The Online Orchestra: Connecting Remote Communities through Music (Fit to connected communities and design highlight notice)
Lead Research Organisation:
Falmouth University
Department Name: The Academy of Music & Theatre Arts
Abstract
Participation in ensemble music making has been proven to have wide ranging benefits in the areas of social skills, social capital, community, personal skills, musical skills and health. The UK Government's National Music Plan recognizes these benefits, recommending that 'Children from all backgrounds and every part of England should have the opportunity...to make music with others'. Yet in parts of the country such as Cornwall, where many people live in geographically remote communities, accessing group music making opportunities is often practically difficult: either there are not enough musicians living in one place, or the time and expense of travel prevents regular participation.
The Online Orchestra asks how we can use burgeoning network technologies and creative approaches to composition to give people in remote communities access to the recognized benefits of ensemble music making.
There have been a range of precedent projects in online performance, but these have tended to focus on the development of technical tools to enable the performance of pre-existent music, resulting in either: (a) the use of complex or proprietary equipment or approaches (such as Janet), unavailable outside of specialist institutions; or (b) solutions wherein latency, low quality audio/visual experience or the sense of disconnection mean many of the benefits of traditional group music making are diminished.
At the heart of The Online Orchestra is the concept of Experience Design: our aim is to design an online environment that enables an experience analogous to that of playing in a traditional orchestra, thus preserving the benefits of traditional group music making. The research team, which includes performers, composers, conductors, social scientists, network designs, audio engineers, and musicologists, asks 'what can we do differently in order to make online performance a meaningful musical experience?'. We will include amateur musicians from Cornwall within the research team, as we co-design our online environment, and we will confine ourselves to the use of off-the-shelf equipment in order to ensure the repeatability of our work upon completion of the project.
The project will begin with a four-month development phase, involving all members of the team, as we design, test, evaluate, and re-design our approach. Through this phase, we will focus on preserving within our online environment three key aspects of traditional ensemble performance: (1) the sense of relationship between self, section and full group; (2) the sense of immersion, sonically and in terms of group responsibility; and (3) the sense of interaction with other performers, the conductor and the audience. We will use Vconect technology to enable the online environment: a low-latency, high-quality audio-visual environment.
Phase two of the project will involve composers from the research team writing a series of original works designed specifically for our online environment. Composers will thus research ways of engaging creatively in their music with issues of latency and remoteness. Phase three will be run in collaboration with The Philharmonia Orchestra and the Cornwall Music Hub, as we rehearse and realise the premiere performance by the Online Orchestra, to form part of the Philharmonia's Universe of Sound installation in Truro, July 2015.
In phase four, we will develop, as proof of concept, a website that will contain a fully-functional, limited-capacity prototype console to access Vconect, which, with further investment, will be scalable to enable communities around the UK, and the world, to form their own online orchestras. Knowledge from the project will be disseminated by means of journal articles, conference papers, magazine articles and web pages, and to broader users through our partners: the Philharmonia are committed to several repeat performances using the prototype; we will also work with the network of Hubs to spread the impact of our work.
The Online Orchestra asks how we can use burgeoning network technologies and creative approaches to composition to give people in remote communities access to the recognized benefits of ensemble music making.
There have been a range of precedent projects in online performance, but these have tended to focus on the development of technical tools to enable the performance of pre-existent music, resulting in either: (a) the use of complex or proprietary equipment or approaches (such as Janet), unavailable outside of specialist institutions; or (b) solutions wherein latency, low quality audio/visual experience or the sense of disconnection mean many of the benefits of traditional group music making are diminished.
At the heart of The Online Orchestra is the concept of Experience Design: our aim is to design an online environment that enables an experience analogous to that of playing in a traditional orchestra, thus preserving the benefits of traditional group music making. The research team, which includes performers, composers, conductors, social scientists, network designs, audio engineers, and musicologists, asks 'what can we do differently in order to make online performance a meaningful musical experience?'. We will include amateur musicians from Cornwall within the research team, as we co-design our online environment, and we will confine ourselves to the use of off-the-shelf equipment in order to ensure the repeatability of our work upon completion of the project.
The project will begin with a four-month development phase, involving all members of the team, as we design, test, evaluate, and re-design our approach. Through this phase, we will focus on preserving within our online environment three key aspects of traditional ensemble performance: (1) the sense of relationship between self, section and full group; (2) the sense of immersion, sonically and in terms of group responsibility; and (3) the sense of interaction with other performers, the conductor and the audience. We will use Vconect technology to enable the online environment: a low-latency, high-quality audio-visual environment.
