On March 30, the Manhattan School of Music offered its first live-streamed video of a classical music event as an iPhone/iTouch App: a masterclass with baritone Thomas Hampson. The class—given in partnership with InstantEncore, which powered the app—was a collaboration by the school’s distance learning and orchestral performance programs. The mobile-streamed masterclass could be accessed after downloading a free iPhone/iTouch App, and was simultaneously streamed at the school’s website http://dl.msmnyc.edu/live, where listeners could pose questions to Hampson and participating musicians, as well as view scores and a list of recommended recordings. Repertoire for the class included Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer, Kindertotenlieder, and Rückert-Lieder, accompanied by pianist Warren Jones and five wind players, who played vocal lines from printed scores, replacing the vocalist for the masterclass. Hampson is Visiting Artist for Vocal Studies and Distance Learning at the Manhattan School and serves on the school’s board of trustees.
Posted April 7, 2010
