A new use of cutting-edge Internet technology will bring a live performance of the Philadelphia Orchestra to the Black Box Theater in the ATLAS building at the University of Colorado at Boulder on Oct. 12.
The presentation, arranged by the Center for Arts, Media and Performance, will begin with a pre-show at 11:30 a.m. followed by the all-Beethoven concert led by guest conductor Peter Oundjian at noon. The event is free and open to the public.
"We are pleased to announce that along with nine other state-of-the-art technology centers in the United States, the University of Colorado ATLAS studios was selected as a test site for brand-new Internet2 technology," said Rebekah West, director of the Center for Arts, Media and Performance. "We hope people will join us for feedback and open discussion following the concert."
Frequently referred to as the second generation of the Internet, Internet2 is a nonprofit consortium of more than 300 universities and companies researching the uses of high-speed data transfers. Internet2's transfer rates are from 100 to 1,000 times faster than standard Internet connections. Since the 1990s, CU-Boulder has been a pioneer in researching and using Internet2 technologies.
The Philadelphia Orchestra is the first major orchestra to multicast a concert to large screens through the Internet2 network, according to the orchestra. The live concert will be transmitted using seven high-definition robotic cameras installed in Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia.
The orchestra and the Center for Arts, Media and Performance successfully tested the system with a closed concert broadcast in the ATLAS building on Sept. 26.
"I saw their first test performance in our Black Box Theater with my technical director and it was thrilling, with close-ups of passionate musicians, fabulous audio through our sound-surround system, and the exhilarating experience of orchestra point-of-view shots of the conductor in his most intimate conducting moments," West said. "We felt like we were onstage with the orchestra."
The Center for Arts, Media and Performance program is a combined effort of several CU-Boulder schools and departments including art and art history, theatre and dance, music, film studies, computer science, and journalism and mass communication.
More information about ATLAS is available at atlas.colorado.edu.