Phase two of the project will involve composers from the research team writing a series of original works designed specifically for our online environment. Composers will thus research ways of engaging creatively in their music with issues of latency and remoteness. Phase three will be run in collaboration with The Philharmonia Orchestra and the Cornwall Music Hub, as we rehearse and realise the premiere performance by the Online Orchestra, to form part of the Philharmonia's Universe of Sound installation in Truro, July 2015.
In phase four, we will develop, as proof of concept, a website that will contain a fully-functional, limited-capacity prototype console to access Vconect, which, with further investment, will be scalable to enable communities around the UK, and the world, to form their own online orchestras. Knowledge from the project will be disseminated by means of journal articles, conference papers, magazine articles and web pages, and to broader users through our partners: the Philharmonia are committed to several repeat performances using the prototype; we will also work with the network of Hubs to spread the impact of our work.
Planned Impact
PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AS BENEFICIARIES
The most immediate impact will be felt in Cornwall by those members of the community directly involved in the project.
- Young musicians around Cornwall will be given access to large-ensemble performance as part of the project, in line with the recommendations of the National Music Plan. This will augment their music education, along with the personal and social skills that ensemble music making fosters. The Cornwall Music Hub will benefit from the assistance of The Online Orchestra in helping it to achieve its strategic aims of providing ensemble performance opportunities to children, ensuring wide-ranging inclusion in performance, and helping children develop their ICT skills.
- Amateur musicians in Cornwall will likewise feel the benefits of ensemble performance. The project will therefore have an important cultural impact in the county, by diversifying opportunity. Isolated communities around Cornwall will be connected through their shared involvement in designing, developing and realising the project. Members of the public will thereby be engaged as co-partners in research, and Cornwall - a county in which provision for classical music is relatively limited compared with other parts of the country - will lead the way in developing a new approach to orchestral performance that will in turn benefit other parts of the world.
PRIVATE SECTOR BENEFICIARIES
- The Online Orchestra will design a prototype console that, with investment, will be upscalable to allow musicians around the UK, and the world, to form their own online orchestras. A business model for The Online Orchestra might be based on fee-paying musicians having access to a dedicated online environment, bespoke musical compositions and a support infrastructure. Income could be used to commission new compositions and sustain technical and personnel resources. As an upscaled business, The Online Orchestra could thereby generate significant economic return to the UK.
- The Online Orchestra will act as a use case in how Vconect can connect communities to enable high-quality, immersive online experiences. Businesses will thereby gain insight into the potentially diverse benefits of Vconect as a means of using high-quality enriched video as a medium for mass communication within communities.
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL BENEFICIARIES
As supported in the attached letters of reference, repeat performances using our prototype, and subsequent upscaled versions of our project, have significant capacity for longer term and wider scale impact.
- Communities of children and amateur musicians throughout the UK, and the world, who do not have access to ensemble performance will be able to form their own online orchestras using the approach and musical materials developed by The Online Orchestra. By widening access to music making, there will be wide-ranging impact in the areas of education, cultural diversification and accessibility, well-being and quality of life.
- Policy makers who deliver the National Music Plan at a local level will be able to deliver strategic aims associated with ensemble performance and inclusion by setting up local online orchestras. This will increase the effectiveness of public services in the way remote communities are reached.
- Online orchestras of the future could target participants in disconnected locations who would benefit from ensemble performance: hospitals, prisons, retirement or nursing homes, or any other high-need community.
ACADEMIC BENEFICIARIES
- New knowledge will emerge from the project in a range of fields, including technical and experience data, an approach to immersive online environments for performance, and a body of compositions that lead the way in the development of creative approaches to issues such as latency. See Academic Beneficiaries section for details.
The most immediate impact will be felt in Cornwall by those members of the community directly involved in the project.
- Young musicians around Cornwall will be given access to large-ensemble performance as part of the project, in line with the recommendations of the National Music Plan. This will augment their music education, along with the personal and social skills that ensemble music making fosters. The Cornwall Music Hub will benefit from the assistance of The Online Orchestra in helping it to achieve its strategic aims of providing ensemble performance opportunities to children, ensuring wide-ranging inclusion in performance, and helping children develop their ICT skills.
