DSO goes high tech on your mobile phone

DETROIT (WXYZ) - The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) had new plans to allow you  to watch a live concert, browse a full calendar of events, listen to digital albums and connect to DSO social media, all on your smart phone, ipad or other mobile device.

The digital trio includes Live from Orchestra Hall, a series of HD Webcasts presented by the Ford Motor Company Fund; the release of DSO To Go, a free mobile app; and the DSO's first digital album. The DSO Says the initiatives are made possible by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

The DSO's first webcast of the season will air Sunday, October 9th at 2:50pm.

"This digital trio will allow us to further share our concerts, our musicians, and the excitement of Detroit's cultural scene with a worldwide audience," said Scott Harrison, DSO executive producer of digital media.

This past spring, the DSO webcast five concerts live to a global audience of thousands.

"The challenge of the digital age is to engage audiences where they are going and increasingly that's through the Web and on mobile devices," said Dennis Scholl, vice president/arts for Knight Foundation. "We hope that by taking symphonic music out of the concert hall and into people's everyday experiences, they'll remember how enriching it is to their lives."

Live From Orchestra Hall, live HD webcasts with host Alex Trajano, will make the DSO the first U.S. orchestra to live stream a regular series of concerts on the Web.

 Each webcast will also feature interviews with guest artists, DSO musicians, and local personalities. On October 9, Trajano will be joined by DSO Music Director Leonard Slatkin, guest pianist and composer Michel Camilo, and Detroit entrepreneur and restaurateur Phillip Cooley, owner of Slow's BBQ. See a full schedule of webcasts below.

The final part of the digital trio, a series of live, downloadable concert albums, will launch later this fall with Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto, featuring Olga Kern at the piano and Slatkin conducting. These albums, produced in-house, will be available for streaming and download at  http://www.dso.org/albums, 

DSO To Go, available now for iPhone, Android and mobile web platforms, gives patrons a handheld passport to all things DSO.

In partnership with InstantEncore, the free mobile app makes the DSO's 2011-12 classical season free to watch through "Live From Orchestra Hall" HD webcasts. Whether or not music lovers are at Orchestra Hall during a concert, DSO To Go makes live interaction with the DSO easy with direct links to Facebook and Twitter portals.

You can also listen and download a growing array of digital albums, read DSO news and receive push notifications of new content and special offers. iPhone and Android users can search for "Detroit Symphony" in their app stores to download DSO to Go for free. Other web-connected mobile devices can simply access www.dso.org for app features.

Webcast Schedule

Webcast 1-Symphonie Fantastique!
Sunday, October 9, 3 p.m. (Pre-Concert show at 2:50 p.m.)

Webcast 2-Beethoven's Fifth
Friday, October 28, 10:45 a.m. (Pre-Concert show at 10:35 a.m.)

Webcast 3-Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5
Friday, November 4, 8 p.m. (Pre-Concert show at 7:50 p.m.)

Webcast 4-Festival of Flutes with Sir James Galway and Guests
Friday, November 18, 10:45 a.m. (Pre-Concert show at 10:35 a.m.)

Webcast 5-Schubert's Immortal "Unfinished" Symphony
Saturday, November 26, 8 p.m. (Pre-Concert show at 7:50 p.m.)

Webcast 6-Beethoven 7, plus: Branford Marsalis
Sunday, December 4, 3 p.m. (Pre-Concert show at 2:50 p.m.)

Webcast 7-The Four Seasons!
Saturday, December 10, 8 p.m. (Pre-Concert show at 7:50 p.m.)