YouTube symphony orchestra performs live

Posted on 16 Apr 2009 at 12:17

YouTube has assembled a symphony orchestra comprising of 90 of its users from around the world. The orchestra performed live yesterday (April 15th, 2009) at New York's Carnegie Hall.

YouTube invited its users to audition for a place in the orchestra. The prospective musicians were asked to submit two videos, one performing a piece specially arranged for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra and one performing a piece selected from a collection of well-known tunes. YouTube said that it received nearly 3,000 video submissions from around the world. Some were professional musicians while others were not. The final orchestra line-up included a Spanish guitarist, a Dutch harpist and a Lithuanian birbyne player.

"We hope the YouTube Symphony Orchestra will bring people together from all over the world, and serve as a venue for established musicians and emerging talent to collaborate joyfully and creatively in a new way," YouTube said in a statement on its website.

The service has posted behind-the-scenes footage of the preparation leading up to the performance, musicians' video logs and early rehearsals. It has also compiled a "global mashup" consisting of the musicians' video submissions, which you can watch below.