- Amateur musicians in Cornwall will likewise feel the benefits of ensemble performance. The project will therefore have an important cultural impact in the county, by diversifying opportunity. Isolated communities around Cornwall will be connected through their shared involvement in designing, developing and realising the project. Members of the public will thereby be engaged as co-partners in research, and Cornwall - a county in which provision for classical music is relatively limited compared with other parts of the country - will lead the way in developing a new approach to orchestral performance that will in turn benefit other parts of the world.
PRIVATE SECTOR BENEFICIARIES
- The Online Orchestra will design a prototype console that, with investment, will be upscalable to allow musicians around the UK, and the world, to form their own online orchestras. A business model for The Online Orchestra might be based on fee-paying musicians having access to a dedicated online environment, bespoke musical compositions and a support infrastructure. Income could be used to commission new compositions and sustain technical and personnel resources. As an upscaled business, The Online Orchestra could thereby generate significant economic return to the UK.
- The Online Orchestra will act as a use case in how Vconect can connect communities to enable high-quality, immersive online experiences. Businesses will thereby gain insight into the potentially diverse benefits of Vconect as a means of using high-quality enriched video as a medium for mass communication within communities.
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL BENEFICIARIES
As supported in the attached letters of reference, repeat performances using our prototype, and subsequent upscaled versions of our project, have significant capacity for longer term and wider scale impact.
- Communities of children and amateur musicians throughout the UK, and the world, who do not have access to ensemble performance will be able to form their own online orchestras using the approach and musical materials developed by The Online Orchestra. By widening access to music making, there will be wide-ranging impact in the areas of education, cultural diversification and accessibility, well-being and quality of life.
- Policy makers who deliver the National Music Plan at a local level will be able to deliver strategic aims associated with ensemble performance and inclusion by setting up local online orchestras. This will increase the effectiveness of public services in the way remote communities are reached.
- Online orchestras of the future could target participants in disconnected locations who would benefit from ensemble performance: hospitals, prisons, retirement or nursing homes, or any other high-need community.
ACADEMIC BENEFICIARIES
- New knowledge will emerge from the project in a range of fields, including technical and experience data, an approach to immersive online environments for performance, and a body of compositions that lead the way in the development of creative approaches to issues such as latency. See Academic Beneficiaries section for details.
Publications
Geelhoed E
(2017)
Designing a system for Online Orchestra: Microphone evaluation and cost-benefit analysis
in Journal of Music, Technology & Education
Hargreaves J
(2017)
Notes from the podium of an Online Orchestra
in Journal of Music, Technology & Education
Prior D
(2017)
The network as niche
in Journal of Music, Technology & Education
Prior D
(2017)
Designing a system for Online Orchestra: Computer hardware and software
in Journal of Music, Technology & Education
Rofe M
(2017)
Composing for a latency-rich environment
in Journal of Music, Technology & Education
Rofe M
(2017)
Experiencing Online Orchestra: Communities, connections and music-making through telematic performance
in Journal of Music, Technology & Education
Rofe M
(2017)
Telematic performance and the challenge of latency
in Journal of Music, Technology & Education
Rofe, M
(2016)
Online Orchestra - Project Report
Yesil S
(2023)
Protective effect of cerium oxide on testicular function and oxidative stress after torsion/detorsion in adult male rats.
