InsideOut Digital Series Will Return With PRODIGIOUS PRODIGIES

Hit by the prolonged New York lockdown in the midst of its 20th anniversary celebrations, the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony not only refused to hang up their instruments, Music Director David Bernard even conceived of a way to innovate - reinventing the digital classical experience. The resulting series, 'InsideOut Digital', has been a great success and, in its use of 'audience avatars', real-time audience interfacing and multi-camera technology, has pushed the boundaries of what a digital concert experience can be. The latest 'InsideOut Digital' event will be held at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music, on May 15th.

Titled 'Prodigious Prodigies', the event will feature three works by prodigy composers, and indeed two of today's prodigy musicians. Thus, Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto will be played by two specially selected artists from the Kaufman Music Center - Rebecca Beato and Olga Tytarenko - the young violinists playing alternate movements. Also featured will be Bizet's enchanting Symphony in C, and Mendelssohn's overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream - both works written when the composers were only 17 years old! As ever with this innovative series, Music Director David Bernard will discuss the similarities and contrasts between the different works, and will take audience questions in real time, via the in-person avatars.

The event will be streamed through Facebook via its paid online event feature, part of a growing and active collaboration with the social media network. Tickets can be purchased on the event page on Facebook. For viewers with a streaming device connected to a television, such as Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV or Android TV, this interactive event can be experienced on a big screen. More instructions on how to do so are at this link and more information about the Facebook Watch TV app (the app used on all streaming devices) can be found here.

"In a difficult year, we've all been so thrilled with what we've discovered and what we've achieved with InsideOut Digital," says PACS Music Director David Bernard, "We've realized that digital can be a viable medium for classical music - but only if you move beyond replicating the concert experience. If you recast the digital experience using interactivity, it can be transformative. We've had our remote audience in tears expressing how incredible it felt to be 'in' a concert again.

"Our partnership with Facebook is very exciting - especially as the Facebook team have been so excited by the paths we've been exploring. With Facebook as active partners on that journey, we know that we can reach more people, and make the experience even more wonderful. As live concerts return we will continue to explore and develop the digital side as its own medium, playing to Facebook's unique strengths and playing alongside traditional in-person options."

A major feature in the UK's Classical Music magazine recently praised InsideOut Digital. The article, by journalist Charlotte Gardner, described the series as "pushing boundaries with streamed content...impressive". Read that feature here.

Tickets for 'Prodigious Prodigies' can be bought here: https://bit.ly/PACSProdigiousProdigies