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TECHNOLOGY A23
Tech at the symphony: Boston orchestra loaning patrons iPads
PHILIP MARCELO
Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — A night
at the symphony usually
means silencing cellphones
and mobile devices before
the music starts.
But as part of an effort to
draw in a younger audi-
ence, the Boston Sympho-
ny Orchestra is loaning se-
lect patrons iPads loaded
with content specific to
each performance.
They’ll be able to view
sheet music for the pieces
being played, video inter-
views with musicians, pod-
casts about the composers
and analysis on the works
themselves.
They’ll also get a close-up
view of the conductor from
the musicians’ point of view
from video monitors set up
in the hall.
The storied orchestra,
which was founded in 1881,
is the first to offer audience generation’s changing ex-
members use of custom-
ized iPads, according to
Kim Noltemy, the group’s
chief operating and com-
munications officer.
But other orchestras are
also trying to incorpo-
rate technology.
The Philadelphia Orchestra
is among a handful that
has developed its own
mobile application to let
audience members follow
along with program notes,
like translations of vocal
parts, in real time from their ing out the iPads as part of
personal devices.
Gaming:
Inspired by reality, ‘Division’ takes on interactive terror
DERRIK J. LANG
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — At the
beginning of “Tom Clan-
cy’s The Division,” players
portraying top-secret op-
eratives are dropped from
a helicopter into a rendi-
tion of New York City that’s
been crippled by a terrorist
attack.
Central Park is a mass grave-
yard. Madison Square Gar-
den is a makeshift hospital
under siege. The James A.
Farley Post Office Building
is being transformed into a
base of military operations.
The Lincoln Tunnel has de-
volved into a shooting gal-
lery for looters and thugs.
The Los Angeles Philhar-
monic rolled out “VAN
Beethoven,” a custom-
ized van that gave resi-
dents last fall a chance
to enjoy a performance
of Beethoven’s Fifth Sym-
phony using virtual reality
headsets.
And the Sacramento Phil-
harmonic and Opera, Vir-
ginia Symphony Orchestra
are among those offering
“tweet seats,” specially
designated sections where
concertgoers are encour-
aged to interact on Twitter
with a concert official as
they gave running com-
mentary during select per-
formances.
Jesse Rosen, president
and CEO of the League of
American Orchestras, an
approximately 800-mem-
ber group based in New
York, says orchestras are
trying to appeal to a new
pectations for the concert
experience.
“It’s about enhancing the
visual experience of lis-
tening to a symphony or-
chestra,” he says. “It’s also
about making the experi-
ence more intimate and
creating a more visible
contact between the per-
former and the audience,
which is something young-
er audiences really seem to
value.”
The Boston orchestra is roll-
a broader effort to draw
This ain’t the Mushroom
Kingdom.
While maintaining its third-
person shooter sensibilities, by a thread, but you can
the ambitious new video
game from Ubisoft is seek-
ing to tackle such serious
topics as viral outbreaks,
police brutality and the
breakdown of emergency
services.
Is this supposed to be —
gulp — fun?
“It’s a dark and depress-
ing scenario, but it’s impor- they call a “mid-crisis.”
tant that you can be the
hero,” said creative direc-
tor Magnus Jansen after a
demonstration of the “The
Division,” out March 8. “You
can come in and make a
Tuesday 19 January 2016
patrons, particularly young- audiences are not without helped some patrons be-
er ones, to their underper- opposition from symphony come more informed and
forming Friday concerts. traditionalists. therefore more engaged
An iPad with a Boston Symphony Orchestra interactive program is displayed next to sheet music
on a stand at Symphony Hall in Boston. The BSO is loaning iPads to concertgoers during perfor-
mances in hopes of drawing new audiences to classical music.
(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
During “Casual Fridays,” “There’s been resistance in the performance while
symphony tickets are being all along to screens in con- the app’s design -- gray-
offered at significantly low- cert halls” observes Rosen, scale text on a black back-
er prices, ranging from $25 of the League of American ground -- minimizes the im-
to $45, down from as much Orchestras. pact on others.
as $145, patrons are being Jeremy Rothman, vice “No one is more concerned
encouraged to dress ca- president for artistic plan- about preserving the live
sually, and the hall is host- ning at the Philadelphia Or- concert experience as we
ing pre- and post-concert chestra, says concerns over are,” Rothman says. “This
receptions with live music, its LiveNote app, which de- is absolutely at the core of
snacks and a cash bar. buted this season at select what we do. So we asked
The first performance was concerts, have diminished a lot of the really hard
Jan. 15; two others have as concertgoers and musi- questions up front and are
so far been scheduled for cians alike saw the tech- continuing to listen to feed-
Feb. 12 and March 18. nology in action. back now that we’ve put it
Efforts to appeal to new The app, he says, has in people’s hands.”q
difference. The important Jansen. “We would never The creators of “The Divi-
thing is that society has want to upset anyone with sion” were more interested
stumbled and it’s hanging our work of art. That’s the in crafting a realer-than-
risk we run by working on real interactive experience
prevent it from complete something that’s about a based on what might ac-
collapse.” plausible clear and present tually happen if a biologi-
The developers are well danger. cal threat was unleashed
aware that many play- That’s also part of what across Manhattan on Black
ers won’t be interested in makes it compelling.” Friday. They were inspired
a shared-world shooter For decades, most military by actual military simula-
that meticulously envisions shooters sought to recreate tions and responses to such
such a chilling scenario, real-life wars and weap- disasters as Hurricane Ka-
but they’re not apologizing ons of the past and pres- trina.
for their gritty look at what ent. However, in recent “My favorite part of work-
years, franchises like “Call ing on the game was to
“We have the greatest re- of Duty” and “Battlefield” look at New York and see
spect for (real-life) victims have focused on depicting how these landmark build-
of anything that we touch futures where fictional con- ings would be transformed
on in the game, whether it’s flicts are fought with laser if a crisis happened,” said
an outbreak, terrorist attack weapons and mechanical associate creative director
or anything like that,” said appendages. Julian Gerighty.q