in Experimental and therapeutic medicine
| Title | In Sea-Cold Lyonesse |
| Description | A key finding of the Online Orchestra project is that it is not possible to reduce latency below the threshold of perceptibility when using the types of network connection and computing equipment currently available in remote locations around the U.K. As such, composers on the project team wrote music designed explicitly for latency-rich environments, such that the latency is built into their scores. Their music works in tandem with software designed by the Online Orchestra technical team that controls network latency and synchronises it to the requirements of the musical score. As such, the compositions written as part of the Online Orchestra project are groundbreaking in their handling of latency, and result from a substantial body of trials undertaken over the course of the project. They also engage actively with musical ways of overcoming the physical separation of musicians, and the fact that the target performers are young and amateur musicians. In Sea-Cold Lyonesse was composed by Professor John Pickard. In it, he explored in particular ways of using a tonal-modal harmonic language to enable latency-rich musical performance. The score is available on www.onlineorchestra.com/outcomes. Programme note: The legend of the submerged city of Lyonesse dates back to Arthurian times when it was associated with the story of Tristan and Iseult. Though geographically vague in the early literature, the legend eventually came to be associated with the lost Cornish town of Lethowsow, which some believed to lie submerged between Land's End and Scilly. The story of Lyonesse has inspired many writers and poets and this work sets poems by Thomas Hardy (When I set out for Lyonesse) and Walter de la Mare (Sunk Lyonesse), the latter embedded between the second and third verses of the former. The story seemed especially appropriate for a work designed to be performed by this evening's groups of musicians, two on the Cornish mainland and one on the Isles of Scilly. Towards the end, the brass on the mainland and the flutes on Scilly call to each other across the sea, their music conveyed via a fibre-optic cable running across the sea-bed and - who knows? - perhaps through the streets of the submerged town itself. Thus, modern technology and ancient myth meet. |
| Type Of Art | Composition/Score |
| Year Produced | 2015 |
| Impact | Given that it is not possible to perform standard repertoire in latency-rich environments, for online performance to happen in remote locations in the U.K. it was necessary to write music designed specifically for this purpose. As such, the short term impact of the composition was its enabling of the Online Orchestra World Premiere, which enabled young and amateur musicians across Cornwall to make music together online for the first time. This in turn showcased proof of concept for the project as a whole. More significantly, the compositions written as part of the Online Orchestra lead the way in showing how it is possible to enable young and amateur performers living in remote locations to make music together online now. Music of this sort has never been written before, and, as such, the ground-breaking work of our composition team will hopefully inspire future composers to explore online, latency-rich environments as a viable and exciting medium for composition. In turn, this will enable future online orchestras to follow in the footsteps of our work to date. |
| URL | http://www.onlineorchestra.com/outcomes |
| Title | Online Orchestra - Scalability Study Workshop |
| Description | As part of the Arts Council England funded Online Orchestra Scalability Study, the Online Orchestra team worked with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra to deliver an online workshop to local children. This took place on 11th November 2016, and involved the performance of a newly commissioned work by Jim Aitchison, who also worked on the original Online Orchestra project. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2016 |
| Impact | Children who participated in the workshop had access for the first time to BSO musicians, enabling new opportunities to support their musical development. More generally, the aim of the project was to test the feasibility of professional organisations such as BSO to deliver music education and outreach using Online Orchestra. BSO reported highly positively on the experience, and we are now looking to make funding applications to permanently embed Online Orchestra into their education and outreach programme. |
| Title | Online Orchestra - World Premiere Concert |
| Description | The Online Orchestra presented a concert on 12th July 2015 that acted as proof of concept, and a showcase of our work to date. The concert featured young and amateur musicians situated in four locations around Cornwall playing together live over the internet. A conductor at Falmouth University simultaneously led a string orchestra, female choir and soloists at Truro Cathedral, a flute choir at Five Islands' School on the Isles of Silly, and a brass band at Mullion School on the Lizard Peninsula. Musicians performed three new works written by composers on the project research team specifically designed for this distributed, online orchestra. The concert acted as the culmination of the project to date. The performance was made possible by employing new software developed by project researchers that enabled this multi-location performance. It also deployed findings from wide-ranging user experience tests run earlier in the project, including trials into latency management, system design, equipment choice and configuration, and findings into the types of music that work well online. The concert attracted c400 audience members across the four different locations, following advertising via the project website (www.onlineorchestra.com), Facebook page (www.facebook.com/onlineorchestra), Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/onlineorchestra) and printed media. The concert was further advertised on BBC Radio Cornwall, Radio Scilly and in the West Briton newspaper. The Online Orchestra project also featured as an extended segment on BBC Radio 4's Front Row on 10th July 2015, giving national publicity to our work. That segment included interviews with researchers on the project and interviews with performers, including several children from Five Islands' School on the Isles of Scilly. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2015 |
