Indiana University

News Release

Monday, November 6, 2006

Last modified: Monday, November 6, 2006

IU Jacobs School of Music launches inaugural podcast

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 7, 2006

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music today (Nov. 7) continued its growing role as a leader in the emerging digital frontier with the announcement of its inaugural podcast.

The audio and video project, found within the school's new "IUMusicLive" Web site (https://music.indiana.edu/iumusiclive), includes performances by violinist Joshua Bell, conductor Michael Stern and the Beaux Arts Trio, and showcases three recent IU Opera Theater productions.

Jacobs School of Music Dean Gwyn Richards said the project has been "a dream of the Jacobs School of Music for some time … to disseminate performances of faculty and students in a more immediate and flexible fashion."

"We are pleased to announce that this day has arrived," he continued. "As of today, you will be able to access selections from IU performances. Once you have downloaded audio and video selections to your computer, you will be able to make these performances portable by transferring them to your iPod or MP3 player. Now you can carry IU performances in your pocket."

IU and the Jacobs School have a history of high-profile projects in the development of digital music. The William and Gayle Cook Music Library, working with the staff from IU's Digital Library Program, is an international leader in the development of digital music libraries, including the groundbreaking Variations project, which provides digitized music over a computer network for educational use. The school's Musical Arts Center features technical capabilities that are among the best in the nation.

The new podcasting service will allow the Jacobs School to share with a worldwide audience its musical offerings, the variety and number of which are unparalleled in college music study. The inaugural podcast features appearances with IU's Summer Music Festival Orchestra by Bell, an IU alumnus and Grammy Award-winning violinist, and Stern, an internationally acclaimed conductor. It also includes a performance by IU Distinguished Professor of Music Menahem Pressler and his legendary Beaux Arts Trio and excerpts from recent IU Opera Theater productions of Mozart's Don Giovanni, Manon by Jules Massenet, and Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado.

The podcast requires iTunes or similar software. The audio and video recordings featured on the podcast also are available for individual download to those who prefer to use personal players other than iPods. IUMusicLive also includes streaming audio and video performances, plus links to the latest news and information, upcoming events, and available CDs and DVDs at the Jacobs School.

The development of the IUMusicLive podcast is the result of extensive efforts by Konrad Strauss, Travis Gregg and Wayne Jackson in the school's Department of Recording Arts, which is responsible for the approximately 700 professional-quality audio and video recordings made within the Jacobs School each year.

"The podcast project is not only an opportunity to demonstrate the high level of music performance, but is a chance to feature the sophisticated technical capabilities at the Jacobs School," said Strauss, director of recording arts in the Jacobs School, who has worked as an engineer on several Grammy-winning recordings. "The audio and video clips exhibit technical and performance expertise combined with world-class facilities that are second to none and, in many cases, rival professional arts organizations."

Others who helped develop the inaugural podcast include Philip Ponella and his colleagues at the Jacobs School's IT Services, marketing and publicity director Alain Barker, Associate University Counsel Beth Cate and attorneys Robert Meitus and Tony Rose of Meitus Gelbert Rose LLP in Indianapolis.

"We are grateful to all for their assistance in putting us within the public's reach and for keeping the Jacobs School at the forefront of technology's potential," said Richards.

The IU Jacobs School of Music inaugural podcast includes:

VIDEO

AUDIO

About the IU Jacobs School of Music

As one of the most comprehensive and acclaimed institutions for the study of music, the IU Jacobs School of Music plays a key role in educating performers, scholars, composers, dancers and music educators who influence performance and education around the globe.

The 160 full-time faculty members in residence at the Jacobs School include performers, scholars, composers, and teachers of international renown. In addition, many top practitioners and scholars visit the school each year. The more than 1,600 students from all 50 states and 55 countries outside the United States who study at the Jacobs School benefit from the intensity and focus of a conservatory combined with the broad academic offerings of a major university.

With more than 1,100 performances each year -- including seven operas and three ballets -- the variety and number of performance opportunities are unparalleled in college music study. The school's facilities include five buildings located in the heart of the IU Bloomington campus, including an opera house, recital halls, 200 practice rooms, choral and instrumental rehearsal rooms, and more than 100 offices and studios.


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