If you spend a lot of time on the Internet, It can be easy to forget that there are actually some people with refined, specialized talents out there. Everyone uses the web -- even concert violinists and flugelhorn players, and it's nice to see them sometimes. I wouldn't want to see them everyday, but once in a while it can be nice. Take today, for example. It's the debut of YouTube's global Internet Symphony Orchestra.
The Internet Symphony is part contest, part democracy, and part performance. From December of 2008 until the end of January 2009, musicians and non-musicians from all over the world were encouraged to upload videos of themselves playing a section of Chinese composer Tan Dun's Internet Symphony No.1 ("Eroica"). From February 14th to the 22nd, YouTube users voted for their favorite performers, of which the top 200 were selected to be included in the final video -- a mash-up of all the winning performances. In addition, the winners also received the opportunity to perform the piece live tonight at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Not surprisingly, the Internet Symphony is a diverse crew made up of professional and non-professional musicians alike. They're from here, there, and everywhere, and they've performed in concert halls and bathroom stalls. One girl plays the trumpet with a broken arm, another plays through a Darth Vader mask. And yet, they've been brought together by the magic of music and the power of the Internet.