| Impact | The principal aim of the Online Orchestra project is to enable young and amateur musicians living in remote locations to take part in large-scale ensemble performance. As such, many of the musicians performing in the Online Orchestra concert were playing in a full orchestra for the first time, and all were making new relationships with musicians they had never met before. The children performing from Five Islands' School are iconic of the challenge that the concert aimed to overcome. Given the low numbers of instrument teachers on the Isles of Scilly, children at the school tend only to learn wind instruments, and in particular flute. As such, several children in the performance had never had the chance before to play with string and brass players, given the remoteness of their homes. As such, the most immediate impact of the project to date is on those performers who took part in the concert. One young performer told us that she was now thinking of pursuing music as a career following her participation in the Online Orchestra. However, the long-term potential impact of the concert resides in its its capacity to indicate the reality of online performance. Over the coming years, we will be initiating many new online orchestras throughout the uk, and the present concert will act as an indicator of what is possible. |
| URL | http://www.onlineorchestra.com/performance |
| Title | Re-Tracing |
| Description | A key finding of the Online Orchestra project is that it is not possible to reduce latency below the threshold of perceptibility when using the types of network connection and computing equipment currently available in remote locations around the U.K. As such, composers on the project team wrote music designed explicitly for latency-rich environments, such that the latency is built into their scores. Their music works in tandem with software designed by the Online Orchestra technical team that controls network latency and synchronises it to the requirements of the musical score. As such, the compositions written as part of the Online Orchestra project are groundbreaking in their handling of latency, and result from a substantial body of trials undertaken over the course of the project. They also engage actively with musical ways of overcoming the physical separation of musicians, and the fact that the target performers are young and amateur musicians. Re-Tracing was composed by Jim Aitchison. In it, he explored in particular how the online environment might lend itself to the concerto, with a soloist located at one of the remote locations. The score is available on www.onlineorchestra.com/outcomes. Programme note: Given that the Online Orchestra presents journeys of sound over distance, Re-Tracing re-imagines in music the physical journey undertaken in 1959 by the great American artist, Mark Rothko, from New York to St Ives. The piece began visually, by plotting this journey onto a map, then using that path as the basis of melodic contours in the music. The piece also makes references to what may have been Rothko's state of mind at this time: he left St Ives to return home in a very different place, psychologically. In a letter to Patrick Heron shortly following his visit to St Ives, for instance, Rothko professed his intentions to reject one of the largest art commissions in history to date. In the decade afterwards, until his death in 1970, it is revealing that his art subsequent to his Seagram murals became ever darker and increasingly removed from the world. Accordingly, Re-Tracing engages with two journeys: one in the form of a blurred melody following the geographical contours and place names of Rothko's route from New York to St Ives, and the other a kind of partial return: the same contours in reverse are presented, but this time imported onto the lunar landscape. |
| Type Of Art | Composition/Score |
| Year Produced | 2015 |
| Impact | Given that it is not possible to perform standard repertoire in latency-rich environments, for online performance to happen in remote locations in the U.K. it was necessary to write music designed specifically for this purpose. As such, the short term impact of the composition was its enabling of the Online Orchestra World Premiere, which enabled young and amateur musicians across Cornwall to make music together online for the first time. This in turn showcased proof of concept for the project as a whole. More significantly, the compositions written as part of the Online Orchestra lead the way in showing how it is possible to enable young and amateur performers living in remote locations to make music together online now. Music of this sort has never been written before, and, as such, the ground-breaking work of our composition team will hopefully inspire future composers to explore online, latency-rich environments as a viable and exciting medium for composition. In turn, this will enable future online orchestras to follow in the footsteps of our work to date. |
| URL | http://www.onlineorchestra.com/outcomes |
| Title | Spiritus Telecommunitas |
| Description | A key finding of the Online Orchestra project is that it is not possible to reduce latency below the threshold of perceptibility when using the types of network connection and computing equipment currently available in remote locations around the U.K. As such, composers on the project team wrote music designed explicitly for latency-rich environments, such that the latency is built into their scores. Their music works in tandem with software designed by the Online Orchestra technical team that controls network latency and synchronises it to the requirements of the musical score. As such, the compositions written as part of the Online Orchestra project are groundbreaking in their handling of latency, and result from a substantial body of trials undertaken over the course of the project. They also engage actively with musical ways of overcoming the physical separation of musicians, and the fact that the target performers are young and amateur musicians. Spiritus Telecommunitas was composed by Dr Federico Reuben, with Aleks Kolkowski. In it, they explored in particular ways of creating highly-rhythmic interlocking textures between locations, and how to integrate elements of improvisation into latency-rich performance. The score is available on www.onlineorchestra.com/outcomes. Programme note: The Online Orchestra examines the idea of telematic music - live music making through telecommunications, with musicians distributed in different locations. The connection between music and telecommunications is not new, however - there is a long history of innovation in this area that is also tied to developments in sound recording and electronic music. Elisha Gray's Musical Telegraph (1876) is one of the first electronic music instruments that produced sound through simple steel reed oscillators transmitted through a telephone line. Developments in telephony by Alexander Graham Bell, Elisha Gray and Thomas Edison are also tied to innovations in capturing and reproducing sound. