Two Weeks until the YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011

This is a cross-post from the YouTube Australia blog.

In just a few days the YouTube Symphony Orchestra arrives in Sydney. The 97 orchestral musicians, winning improvisers, and Michael Tilson Thomas have been hard at work to ensure that their performances in Sydney are nothing short of extraordinary. And to give you a sneak peek, Tourism Australia has flown four winning musicians down under in advance of the full orchestra’s arrival to spend some time with some of Australia’s up and coming musical talent. The pair, Desmond from London, and Luke from NSW have completed a musical track, inspired by their journey:

The YouTube Symphony Orchestra kicks off March 15 for a week-long festival of creativity, technology and the arts. The Grand Finale is nearly sold out, but be sure to pick up your tickets at the Sydney Opera House website for any of the week’s ensemble concerts and the Saturday matinee.



This year, we’ll also be joining an additional YouTuber to jam with the YouTube Symphony Orchestra at a special, pre-finale performance at The Basement. Here’s the winning entry from Qantas’ open mic competition, Zak Gottleib:

Even if you don’t have tickets, be sure to come down to Dawes Point to watch the Opera House sails come to life during the Grand finale performance on 20 March. And stay tuned for more sneak peeks of what’s to come!



Posted by Ernesto Soriano, YouTube Team, just watched Making Tracks: Stu and Sam cycling in Canberra

YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011: We’ll see you in Sydney!

This is a cross-post from the YouTube Australia Blog.

A few months ago, we announced the second YouTube Symphony Orchestra to be held at the Sydney Opera House, and sent out a call to you, the YouTube community, to Play Your Part. We were blown away by the amazing videos we received in response, and the YouTube community voted on their favorites and visited the channel in their millions.



Today, we’re proud to present the 101 musicians from more than 30 countries around the world that have been selected to form the YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011.

These outstanding musicians range in age from 14 to 49 and hail from five different continents, including 4 winners from Australia:



Brent MIller, Timpanist, overcame a neck injury and spinal problems to return to full-time secondary schooling in Toowoomba, Queensland, where he has performed with the University of Southern Queensland Orchestra, Toowoomba Concert Band, and the Queensland Youth Symphony



Mathisha Panagoda, Celloist, has toured Europe and China with the Australian Youth Orchestra, and has even performed at the 2000 Olympics! He has established his own chamber orchestra in Sydney, the Sydney Camerata, which is made up of young, talented musicians from around the country.



John Burgess, Bassist, was born in Queensland, Australia but grew up in the rural Mid North Coast. He began to take an interest in music at age 9, first on piano, then soon after picked up the bass guitar. He will be performing an improvisation to Mason Bates’ Mothership.



Rollin Zhao, Violinist, started playing music when he was two, and could read music before he could read words!



Also among the group is a vuvuzela-fixated trombonist from Germany, an Arizona-based clarinetist who has never left the U.S., and a Guzheng player from China whose instrument is one a lot of the world has never seen or heard before.



The orchestra and winning improvisers will be joined in Sydney by Michael Tilson Thomas, Mason Bates, and a number of professional musicians and mentors from the London Symphony Orchestra, The Berlin Philharmoniker, and the Sydney Symphony, to participate in a week-long celebration of music, creativity, technology and the arts. The week will include several ensemble concerts, classes for Australian musicians, events in and around Sydney, and the Grand Finale performance on Sunday, March 20 to be held in the Sydney Opera House concert hall and streamed live to the world on YouTube.



Everyone can participate in this celebration of creativity and technology. We’ll post videos and behind-the-scenes footage of the orchestra, from rehearsal and master classes to performance, to the YouTube Symphony channel, and to our mobile apps (which you can download on the Android Market by searching for ‘YouTube Symphony Orchestra’ or on the Apple App Store.

Be sure to tune in for more details on the week’s events.



Next stop: Sydney.



Ernesto Soriano, YouTube Australia, recently watched “Synergy: Unsung Heroes” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq_sBkNkGpY

YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011: The Shortlist Is In, Let The Voting Begin

Musicians from Finland to New Zealand, from Austria to Vietnam, have done their bit - submitting their audition videos for the chance to be part of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011 at Sydney Opera House. Now, with 336 finalists from 46 countries selected, it’s your turn to play your part: voting is open for who you think should make up the orchestra.

Your votes at youtube.com/symphony over the next seven days will help decide which of these talented musicians will be packing up their trombones, violas, and timpani and heading to Sydney Opera House from March 14-20, 2011, to perform together for a global audience.



You can vote once per video, per day, until 23:59 EST on December 17 to help YouTube Symphony Orchestra Artistic Advisor Michael Tilson Thomas boil the 300 shortlisted hopefuls down to the final 96. Your votes are also needed to help choose four solo improvisers. “Mothership” composer, Mason Bates, will be using your input to choose from 36 soloists, including show-stopping performances on instruments like the guzheng, the musical saw and… the udderbot.

Congratulations to those in the running, and to all of those who submitted an audition -- thank you for your hard work. We've been blown away by your talent and determination.

Check out the channel now and vote for your favourites.

Posted by Jamie Dolling, Marketing Manager, recently watched “Magic Moments: The Udderbot”