In Wednesday’s (8/5) Philadelphia Daily News, Jonathan Takiff writes about a plan for Philadelphia Orchestra concerts to be webcast live to senior centers by SpectiCast, a new Philadelphia-based entertainment company. “Starting this fall, SpectiCast will pump out a series of live (and almost live) concerts by our esteemed Philadelphia Orchestra to senior living centers equipped with a broadband Internet connection, a big-screen TV and a high-grade sound system…. ‘These concerts are going to look and sound great,’ enthused Joan B. May, an 82-year-old resident of the Quadrangle life-care community in suburban Haverford. She was in the audience for a test of the webcast system in June, with Charles Dutoit conducting a resounding, all-Rachmaninoff program.… During the 2007-08 season, the orchestra participated in experimental, closed-circuit high-definition video feeds carried on the super-high-powered Internet2 system, available only to universities, the federal government and the military.” Philadelphia Orchestra Executive Director and CEO Frank Slattery comments, “The picture was absolutely beautiful…. In your near lifetime, you’ll see every concert streaming live somewhere, somehow.” The Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall, where the Philadelphia Orchestra performs, is equipped with microphones, high-definition cameras, and video- and audio-mixing/broadcast booths, making the broadcasts feasible.
Posted August 6, 2009