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, before the invention of radio, several telephonic distribution systems had already emerged - services like the Théâtrophone in Paris (1890-1932) allowed subscribers to listen to live performances of opera and theatre over telephone lines. Thaddeus Cahill's Telharmonium (1897), the first large-scale electronic synthesiser, was also transmitted live through telephone lines - its demise came after its telephone broadcasts interfered with ordinary telephone users. In 1906, Reginald Fessenden successfully broadcasted the first wireless radio transmission and radio programme, which included Handel's "Largo" played through an Edison phonograph. All of these key inventions shaped the way in which we produce, transmit and listen to sound today and contributed to technological developments that we now take for granted. From the earliest telegraph transmissions to the high-speed distributed information systems of the Internet, Spiritus Telecommunitas celebrates the the spirit of community as expressed through the relationship between music and telecommunications. |
| Type Of Art | Composition/Score |
| Year Produced | 2015 |
| Impact | Given that it is not possible to perform standard repertoire in latency-rich environments, for online performance to happen in remote locations in the U.K. it was necessary to write music designed specifically for this purpose. As such, the short term impact of the composition was its enabling of the Online Orchestra World Premiere, which enabled young and amateur musicians across Cornwall to make music together online for the first time. This in turn showcased proof of concept for the project as a whole. More significantly, the compositions written as part of the Online Orchestra lead the way in showing how it is possible to enable young and amateur performers living in remote locations to make music together online now. Music of this sort has never been written before, and, as such, the ground-breaking work of our composition team will hopefully inspire future composers to explore online, latency-rich environments as a viable and exciting medium for composition. In turn, this will enable future online orchestras to follow in the footsteps of our work to date. |
| URL | http://www.onlineorchestra.com/outcomes |
| Description | The Online Orchestra, through its launch concert on 15th July 2015, has proven the feasibility of large-scale online ensemble performance in remote locations. Detailed findings from the project will be published as a series of articles over the coming year. What follows is a summary of key findings. LATENCY HANDLING (1) Given (a) the average internet speeds currently available at remote locations around the UK, (b) network jitter, which is highly prevalent and at times substantial, (c) the need to keep to inexpensive equipment (and the consequent reduction in power, speed and sensitivity), and (d) the need to have high-quality audio and video broadcast between locations, it is not currently possible to reduce latency below the threshold of perceptibility. (2) Small amounts of latency proved extremely disruptive to music making. At higher latencies, musicians were much quicker to adapt, and were able to make music in such a way as to hear the latency as an echo, or musical delay of specific duration. (3) Developers in the Online Orchestra team wrote new software to predict and control network latency, allowing musicians and composers to work confidently and intuitively with latency, rather than suppressing it. Specifically, our software standardizes and stabilizes the latency between all nodes within a multi-node network, and locks that latency to the musical tempo of a given piece of music. As such, latencies do not fluctuate, but remain tightly in sync with the musical beat. Details of this software are not provided at this stage, as the project team is currently developing the software for full release. COMPOSING FOR LATENCY RICH ENVIRONMENTS (4) Given the latency that results from the four factors outlined in finding (1), it is not currently possible to perform pre-existing music online while those conditions are present. That is to say, it is not possible to perform Beethoven, as the latency would be too disruptive. (5) However, when using the Online Orchestra software, it is possible for musicians to perform highly rhythmic music with great precision. There remains a latency between the time a musician makes a sound in one location, and the time someone hears that sound elsewhere, but this latency can be precisely locked to the prevailing musical pulse, meaning that it arrives exactly one musical beat later. (6) As such, it is possible to construct precise rhythmic patterns between disparate nodes. What is required is for composers to create music that takes into account this latency in the way they write their scores. Crucially, the Online Orchestra software enables composers to know in advance - and to control - the way in which the latency will behave in their music. There is therefore no need for any improvised musical elements (as has been in a number of previous online music making projects; see Traub 2005, 'Sounding the Net'), or any uncertainty on the composer's part about the way the music will sound relative to the score. (7) In a multi-node environment, different latency relationships exist at each node. For instance, Node A hears itself before it hears