An Agence France Presse report published in Tuesday’s (3/29) Australian, with additional reporting from Matthew Westwood, states, “The YouTube Symphony Orchestra, comprising 101 musicians from across the world, attracted a global audience of 33 million people for its grand finale concert at the Sydney Opera House. Google, YouTube’s parent company, says there were 11.1 million video streams of the concert on March 20, making it the most-watched live music concert on YouTube, beating U2’s 10 million streams. A further 19.1 million streams took place as the concert was replayed on YouTube during the next 24 hours. The YTSO brought to Australia musicians who had auditioned for a place via the video-sharing website. They arrived in Sydney for a week of rehearsals and ensemble performances under the direction of US conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. … As the orchestra played—soloists included Su Chan on the Chinese zither, the guzheng, and William Barton on didgeridoo—on the outside the white sails of Sydney Opera House were covered in colourful projections.”
Posted March 30, 2011
