海角大神

鈥�American Idol鈥� for classical musicians?

YouTube鈥檚 call last week for auditions for the world鈥檚 first online orchestra may help level the playing field for aspiring musicians, as well as expose a new generation to classical music. Invited to submit video entries for the newly created YouTube Symphony Orchestra channel, winners will perform at New York City鈥檚 Carnegie Hall next April.

The draw for many musicians will be China鈥檚 Oscar-winning composer Tan Dun (鈥�Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon鈥�), who has written a piece specially for the event called 鈥淭he Internet Symphony.鈥� Applicants will download the appropriate sheet music for their instrument and practice with a video of Dun conducting for their part. Next, they will film themselves and upload the video to YouTube. Then, they will upload a second performance, a classical piece of their choosing to show off their interpretive skills.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an interesting experiment,鈥� says Luke Krafka, a cello performance major at Boston Conservatory, about the idea of a global cyber-orchestra.

George Nickson, an orchestral percussion student at the New England Conservatory of Music, agrees. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a different way of approaching the audition process,鈥� adding that the competition鈥檚 video audition 鈥渙pens it up to amateurs who otherwise couldn鈥檛 audition for such a well-known conductor.鈥�

But this leveling of the playing field for prospective players has its drawbacks. Traditional orchestral auditions are performed behind a screen, so the judges can鈥檛 see the musician. This ensures fairness, says Mr. Nickson, because the judges鈥� opinions are formed solely by what they hear.

鈥淏eing able to see the player changes the criteria by which people are judged,鈥� he says. 鈥淪o in a way, this could be perceived as a popularity contest.鈥�

In addition, video auditions allow players to do as many takes as needed to get it right. Whereas with a live audition, 鈥測ou only have one chance to do it, and the director automatically knows what kind of player they鈥檙e getting,鈥� says Mr. Krafka.

鈥淟ive auditions ensure that players can deliver to the best of their abilities under pressure,鈥� adds Nickson.
The effect the YouTube symphony ultimately has on the public may not have anything to do with the caliber of its participants, though. According to Krafka, the end product is not as important as the way it came about.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really nice to see classical music begin to become part of the 21st century,鈥� he says. 鈥淪ymphonies are really suffering. People just aren鈥檛 going to see them anymore. The things we do have been done for hundreds of years and that can be a deterrent to younger audiences. If we can use things like YouTube and Facebook and MySpace to connect with young people, that鈥檚 a good thing.鈥�

Nickson agrees. 鈥淚 think most major orchestras will view it a minor event,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think they will view it as something of the same caliber; more like a gimmick or a publicity stunt by Google.鈥� But 鈥渋t definitely could be something that gets people listening to classical music.鈥�

鈥淎ny idea to get people into the concert halls and into the classical music world is an idea worth exploring,鈥� says Krafka.

Entries will be accepted from now until Jan. 28. Semifinalists will be selected from the video entries by a judging panel composed of musicians from the world鈥檚 leading orchestras. In February, YouTube viewers will be invited to vote for their favorites.

The winning finalists will be announced on YouTube in March. They will then travel to New York City to participate in the three-day YouTube Symphony Orchestra summit. It will feature Chinese pianist Lang Lang and San Francisco Symphony music director Michael Tilson Thomas, and culminate in the April 15 performance at Carnegie Hall.