the signal from Nodes B and C. Node B hears itself before Nodes A and C, and Node C hears itself before Nodes A and B. So there are as many different versions of a piece as there are nodes in a network. This presents a significant compositional challenge, as composers must control how their music will sound in each individual node. (8) In order to facilitate finding (7), developers on the project team wrote a second piece of software, which takes a score and realizes multiple versions such as would be heard in each node within a latency-rich network. This enables composers to hear exactly what their music will sound like in each node once the music is performed online. PERFORMING ONLINE (9) If the Online Orchestra software described in (3) is used, it is possible for a conductor to lead an online ensemble using traditional beating patterns, and for musicians to lock precisely to this visual signal. The conductor must beat to a click track, such that his or her beat remains tightly synchronized to the network latency. The software will then ensure that the conductor's visual beat will arrive exactly one musical beat later at other nodes in the network, and the sounds made by musicians at those remote locations will be heard back by the conductor a further beat later. This presents a significant challenge for the conductor, who therefore hears the music two beats after beating it. However, our conductor reports that adapting to this environment is actually much more intuitive and straightforward than it sounds, because the music is so tightly synchronized to the underlying latency and pulse. (10) A bright, clear, and, crucially, jitter-free image of the conductor is vital for the performing remote musician. Dropped frames in the image of the conductor are exceedingly disruptive to the musician, and so ensuring that overall data size can fit comfortably into the available bandwidth is paramount. (11) In order to maximize the sense of immersion and connection, a high quality, well balanced audio signal is vital, so that musicians in each node can hear each other clearly and feel part of a unified musical experience. Users were more able to work with low-resolution video than low-resolution audio. As such, the audio signal was given priority within the available bandwidth, ensuring high resolution audio at all times. EQUIPMENT (12) Given finding (11), it is crucial to capture, transmit and broadcast audio to a high quality. Close microphoning of instruments, mixed at source then sent over the network uncompressed, proved the most effective approach, and was worth the extra bandwidth this required. Spatialized speaker setups were the preferred method for relaying the audio from other nodes, and this in turn required careful mixing at each node such the proper balance of local and remote sound. (13) Echo proved to be one of the key challenges in the project. Echo suppression algorithms were to the detriment of audio quality, and it was found that good audio engineering actually proved the most effective means of controlling echo - network echo could be reduced significantly by means of speaker-microphone placement, gain structure, audience-vs-performer monitoring and close attention to the acoustics of the performance venue. More work is needed in this area, however, as these solutions require significant audio engineering experience in all locations; given the interconnection of the audio environments, any single location has the capacity to disrupt the audio quality throughout the network. (14) A clear and close camera feed of the conductor, relayed to musicians on screens that are bright and well positioned with respect to the standard placement of the conductor, is crucial. The size of the conductor's image is also crucial, with performers stating a distinct preference for images that are the same size as an in-person conductor (which is to say not too large, as well as not too small). (15) The video feed of musicians at other nodes could be less clearly resolved than the conductor in order to save on bandwidth, and whilst there was a preference for occasional close-ups of individual musicians, the additional layer of complexity and expense this caused was considered too great. A significant preference by users was for a separate screen per node, rather than a single screen showing a multi-image of all nodes. A multi-screen set up also then allowed for spatialized audio, with the audio of each node aligned to its correlating image. (16) In the performance, we employed a two-computer solution per node, one driving the audio, one driving the video. The conductor node at Falmouth University functioned as a virtual server, with other machines acting as slaves over a peer-to-peer connection. The Online Orchestra software controlled the latency on all machines from the server node. |
| Exploitation Route | In order for online orchestra performance to be rolled out across the UK in remote locations, a phase two project is needed, comprising two key work packages: (1) The development of an-easy-to-use GUI (graphical user interface) for our software, such that users without programming expertise can operate the system in remote locations without the need for technical support from project staff. (2) The development of a significant body of musical repertoire designed for online, latency-rich environment, with pieces aimed at various combinations of instruments and performer abilities. Further investment would also be needed to set up an Online Orchestra infrastructure that could manage online orchestras of the future, covering marketing, technical support and equipment rentals. |
| Sectors | Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Healthcare,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | http://www.onlineorchestra.com |
