Amidst the sea of orchestra owned and authored blogs popping up throughout the blogosphere, I’ve noticed one new addition that seems to have figured out that in order to encourage positive results, you have to use the blog for something besides a PR aggregator. In particular, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) launched a new orchestra related blog last week. According to the blog’s inaugural post, the endeavor is being undertaken by someone inside the ESO, let’s call him "Phil," who is the organization’s New Media Specialist. Of the orchestra owned blogs which have started up this past season, here’s why I think this endeavor is worth writing about…
Web/Tech
Adaptistration Poll: RSS Preferences
Last week, a reader contacted me asking about why Adaptistration doesn’t use full length posts in its RSS feed. A thoughtful exchange ensued and as it has been some time since I last surveyed readers on the topic, it seemed as though the best course of action would be to poll current readers on their RSS habits and whether or not they have any preferences with regard to feed length and format…
A Tangled Web Indeed
If you haven’t read it yet, Ron Spigelman posted an excellent article on 3/22/2008 at Sticks and Drones about some recent changes made to the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra (SSO) website. Although the ongoing situation in Columbus has had a great deal of attention, there is an equally significant series of events developing in Shreveport between the SSO and the symphony musicians, the Orchestra Players United of Shreveport-Bossier (OPUS). The particulars of that situation will be examined here in the near future but the issues which Ron brings to light are worth immediate attention…
A Viral Marketer, An Orchestra, And A Brewmaster Walk Into A Bar…
Thanks to the seemingly endless creativity among the folks who marketing beer, Victoria Bitter (a brand in the Fosters chain commonly referred to as VB) launched a viral ad campaign toward the end of 2007 that featured 95 musicians from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria performing solely on 451 VB bottles and 6 timpani. Composer Cezary Skubiszewski arranged the 40-year-old VB theme music and conducted the ensemble which recorded the video, featured to your right, at the Melbourne Concert Hall.
Another Take On Orchestral Microsites
As an interesting continuation to the topic of orchestral microsites a reader sent along a link to the Berlin Philharmonic Cello Challenge, a microsite of the Berlin Philharmonic website. The microsite is designed entirely in Flash and although it is apparent that they spent a great deal of time on the microsite’s aesthetic quality, it is ultimately one of the thousands of simple, repetitive flash based games available across the internet…