35 Americans from 15 States Join Musicians from 29 Countries in the YouTube Symphony

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The World’s First Online Collaborative Orchestra Will Perform at Carnegie Hall on April 15, 2009

35 Americans are among the 96 members selected to participate in the YouTube Symphony Orchestra, the world’s first orchestra formed entirely through online auditions. Ranging in age from 17 to 37, the Americans include students, professionals, and talented amateur musicians from 15 different states, from Nevada to New York and Maryland to Mississippi. They were selected by the global YouTube community and Artistic Advisor Michael Tilson Thomas from a list of 200 finalists.

Violist Alissa A. Seavey of Wayne , Pennsylvania won the audition with a video entry she made using her home computer camera and a good-quality microphone. The 28 year-old violist got her master’s degree at Yale, and is now being coached by Philadelphia Orchestra violist Rachel Ku while she auditions for orchestra jobs.

Kurt Hinterbichler heard about the YouTube Symphony Orchestra from his father, who is a professional musician and a regular YouTube user. The 27 year-old native of Albuquerque , New Mexico began studying the bass in sixth grade and is now a theoretical physicist studying at New York ’s Columbia University.

California surgeon Calvin Lee, 37, has barely picked up his violin for 15 years, but dazzled online viewers playing Bach for his audition, despite all but quitting violin before going to medical school. In a Reuters interview he said he recently took up music again to help his general dexterity as a surgeon.

Nina Perlove, an Adjunct Professor at Northern Kentucky University , offers flute instruction on YouTube and had had over 3 million views of her video performances and tutorials. The former Fulbright scholar compares her experience to conducting virtual world tours from her home in Cincinnati where she has two very young children.

These four are among the 96 musicians in the YouTube Symphony Orchestra who will travel to New York City for a classical music summit on April 12-15. The summit concludes with a concert at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Mr. Tilson Thomas, who is also Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony, Artistic Director of the New World Symphony, and Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.

Following is a list of the U.S. participants by current state of residence:

California:
Jonathan J. Brummel, trombone - San Francisco
Michelle Kwon, cello - Fremont
Calvin Lee, violin - Modesto
Hannah Tarley, violin - Cupertino

Illinois:
Andrew Chester, tuba - Chicago
Colin Oldberg, trumpet - Evanston

Indiana:
Daniel Stein, flute - Bloomington

Massachusetts:
Samantha Gillogly, viola - West Brookfield
Nicholas Fitton, piccolo - Cotuit
Tien-Hsuan Lee, violin - Allston
Michal Shein, cello - Boston

Maryland:
Rachel Hsieh, cello - Baltimore

Michigan:
Andrea Christine Jarret, violin - Saline

Mississippi:
Ana Catalina Ramirez C., clarinet - Jackson

Nevada:
George Durham, cello - Reno

New York:
Benjamin Chan, violin - Albany
Kurt Hinterbichler, bass - New York
Marc Levine, violin - Islip
Hanah Stuart , violin - New York

Ohio:
Karla Donahew Perez, violin Cleveland
Alexandra Early, violin - Cleveland
David Z. George, bass - Cleveland
Hyungtag Lee, bass - Cincinnati
Joel K. Negus, bass - Cleveland
Ben Odhner, violin - Cleveland
Nina Perlove, flute - Cincinnati

Pennsylvania:
Devin Howell, bass - Harrisburg
Alisa A. Seavey, viola - Wayne

South Carolina:
Patrick Chapman, snare drum/brake drum - Clover

Texas:
Wade Coufal, bassoon - Pearland
Renee Noel Gilliland, viola - El Paso
Jacqueline Morant, violin - Keller
Dawson White, viola - Waco

Virginia:
Elliott G. Burris, slapstick/chimes/bass drum - Charlottesville

Washington:
Eric D. Moe, trumpet - Spokane

Tickets are on sale now through Carnegie Charge at (212) 247-7800 at www.carnegiehall.org.

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