Upcoming Webcasts

Saturday, January 31, 2009: Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra, 7:30 p.m. CST
Victor Yampolsky and David Cubek, conductors
Ludwig van Beethoven, Coriolan Overture
Johannes Brahms, Symphony No. 3 in F Major
Richard Strauss, Ein Heldenleben

Wednesday, February 11, 2009: “Improvisation, Creativity, and Consciousness: New Pedagogical Horizons in Music and Beyond," 6 p.m. CST
Presented by Ed Sarath
This hands-on master class will explore improvisation as both a means for musical creativity and also as a lens into the interior dimensions of the creative process, or consciousness. The session will be based in a trans-stylistic approach to improvisation that serves both as a "user-friendly" introduction to this process for musicians with little or no background in improvisation as well as a method for expanding the horizons of experienced, style-specific (e.g. jazz, or baroque, or North Indian, etc) improvisers. Rhythmic exercises, movement, and meditation practices will also be part of the session. Open to musicians on all instruments (including voice) as well as individuals with no musical background. Participants are encouraged to bring an instrument to participate in this master class.

Thursday, March 5, 2009: "Free Play: The Art of Improvisation," 6 p.m. CST
Presented by Steven Nachmanovitch
For musicians, composers, and teachers, improvisation is a tool for achieving greater skill, confidence, communication, and imagination. It is also a great art form in itself - the most universal, playful, and intimate form of musical expression. In this "hands-on" master class, Stephen Nachmanovitch will teach participants to strengthen technique through improvisation, overcome fears, take advantage of mistakes and accidents, create coherent, well formed music without a plan, contact your creative process while performing, and renew the pleasure of play. Special attention will be given to ideas for taking these techniques into "school music" settings.

Friday, March 6, 2009: Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra, 7:30 p.m. CST
Victor Yampolsky, Yahui Cheng, David Cubek, and Robert McConnell, conductors; Charlene Prescott, cello, and Ari Vilhjalmsson, violin (Northwestern Concerto Competition winners)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Symphony No. 38 in D Major (“Prague”)
Dmitri Shostakovich, Cello Concerto No.1 in E-flat Major
Sergei Prokofiev, Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor
Winning Student Composition Competition work

Saturday, March 7, 2009: "Mando Magnificat," Spring Festival, 7:30 p.m. CST
Mike Marshall & The Big Trio, Sam Bush, Caterina Lichtenberg, Don Stiernberg, and the Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra; Mirko Schrader, guitar
Stars of the mandolin world gather to celebrate the enduring and brilliant versatility of this small but mighty instrument. Virtuosic flights into classical, jazz, new acoustic, Americana, blues, and orchestral music will come together in this unique collaboration. Mike Marshall’s credits include performances with Joshua Bell, Edgar Meyer, Stephan Grappelli, David Grisman, Chris Thile, the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Series, and the Modern Mandolin Quartet (and he is heard playing mandolin in the theme music for NPR’s Car Talk). The equally renowned Sam Bush — a founding member of the brilliant genre-busting group New Grass Revival — has performed with Bela Fleck, Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, Garth Brooks, Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton, Joshua Bell, and Doc Watson.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009: "Deep Listening: From Practice to Theory," 6 p.m. CST
Presented by Pauline Oliveros
Pauline Oliveros will engage participants in a variety of deep listening and related improvisation exercises. Deep listening may be used not only as a tool toward deeper musical understanding, but also to highlight the critical need for more and improved listening in our schools and society. Oliveros will also discuss her philosophy of musical creativity and its importance for music in schools.

Reaching music lovers online

With the aid of the World Wide Web and Internet2, the Northwestern University School of Music has big plans for sharing with the world live interactive video master classes, concert broadcasts, and special events.

Live master classes broadcast via Internet2 in spring 2007 were widely viewed and well received. Featuring internationally acclaimed pianist Richard Goode, the inaugural winner of the Jean Gimbel Lane Prize in Piano Performance, and former Berlin Philharmonic principal clarinetist Karl Leister, the classes were also made available via RealPlayer as live webcasts for anyone with Internet access. Since that time, our live webcasts have included such events as the Princeton Laptop Orchestra, the Bang on a Can All-Stars, and a master class with clarinetist Philippe Cuper.

Additionally, events will be recorded and later made available in streaming form in the Streaming Library section of our site. Specific information about content and events will be announced on our Pick-Staiger website and the School of Music’s website.

Want to watch one of our webcasts?

The latest version of Real Player and a good broadband connection of at least 768Kbps download speed are required for optimum viewing. Note: we recommend wired network connections to ensure the best possible results. If you wish to test your computer's compatibility with RealPlayer prior to any of our webcasts, you may access our live Real stream.

For those institutions who have access to Internet2, you can view the high bandwidth mpeg2 multicast feed using VLC player or by using an mpeg2 decoder. You may check your Internet2 connection during an eight-hour test window, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST, exactly one week prior to each webcast. The test dates for our fall season are October 6, October 17, November 1, November 3, and November 30.

The multicast IP being used for the testing is 233.0.103.110, port 1234. (To open a network stream in VLC, hit Control + N or Apple + N. In the UDP/RTP Multicast section, enter the address above and click "OK stream.")

For questions about using Real Player or the mpeg2 multicast feed, please contact Michael Curtis at m-curtis@northwestern.edu. All other questions about our webcast events should be directed to pick-staiger@northwestern.edu.