Renowned composer Tan Dun, most widely known for his Oscar-winning "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" score, created and arranged "Internet Symphony No. 1 Eroica" specifically for the Orchestra to debut at the performance.

We're still awaiting word on the premiere of the YouTube choral ensemble, although we're fairly certain it will not only include that Chocolate Rain guy, but will also, more importantly, feature Rick Astley as conductor. C'mon. Did you honestly think we could make it through a post about YouTube and music without mentioning Rickrolling? [From: AP/Popeater]

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Tags: classical music, ClassicalMusic, Michael Tilson Thomas, MichaelTilsonThomas, music, Tan Dun, TanDun, video, web video, WebVideo, YouTube, YouTube Symphony Orchestra, YoutubeSymphonyOrchestra

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