| Description | The impact of the Online Orchestra project is likely to be felt over a series of timeframes. SHORT-TERM IMPACT The Online Orchestra initially impacted its community participants. As active collaborators in designing our approach to online performance, members of the Cornish musical community forged new relationships, worked on a major research project, and ultimately determined what they needed from an online orchestra. The performance involved some 50 young and amateur musicians from around Cornwall performing together for the first time. For some performers, this was also the first time they had ever played in a large-scale orchestral ensemble. The positive impact of the project upon performers has been reported back to us by participants. One young musician reported after the concert that she was now seriously considering taking up music as a career, following her involvement in the project. A member of the string group wrote to us saying 'I joined in really not knowing what I was letting myself in for and wondering if I was good enough to join in and what a fantastic time I've had. I have learnt so much from the people around me and feel that I have improved my playing technique no end.' A member of the vocal group wrote to our conductor, to thank him: 'Your encouragement and enthusiasm was so valued as this project truly took me out of my 'comfort zone' - something I must be brave enough to do more often! Maybe this is the start of a new braver me....' MEDIUM-TERM IMPACT As a consequence of the project and its outreach activities, follow-up performances are already being planned. We are currently working with various Music Education Hubs and professional orchestras to arrange a number of future performances. Such activities have the capacity to involve musicians from remote communities around the U.K., thereby reaching new audiences and users with our work. LONG-TERM IMPACT The greatest significance of the Online Orchestra is the fact that we have proven that large-scale online ensemble performance in remote locations is both possible and enjoyable. In doing so, we have also demonstrated how performance in latency-rich environments can be achieved. With future investment into the work packages outlined in the Key Findings section, it is hoped that online performance will soon become a standard part of the what is offered in schools and community music groups around the U.K., particularly in remote communities. That impact will need time to become manifest, but it is entirely achievable, thereby connecting communities of musicians who have never worked together before, and bringing the many recognized benefits of large-scale ensemble music making to users whose remote location currently prohibits their participation. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2015 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |
| Description | Arts Council England - Grants for the Arts |
| Amount | £14,948 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | GFTA-00018462 |
| Organisation | Arts Council England |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2016 |
| End | 01/2017 |
| Description | Online Orchestra - Scalability Study |
| Organisation | Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The Scalability Study aimed to embed Online Orchestra technology into Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra's education and outreach programme, in order to test the feasibility and scalability of online music education and workshops. The Online Orchestra team worked with BSO to deliver an online workshop to local schools in which children could work online with BSO musicians. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra worked with us to develop online materials for the workshop, and to identify in-need local communities who might benefit from online access to music education. They provided musicians to deliver the workshop, and worked with the Online Orchestra to evaluate the project. |
| Impact | Online Music Workshop, 11th November 2016, involving 2 BSO musicians and 4 local children, delivered using Online Orchestra technology. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | BBC Radio 4 - Front Row |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | The Online Orchestra project featured as a c10min segment on BBC Radio 4's Front Row, broadcast on 10th July 2015. The programme featured interviews with members of the project research team, and with children from Five Islands' School on the Isles of Scilly, who were performing in the Online Orchestra concert. The feature was intended to raise the profile of our work, and to attract potential future collaborators. Our ambition is to see schools and community groups in remote locations around the U.K. participate in their own online orchestras, and the Radio 4 feature is the highest-profile release of our work to date. Listeners were directed to the project website (www.onlineorchestra.com) for further information, and we have received a number of requests for further information through the web contacts page. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0612wdp |
| Description | Online Orchestra - Online Profile |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In order to raise awareness of our work, the Online Orchestra team has created a project website - www.onlineorchestra.com. This website is designed to give an overview of the project, introduce project team members, provide video interviews with team members, and disseminate findings. It also provides a portal through which project staff can be contacted by members of the public. In support of the project website, we have set up a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/onlineorchestra) and twitter feed (www.twitter.com/onlineorchestra) to publicise key achievements, particularly in the run up to the Online Orchestra concert. The impact of this online engagement has come in a range of forms. Initially, the website functioned as a means of creating local interest, in order to attract performers to participate in the performance and audience members for the event itself. More generally, though, our online presence has served to publicise our achievements, though its inclusion of a full project report, and links to other outcomes. As such, it can provide evidence of what is now possible, and offers the opportunity for members of the public to contact the project team in order to set up future online orchestras. We have received numerous requests for more information through our website, including requests to put on spin-off performances in other parts of the U.K. We are currently working on a number of future performances, following on from this initial contact, highlighting the interest in our work to date. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2015,2016 |
| URL | http://www.onlineorchestra.com |